A foam single-face pretreatment to modify silk fabric using EBODAC to improve inkjet printing performance

A novel foam single-face pretreatment was used to modify silk fabrics for improving inkjet printing performance without any washing process. The foams used in pretreatment process were prepared by foaming agent, as Tween 80 and Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The compatibilities of the cationic modifier ethylene base-double octadecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (EBODAC) agent with Tween 80 and SDS were investigated by comparing the foam properties at different EBODAC concentrations. The results show that Tween 80 is more compatible with EBODAC. The silk fabric surface is adhered with cationic groups after foam-treated with EBODAC, which improves the inkjet printing performances. The K/S values enhance from 5.84 to 8.21 with the increasing EBODAC concentrations. The printing images of treated fabrics perform more vivid than those of the controlled silk fabrics. The width and edges of practical printing lines become smaller and more definite, respectively. All these indicate that higher color yield and definition are achieved. The hand feeling after foam pretreatment is superior to that after pad pretreatment. The fastnesses are hardly affected after pretreatment. The foam-pretreatment provides a new pathway to improve the inkjet printing performance.