Textile Printing Management -Different Styles and Methods

                                                  Barhanpurkar S1, Agrawal R2 

• Shri Vaishnav Institute of Textile Technology, SVVV, Indore 2. Govt. Women’s Polytechnic College, Gwalior

Abstract

At the heart of any printing project is the desire to achieve the highest possible image quality, and especially getting the colours right. Printing can also be defined as localized dyeing. Well-defined as the request of dye or pigment in a dissimilar decoration on the textile and by succeeding after action of fixing the dye or pigment to acquire a specific design. Occasionally a printed fabric can be recognised by looking at the back side of fabric where there is no design but colour remain in the face side. In cellulosic fibre like cotton, vat dyes and reactive are used whereas in synthetic or manmade fabric like disperse and cationic dyes are used due to their rigid structure.

 (1). In manmade, dyes like disperse and cationic are used. Preparation of fabric for printing is undergoing through various pre-printing processes like singing, desizing, scouring and bleaching. This processes incudes the fabric to be removed from impurities, smoother surface improved luxtures, brightness and whiteness index. Various ingredients are used for printing a fabriclike wetting agent, solvent, thickeners, deforming agent oxidizing and reducing agents, catalyst, acids, alkalis and carriers (2)(3). By this chemicals one standard fabric can be printed. There are three elementary methodologies to printing a colour on a fabric -1.Direct Printing, 2.Discharge Printing.3 Resist Printing.

Key words: Printing, Textile, Direct, Discharge, Resist.

1. Introduction

Style refers to the manner in which a particular action is performed; thus the style of walking or the style of writing of a person refers to the manner in which he walks or writes. In printing, style means the manner in which a printed effect is produced as distinct from the method which involves the means (like a block or screen) by which the pattern is produced (4).This style is also referred to as “Steam Style” because in most of the cases, the printed fabric is steamed to fix the colour. In textile printing style, the colour is applied directly to the fabric in the form of a paste containing the colouring matter, thickener or binder and required ingredients and after printing and drying, the colour is fixed by steaming or curing or thermo-fixing or treatment with chemicals. Most classes of dyestuffs are printed on the fabric by the direct style. Mordant colours, vegetable colours, pigments and certain mineral colours (5).

2. Direct Style of Printing

The most common style of printing textile fabric is direct printing. In this method the dye is directly applied onto the fabric. Dyes are used in paste form. It is the simplest and oldest style of printing. It can be done on a white fabric or coloured fabric (6). The colorant is embossed on the fabric in paste form and any anticipated decoration may be fashioned. Dark colour prints in lighter background is the distinguishing feature of direct style printing (7). In this stylishness of printing, the printing paste is relocated to the selected areas of the fabric and the pigments stick to to the fabric surface. Direct style of printing is fashioned in block printing, screen printing or roller printing methods. This style is relaxed, inexpensive and appropriate for printing both modest and complicated designs.

Limitation

Coloured marks with sharp frameworks and free of fragments are difficult to produce by direct style. 

• Direct Style is problematic to combine small coloured motifs on dark ground by this style.
• Direct Style is tough to print knitted fabrics in fine designs with sharp outlines by this style.
• Coloured blotches with sharp outlines and free of specks are difficult to produce by direct style.
• It is difficult to incorporate small coloured motifs on dark ground by this style.
• It is difficult to print knitted goods in fine designs with sharp outlines by this style.

3. Discharge Style

A classical discharge print is obtained when a fully dyed fabric is printed with an agent which will chemically destroy the ground shade and produce a white discharge. If dyes stable to the discharging agent are incorporated in the discharge paste, then coloured (illuminated) discharges are produced by simultaneously destroying the ground shade and fixing the stable illuminating colour. Thus in discharges printing, the whole cloth is first dyed fully and then printed with a paste comprising a chemical discharging agent capable of attacking the dye locally; the printed cloth is then further treated (steamed, washed etc.) so that finally it shows a white or light pattern on a coloured background. This is an important style on cotton and viscose rayon and based on the fact that when direct dyes, especially belonging to the azo class, are reduced by a powerful reducing agent, chromophore (azo group) is broken up and the dyes are decomposed into non-substantive products. Which are generally soluble in water. When a cotton cloth is dyed with an easily reducible dye and then printed with a suitably thickened solution of reducing agent and steamed, the reducing agent decomposes the dye at the printed portion into water soluble products having no affinity for the fibre. Alternatively, a second dye resistant to the discharging agent can be incorporated in the paste and yielding a two colour pattern which would almost be impossible by a double printing of complementary patterns. Oxidising substances such as potassium chlorate or potassium dichromate for discharging Indigo. Sodium bisulphite, is used in discharging naphtholated ground (8).

Advantages

• It allows off-white and coloured patterns being produced on dyed grounds. • By dyeing, we can obtain depth of shade and fullness and richness of colour unapproachable by any process of printing, It is, therefore, of great advantage to be able to print upon dyed cloth, a substance which will destroy the colour from printed parts.
• It enables production of coloured blotches with sharp outlines, generally difficult to obtain by the direct style
• The process produces almost the same white or coloured discharge effect on both sides of the cloth so much so that it becomes difficult to distinguish the printed side from the other. • Discharge prints are always sharp in outline, bright in appearance and give perfect and sparkling whites due to the bleaching effect of the discharging agent

Advantages

• It allows off-white and coloured patterns being produced on dyed grounds. 
• By dyeing, we can obtain depth of shade and fullness and richness of colour unapproachable by any process of printing, It is, therefore, of great advantage to be able to print upon dyed cloth, a substance which will destroy the colour from printed parts. 
• It enables production of coloured blotches with sharp outlines, generally difficult to obtain by the direct style. 
• The process produces almost the same white or coloured discharge effect on both sides of the cloth so much so that it becomes difficult to distinguish the printed side from the other.
• Discharge prints are always sharp in outline, bright in appearance and give perfect and sparkling whites due to the bleaching effect of the discharging agent

Dis-advantages

• Only those colours which can be discharged have to be used since all colours are not dischargeable.
• The cost of a discharge printing paste is higher and the ingredients have to be selected carefully to facilitate complete destruction of colour.

4. Resist style

The resist style, like the discharge style, relates to the production of white and coloured patterns on variously coloured grounds but the difference between the two is that in the case of discharge style, the discharging agent is applied to the cloth after it has been dyed whereas in resist style, the resist is applied to the cloth before it undergoes any dyeing (9). Thus in resist printing, the printed portions are so treated that dyes will  no longer “take” on them and a white pattern will be formed on the background of the dye (10). The resisting agents may go-between mechanical or chemical process or both. In the well-known ‘tie and dye’ development and ‘Bandhani’ printing, the portion of the hank and cloth is tied by rubber bands or cotton thread before dyeing, to resist the bound portions (which remain white);   in this case, the rubber band or the thread acts as a mechanical resist (11). Similarly in Batik printing, portions of the cloth which are required to remain undyed are treated with wax and the whole cloth is then dyed with a dyestuff which can be dyed at a temperature below the melting point of wax. In this case, wax acts as a mechanical resist. Stannous chloride (tin salt) and citric acid may be cited as chemicals which are used as resists (12). Thus tin salt is used as a resist while printing with diazo salt. It produces diazo hydrine which prevents the coupling with naphthol. Similarly citric acid is used as a resist in printing with reactive dyes; the presence of acid prevents the development of the reactive dye (13).

Advantages

• Like the discharge style, resist style has also the great advantage that it allows off-white and coloured patterns being produced on dyed grounds. 
• We can, therefore, obtain depth of shade and fullness and richness of colour unapproachable by any process of printing. 
• It is, therefore, of great advantage to be able to print upon white cloth, a resist which will prevent fixation of colour in subsequent dyeing operations.
• The cost of resist printing paste is lower requiring less chemicals and auxiliaries; e.g. in Bandhani printing, only cotton thread is required to tie the portions which are to be kept undyed.

Dis-advantages

• Resist Prints are generally subdued and the colours are less bright; the outlines of the printed motifs are less sharp.
• In resist printing, the ground is not dyed before printing; therefore little or no chemical action is involved to prevent fixation of colour.

5. Different Types of Printing Methods

•  Block Printing

Block Printing the firstborn and modest way of printing. In this method a wooden block with an elevated pattern on the shallow was dipped into the printing colorant and then pressed face down on to fabric. The favourite design was gained by repeating the process using different colors.Generally the wooden block is carved out offhand. Printing is done manually.

5. 2. Roller Printing

Roller Printing It is the machine method of printing designs on cloths by engraved rollers. The design is engraved on the surface of a metal roller, to which dye is applied, and the excess is scraped off the roller’s surface, leaving dye in the engraved sections. When it rolls across the fabric, the dye on the roller transfers to the fabric (14).

Fig.2: Roller Printing

5.3. Screen Printing

Screen Printing It involves the submission of the printing paste through a fine screen located in contact with the fabric to be printed. A design is created in opposite on the screen by blocking areas of the screen with a material such as an opaque paint. The screen is then placed over the fabric and the printing paste is forced through the open areas of the screen using a flexible synthetic rubber or steel blade known as a squeegee.
                      Fig.3: Screen Printing

•  Rotary Printing

Rotary screen printing involves a series of turning metal cylinder, each with revolving screens, each with a stationary squeegee inside which forces the print paste onto the fabric. Twenty or more colours can be printed at the same time. The process is much quicker and more efficient than flat screen printing (15).

5.5 Transfer Printing

Transfer printing is an indirect method of printing in which dyes are transferred from paper to a thermoplastic fabric under controlled conditions of temperature, time and pressure. The image is first engraved on a copper plate. Then pigment is applied on these plates. The image is then transferred to a piece of paper, with a layer of glue applied .This is then placed on the fabric and heat and pressure applied which fixes the print onto fabric.

5.6 Stencil Printing

Stencil Printing It is one of the firstborn way of printing. In it colour is applied to the fabric by scrubbing or squirting the interstices of a pattern cut out from a flat sheet of metal. The waterproof paper or plastic sheet or laminated sheet. A stencil is prepared by cutting out a design from a flat sheet of paper, metal, or plastic.

• Digital Printing

Digital Printing It is the more advanced type of printing. This includes: – Jet spray printing, Electrostatic printing, Photo printing, and Differential printing.

5.8 Batik Printing

Batik is a technique of wax-resist colouring applied to the entire cloth. This technique originated from the island of Java, Indonesia. Batik is complete either by illustration dots and lines of the resist with an emitted tool named a canting, or by printing the resist with a copper stamp called a cap (16).

• Tie & Dye Printing

Tie & Dye is similar as the batik printing but here the dye is resisted by knots that are tied in the fabric before it is engrossed in dye bath. The free-standing of the knotted portion is dyed, but inside is not penetrated if the knot is firmly tied (17). This gives a characteristic blurred or mottled effect.

6. References

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