Why Dye molecules produce color?

Dyes possess colour because it

1) Absorb light in the visible spectrum (400–700 nm)

2) Have at least one chromophore (colour-bearing group),
3) Have a conjugated system, i.e. a structure with alternating double and single bonds between atoms.
4) Exhibit resonance of electrons, which is a stabilizing force in organic compounds

What make dye soluble & increase color imparting property

Most dyes also contain groups known as auxochromes (colour helpers). While these are not responsible
for colour, their presence can shift the colour of a colorant and they are most often used to influence dye
solubility.

What are needed for dyeing textile material?

1. Dye Molecules: Different dye are available in the market & based on fiber, fastness, buyer
requirements, equipment available & dyeing process a suitable dye is selected like

 Reactive dye for dyeing cotton in room temperature or high temperature if high fastness is
required & verities of color is necessary.
 Disperse dye for dyeing polyester, nylon & other synthetic fiber in room or high temperature &
for good fastness & full color range.
 Direct dye for cotton for easy dyeing & low cost dyeing but not for good fastness
 Vat dye for cotton for very good fastness but complex dyeing process
 Sulphur dye for limited shade & low cost dyeing but not environmentally safe
 Acid dye for dyeing wool, silk & acrylic fiber.

2. Basic Chemicals: Salt for catching color, Soda for fixing color, Acetic acid to control pH.

3. Auxiliary chemicals: Different auxiliary chemicals are used in dyeing for examples

 Leveling agent: to produce uniform dyeing

 Sequestering agent: To reduce water hardness
 Wetting agent: To reduce water surface tension
 Anti-creasing agent: To resist creasing on fabric during dyeing
 Dispersing agent: To disperse water insoluble dye
 De-foaming agent: To reduce foam generation in dyeing
 Soaping agent: To remove surface & unfixed dye for getting better fastness.
 Fixing agent: To remove unfixed dye especially for reactive dye.
 Anti-migrating agent: To reduce dye migration during pad dyeing.
4. Color Swatch: For export order a swatch, provided by buyer is needed to match the dyeing shade. For
local sell a pre-defined or making form of swatch is required to produce a dyeing shade.
5. Dyeing machinery: Different large scale production machine is required where for small scale dyeing
simple equipment like pot drum & stirrer is required.
6. Water: Standard water is required
7. Space & Manpower:

Important term for Textile Dyeing

Shade & Shade percentage: Shade is concentration of dye in textile material. Shade% is the amount of
dye in 100 unit of textile material. For example if 10 gm dye is used to dye 100 gm textile material then
shade& would be 10%. It is necessary to match a swatch

Type of shade: Two type of shade

Self-shade/Single shade/Monochromatic shade: If dyeing is carried out with only one type or colored
dye then produced shade is self-shade. If we use only blue dye in dyeing then blue shade is produced in
fabric which is self-shade.
Combination shade: If dyeing is carried out using more than one colored dye produced shade is
combination shade. Using equal amount of blue & yellow dye produce green shade on fabric which is a
dichromatic/combination shade. Using equal amount of red yellow & blue dye black/dark brown color is
produced which is trichromatic/combination shade.
Trichromatic combination: If we produced any color on fabric using three primary colors (red yellow &
blue) then it is called trichromatic combination. More 90% of color is trichromatic shade.
In dyeing factory shade may classified as
Light shade – shade% 0.01% - 0.5%
Medium shade – Shade% 0.5%-1.5% or 2%
Dark shade – Shade% >2%

Hue: Hue is how we perceived an object color & distinguish one color from another like red green, blue
etc. It is associated with wave length. Each color has its specific wave length.

Chroma/Saturation: Degree of purity or how close to its pure hue. It refers to the amount of color used
or amount of different wavelength mixed

Value: Amount of black mixed with a hue. The quality by which we distinguish a light color from a dark
one. More black a color the darker its value.

Metamerism: The phenomenon for which two object color matched under one set of condition but
appear to mismatch under another set of condition is known as metemerism.
There are three manifestations of Metamerism

 Illuminant Metamerism
 Observer Metamerism
 Geometric Metamerism
Dyeing Recipe: It is chart or list which show following three information

 What type of chemical is required for doing a process eg. Dyeing

 How much that chemicals is required
 What would be the parameters & their range?

Liquor ratio: It tells how much liquor is required for one unit of material to do any process

Lab-dip: The first prepared colored swatch by the factory with a pre-defined shade in order to get color
approval from the buyer.

Swatch board/Lab-dip card: The systematic presentation of lab-dip which is prepared for sending to the
buyer to get color approval.
What Are Tolerances?

No Pair Of Samples Has 100% Identical Color Values, And Yet Suppliers Have To Satisfy The Customer's
Quality Requirements For Color Accuracy When Supplying Products. We Also Know That A Human
Being's Perception Of Color Is Very Subjective. It Is Therefore Important That Suppliers and Customers
Use Colorimetry to Stipulate Color Tolerances, The Maximum Color Differences Within Which Products
Will Still Be Accepted

Shade correction (Stripping Re-dyeing Topping)

Stripping: To remove color from dyed fabric as much as possible if uneven or wrong shade is results.
Stripping may be partial or full & different chemicals (like Acetic acid, hydross, Caustic etc) are used at
high temperature.

Re-Dyeing: Re means again. If uneven or wrong shade is produced then it may strip as much as possible
followed by lab dyeing & dyed with newly developed recipe to match the target. The process is known
as re dyeing.

Topping: Color addition when dyeing process is running in order to match target shade. It is generally
used terms in knit dyeing & restricted for color addition only.

Addition: Add color or chemicals after examine the shade of a part of the fabric batch & normally used
term for woven dyeing.

The Major Dyeing System Variables

 Textile substrate
 Application method/Correct dyeing process selection
 Dye selection and formulation
 Basic & auxiliary chemical quality
 Liquor ratio
 Dyes & Chemical addition profile
 Internal fabric pH /Fixation pH
 Time
 Heat/Fixation temperature
 Water supply
 Controlled Coloration concept
 Worker knowledge & house keeping

Need to Control These Variables in Order to Achieve:

• Target shade predictability
• Required fastness
• Efficiency in terms of cost of materials and plant occupancy