Test for the

suitability of
thickener in the print
paste formulation
and other concept.

PRINTING
Process of applying colour to fabric in definite
pattern or design.
Styles of printing
Direct print coloration
Discharge style

Resist style
Special styles

Methods of printing
Block printing
Screen printing
Digital printing

Roller printing
Transfer printing

Textile Printing Process

Fabric Preparation
Flat Screen/Rotary Screen/Roller Preparation
Print paste Preparation

Printing on fabric
Drying
Fixing

Washing and Soaping

Final Drying

THICKENERS
High molecular weight substances.
Impart stickiness and plasticity to the
paste.
Hold the dye particle in the desired place
on the fabric.

TYPES OF THICKENERS
Starch
British gum
Guar gum
Alginate
Indalca gum
Gum Tragacanth

printing sequence
Reactive printing

Print paste
Printing
Drying

Fixation
Washing off

PRINT PASTE FORMULATION

Reactive Dye on cotton: Dyes form covalent bond with cellulosic fibers.
These dyes can be brighter & faster-diffusing.

Thickeners
Alginates are the only natural thickener suitable for use in

printing with reactive dyes.

All other carbohydrates react with dye & this results in low
colour yield or unsatisfactory handle(due to insolublisation
of thickener).
Recipe for 1000 g paste:
alginate thickener
- 400-500 g
urea
- 100-200 g
sodium bicarbonate
20 g
sod. m- nitrobenzenesulphonate -10 g
water
-470-270 g

 Synthetic thickener with anionic charges can also be used

for reactive dyes ( because of great colour yield and less

cost).

Recipe for 1000 g paste: For half emulsion

emulsifier
- 10-20 g
water
- 280-90 g
urea
- 80-150 g
sod. Bicarbonate
- 20 g
sod. m- nitrobenzenesulphonate -10 g
alginate thickener
- 100-200 g
white spirit
- 500 g

Alkali:
o It is essential to produce ionisation of cellulose

hydroxyal group which can then react with reactive

dyes.
o Sodium bicarbonate is preffered due to less cost &
sufficent stability of the paste.

Reactive dyes in textile printing

Influence on the print paste stability
pH-value

6
7
8

alkali

Reactive dyes do hydrolyze

Remazol Salt FD
sodium acetate
sodium bicarbonate

*temperature
at rising temperature per 10 C
3 5 times faster

10
11
12
13
14

* alkali
sodium carbonate

by increasing the pH-value each step

sodium silicate
caustic soda solution

by 8 10 times faster

Drying: at 100-120C
Fixation:

It is most important process in printing of textiles.

In fixation, steaming of fabric is done.
Steaming at 130-160 degree celsius for 30-60 sec.
Urea used in the printing process hold some amount of
water with it, which is required for fixation of print on the
fabric.
In the absence of urea colour yeild is low.

Washing off:
o First rinse the fabric with cold water(surface dye &

auxilaries must be removed).

o High temp(at boil) washing is done to remove
hydrolysed dye from inside the fibres.
o Then a cold rinse completes the washing process.

Precautions in printing paste

Ure a a m o u n t
T h i c ke n e r a l g i n a te / s y n t h e t i c
Ty p e o f p r i n t

A m o u n t o f p a s te
D ye

Reasons For Development of

synthetic thickener
Diminishing supply of natural thickeners.
Increasing cost of natural thickeners.
Less purity
Poor thermal stability
Inadequate flow properties
In pigment printing kerosene is used as emulsion

thickener which led to problems like pollution

regulation, fire hazards and shortage of kerosene.

Synthetic thickener for Reactive dyes

Gum synth TRR is used for reactive dyes.

It is an acrylic based thickener.

It increases the brightness of print.
Wide ph range (2-11).

Sharper outlines.
Reduction of urea,upto 50%.

Synthetic thickeners for

Disperse dyes on PET
Indalca gum is the natural thickener used for

polyester.
It had disadvantage that it does not easily removed
during normal washing.
So, to avoid this problem , a new thickener Gum synth
TRD is developed.
It is used in conjunction with indalca to get the
maximum desired result.

Synthetic thickeners for pigment

printing
Water/kerosene emulsion thickener were mainly used.
Due to ongoing oil crises ,it is being replaced by Gum

synth TRP thickener.

It is acrylic based thickener.
It is available in powder form.
It gives higher depth of shades as compared to
emulsion thickener.
It gives good wash and rubbing fastness.

References
Google search
Textile printing by Leslie W C Miles
Textile printing symposium of I.I.T delhi.