DYEING, PRINTING & FINISHING OF FABRIC S

MAC FERGUSSON RMIT UNIVERSITY

CLASSIFICATION
MAJOR FIBRE TYPES USED FOR FURNISHINGS
1. NATURAL FIBRES, COTTON, LINEN, WOOL 2. REGENERATED FIBRES, VISCOSE, ACETATE 3. SYNTHETIC OR MAN MADE FIBRES POLYESTER, ACRYLIC, NYLON 4. BLENDS OF NATURAL WITH SYNTHETIC OR BLENDS OF DIFFERENT SYNTHETIC WITH THE REGENERATED FIBRES.

REGENERATED FIBRES
Fibres obtained from plant material (wood or

stems) after chemical processing of the original material. Viscose rayon - from wood pulp Cuprammonium rayon wood pulp Lyocell (TencelTM) environmentally friendly manufacturing process. Bamboo fibre - from the stem of the bamboo plant (type of viscose rayon).
Cellulose acetate wood pulp

SYNTHETIC FIBRES
Polyamide Nylon 6 & Nylon 66, differing

properties in terms of dyeing and melting point. Polyester two types available normal dyeable & cationic or basic dyeable. Both polyester and nylon available as micro fibres. Acrylic fibre. Polypropylene fibre dyeable type available. Special flame retardant polyester fibres such as Trevira CS TM are available.

DYES AND PIGMENTS

There is no Universal dye that will dye all fibres.
Different fibre types require different dyes. Dyes that dye fibres based on cellulose, do not dye

wool to give good properties. Dyes for polyester will dye acetate and acrylic and the new types of polypropylene. To achieve the best possible performance on Acrylic fibres special dyes are used

Dye Fibre Classification

Cellulosic fibres Reactive Protein fibres Acid including metal Complex Mordant (chrome) Reactive Cellulose Polyamide Acetate Nylon 6 & 66 Disperse Acid Acrylic Polyester Basic Disperse

Direct Vat Sulphur Azoic

Disperse Mordant (chrome)

Disperse

PIGMENTS
Pigments are different to dyes. Pigments have no chemical attraction for textile fibres Pigments are held onto the fibre by means of a resin

binder, similar in all respects to a paint. The quality of the binder influences the properties of the pigment particularly performance to dry cleaning. Rubbing fastness is a function of binder adhesion and pigment particle size.. Light fastness and dry cleaning fastness are related to the chemistry of the pigment. Pigments are often used for printed fabrics.

DYES
Dyes that give the best performance on cotton fabrics in terms of light stability, washing and dry cleaning are usually the most expensive to apply. Very high quality furnishings in cotton and linen would be either dyed or printed with Vat dyes. Azoic dyes may also be used in some cases. Reactive dyes are also being used but some have their limitations in terms of performance.

DYEING PROCESSES
Textile fibres can be dyed at various stages on the

manufacturing chain. These include

Loose Fibre, where large volumes of one colour are

required e.g. carpet manufacture Sliver in the case of wool & synthetic fibres Yarn particularly for jacquard designs Piece for solid colours or where the design is made from yarns of different fibres sources.

DYEING PROCESSES
Different fibres require different dyeing conditions.
Wool and nylon are normally dyed at 98 - 100C Acrylic fibres are also dyed at 98 - 100C

Polyester on the other hand is dyed at higher

temperatures 125 130C. Polyester wool blends are dyed at lower temperatures 107C 120C special chemicals being added to protect the wool fibre from damage. Cotton can be dyed at temperatures from 60C to 98C depending on the dye class chosen. Special chemicals are included to promote evenness of colour.

DYEING MACHINERY
Loose fibre, sliver and yarn dyeing machines are all of

the liquor circulation type. The dye liquor is pumped through the material.

PIECE OR FABRIC DYEING

Several methods are available.
Today the most common method used is the jet dyeing

machine. This machine uses less water, energy, dyes and chemicals. The machines are fully automated so labour content is lower. Continuous dyeing is usually restricted to solid colours.

H.T. JET DYEING MACHINE

TEXTILE PRINTING
A number of printing techniques are available,

Hand table Flat screen Engraved copper roller. Rotary screen Heat transfer, sublimation printing Digital ink-jet

PRINTING (contd)
Rotary Screen printing is probably the most popular.
The system can give good definition Suited to long runs. More economical than flat screen machines because of

higher production speeds. Screen costs tend to be higher Suitable for both pigment prints and dye prints.

PIGMENT vs DYE PRINTS

Basic pigment process consists of printing and curing

to cross link the binder to maximum fastness properties, no wet processing is required. Dye printing is a multi stage process.
Printing
Fixation usually steaming Washing off to remove unfixed dyes and auxiliaries

Drying and finishing

ROTARY SCREEN PRINTING

video courtesy of cotton council of America

DIGITAL INK JET PRINTING

Digital vs ROTARY
DIGITAL
Very high definition, photographic

ROTARY
High rates of production,

quality. No screen costs, no limits on repeat size Instant colourway changes Printing is slow approx. 200 m2 per hour. Restriction on fabric width Printing of blends can be a problem. Printing with pigments has been a problem in the past.

depending on the design. Design limitations, repeat size depends on screen diameter. Depending on the machine fabric width up to