EXPERIMENT # 3

OBJECT:
Print cotton fabric with pigment using Alco print as a thickener.

CHEMICALS:
Alco print
Water
Sodium carbonate
Reactive dyes of three different colors

OPTIMUM CONDITION:
Time ~3 minutes
pH ~8-9

THICKENER:
Viscous pastes used for textile printing usually consist of either solutions of high molecular
weight polymers or emulsions of immiscible liquids. The chemicals used belong to various
chemical classes. Unbranched polymers give viscous solutions at low concentrations but the
viscosity falls with increasing shear. Branched chain polymers require higher concentrations to
give the required viscosity but are less sensitive to shear. The types of thickening agents used
are:
(1) Naturally occurring carbohydrates such as guar and locust bean gum, cellulose and starch
derivatives and alginates from seaweed. These dissolve or disperse in water to give viscous
pastes. Their preparation from the solid carbohydrate requires considerable care. The
powdered carbohydrate is rapidly dispersed in water before any significant swelling of the
particles can occur. This avoids the formation of gummy lumps in the paste. This may then
stand for some time before gradually heating, if required. As a precaution, the final paste is
often strained;
(2) Emulsions of oil in water. These emulsions consist of small droplets of oil dispersed in
water. The negative charges of the anionic emulsifier molecules adsorbed on the surfaces of
the droplets prevent their coalescence. In textile printing, a typical emulsion thickener has
about 70% white spirit (petroleum distillate boiling at 150200 C) in water. Both components
are volatile and leave no residue after drying;

ALCO PRINT:
Alco Print is a textile thickener which is extensively used as a substitute for kerosene in
pigment paste formulation, as a thickener in water base formulation in textile printing, water
base acrylic thickener etc.

PIGMENT PRINTING:
Pigment print systems are primarily comprised of pigment, binder and concentrate-thickening
medium. Auxiliary chemicals such as softener, lubricant, defoamer, crosslinker-resin,
surfactant, solvent, antiwick, secondary thickener are added depending on the print substrate
or the end use requirements. Binder selection,will be the primary determining factors of
hand, resistance to abrasion, laundry and dryclean fastness, resistance to UV light and heat,
and color yield. The crosslinker resin, traditionally a melamine-formaldehyde resin, will
improve wet colorfastness properties. Pigment prints intended for an apparel end use will
require the inclusion of softeners in the print paste. Both organic and silicone softeners are
used. They perform as print lubricants, as softeners to the crosslinked pigment binder and
have also been demonstrated to have posi-tive effects on colorfastness and color yield.
Secondary thickeners and antiwicks are used to control print definition when printing on resin
treated fabrics, particularly domestic sheets and pillow cases.
Each of the components, therefore, has a function whether in the print process or the end use
performance and their effect must be considered in the finishing process. The excellent
crockfastness developed by a particular binder could be ideal for an industrial print or a
melamine addition to develop wetfastness on a pigment printed shower curtain but could
develop a harsh undesirable hand on an apparel print. The harshness perhaps could be over-
come by chemical or mechanical processing but at added cost. Selection of print system
components must be balanced with end use requirements which requires close
communications between the print colorist and the finisher.