Textile Printing

What is Textile Printing

• Textile printing is the process of applying colour to fabric in definite patterns or

designs.
• Textile printing is the most versatile and important of the methods used for
introducing colour and design to textile fabrics.
• Textile printing is defined as a localized form of dyeing (with the help of dyes
and pigments in thickened/viscous form) because it is usually done at specific
space/area of fabric to develop a desired design on the surface of the fabric.
• Viscous (of desired viscosity) pastes are used for printing to achieve the proper
design sharpness.
• Uses the same dyes or pigments applied to produce a dyed fabric.
Why Textile Printing is Done

• From aesthetic point of view

• From functional point of view
Requirements of Textile Printing

• Substrate
• Machine
• Printing paste
Printing Paste Formulations

• Pastes for reactive Printing

• Stock Paste  Pastes for Pigment
•
•
Natural Thickener
Mild Oxidizing Agent
Printing
• Urea  Stock Paste
• Water
 Synthetic Thickener
• Print Paste
• Dye  Liquor Ammonia
• Alkali  Water
• Stock Paste
 Print Paste
 Pigment
 Binder
 Stock Paste
 Methods of Printing
• There are three methods of textile printing:

• Block Printing
• Roller Printing
• Screen Printing

• There are also three sub types of screen printing

• Hand Screen Printing/Table Printing

• Flat Bed Printing
• Rotary Printing
Block Printing

• Oldest method but still in use.

• Similar to the rubber stamp technique.
• Wooden blocks (hard) are used.
• Design is carved or is made by using metal (mostly copper) pieces,
stripes or pins.
• Hard wood is used to avoid distortion of design and to apply desired
pressure.
Block printing
Block Printing

• Requirements of wood
• Hard
• Resistant to chemicals
• Light in weight
• Good wear and abrasion properties
Block Printing
Advantages of Block Printing

• High design flexibility.

• Cheap method
• Traditional designs (like Ajrak) can successfully be produced.
Disadvantages of Block Printing

• It requires highly skilled workers.

• Low production.
• Design registration in multicolor design requires both skill and time.
Roller/Engraved Roller Printing

• Until the development of rotary screen printing, it was the

only continuous technique.
• Hollow rollers whose inner side is made of stainless steel is
used in roller printing.
• Initially solid rollers were used but having a drawback of
shifting.
• Outer side or above steel there is a coating (layers) of copper
metal over which the design is engraved.
• Doctor blade is used for wiping the excess color form the
surface of roller.
 Roller/Engraved Roller Printing
• The roller collects the color from a furnishing roller which is dipped
partially into the print paste.

• The paste is trapped into engravings.

• Excess paste is removed by a “doctor blade”.

• Any lint or fiber fluff from roller is removed by a “lint blade”.

• Fabric comes in contact with the engraved roller and the areas in
contact with the grooves (having the paste) collect the color.
Roller/Engraved Roller Printing

• Print design repeat depends on circumference.

• Roller printing can produce print designs of extremely

intricate details (motifs or smaller are designs).

• Fabric is dried after printing.

Roller/Engraved Roller Printing

• Limitation:

• Change of design takes too much time.

• Reduced color yield because of high printing pressure.
• Can’t print blotch print design (larger area designs).
• Engraving of rollers is expensive.
• Lower production in case of more colors.
Roller/Engraved Roller Printing

• Advantages:

• High production in case of less colors

• Upto 16 colors can be used
• Complex designs are possible
• Fine vertical lines can be produced
• Sharp lines cab be produced
• Floral designs can be produced
Roller/Engraved Roller Printing
Roller/Engraved Roller Printing
Screen Printing

• Basic idea taken from stencil printing.

• Screen consists of a perforated mesh (fabric or metal) stretched .

• Print paste is forced to penetrate (using a squeegee, blade type or

rod type) through the unblocked holes (printing area) to the fabric
stretched beneath it.
 Hand Screen Printing
• Hand Screen Printing:

• Fabric is adhered to the printing table, which is covered with a resilient felt, or
rubber material.
• Each screen is placed upon the fabric in turn, the paste applied to the one end of
the screen and then spread across the screen by hand using a squeegee.
• Guide rails along the edges of the table ensure each screen is applied in design
register.
Hand Screen Printin

• Advantages
• Designs are easy to transfer to screens
• Frame size can be easily varied
• Freedom to choose repeat size
• Pressure applied is much lower than roller printing
• Texture surfaces are not crushed
• Freshness of design maintains
• Limitation:
• Highly skilled workers are required.
• Production rates are extremely slow.
Hand Screen Printing
Hand Screen Printing

• Requirements

• Flat screen
• Squeegee
• Printing table
• blanket
• Print paste
Flat Bed Screen Printing

• Flat Bed Screen Printing

• Fabric is in continuous length.
• Fabric supported by an endless conveyor belt.
• Belt moves intermittently.
• When the belt stops the screen lowers and come in contact with the fabric.
• Pressure is applied on print paste with the help of squeege and it penetrates
through the printable area to form a design with color.
• Each color follow the same pattern but with a separate screen.
Flat Bed Screen Printing
Flat Bed Screen Printing
Flat Bed Screen Printing

• Squeegee types
• Blade type (moves with the help of an electric motor).
• Roller / rod type (moves with the help of a powerful electromagnet moving beneath the
printing blanket.
• Limitation
• Low Productivity but higher than hand printing.
Rotary Screen Printing

• Rotary Screen Printing

• Screen is made of metal mesh in cylindrical shape.
• End rings keep it in stretched form and prevent collapse.
• The fabric is sticked to a conveyor belt that supports the screens
• The fabric passes under the screen which is rotated (by a motor at one end)
as the fabric moves.
• Each screen prints a single colour.
• A stationary squeegee inside the screen presses the paste to move out of the
unblocked mesh.
Rotary Screen Printing

• Squeegee remains stationary inside the rotating screen at lower area that
contacts the fabric.
• Squeegee
• Blade type (conventional rubber, metal blade)
• Rod type (metal bar)
• Correct design registration depends on screen positioning
• Advantages:
• Printing of fine intricate patterns
• High production rates
Rotary Screen Printing
Rotary Screen Printing
Rotary Screen Printing
Post Print Processes

• After printing and drying the fabric, the dye or pigment only stay on
the surface of the fibers in the printed area with very little fiber
penetration and bonding with fibers.

• Therefore post print processes (sometimes also known as fixation

processes) are important for fixation of dyes and pigment after
printing the fabric.
Post Print Processes

• Drying:
• Usually done at 110-120°C.
• After printing the fabric is only dried to avoid any design distortion by falling
the layers of printed fabric on each other.
• Fixation:
• Curing
• Usually for pigment printing.
• Dry heat is applied to cross-link the binder thus entrapping the pigment
particles into it.
• Ageing (Steaming)
• Usually for dyes as they need to penetrate into the fiber.
• Time depends on temperature .
• For reactive printing applied at 100C for 5-15 min.
Post Print Process

• Steam provides the required moisture for dye penetration by condensing onto fabric
and forming a localized dye-bath.
• Hygroscopic agents, as Urea, help to attain this moisture on fabric surface
• Washing
• To remove unfixed dye, and thickening agent.
• Usually for dyes only.