11 Textile Printing

R. Prabha

epgp books

 

 

Introduction

 

Textile Printing is a method of depositing colour onto fabrics and other textile materials. A range of imaginary designs and patterns can be achieved in a number of ways. It can be defined as localised dyeing, colour is applied onto the cloth and form design one or more colours can be used. Textile printing is considered as a control process to dye fabric in definite patterns or designs. It involves transfer of colour paste on to the specified location of the fabric.

 

Objectives

  • To identify the historical background of textiles
  • To bring and understand the history of Printed Textiles in India and the world To get impressive with the source and evolution of Printed textiles
  • To gain knowledge about the evolution of Textiles, from the origin and know the origin of Historical Textiles
  • To identify with the creation of techniques and design with orientation to colours and motifs.

Meaning:

 

This is another one technology in wet processing. The printing is the important process of colouring in a desired area of the textile fabric. This is also similar to dyeing, the only difference dyeing is colouring the whole area of the fabric where as printing is performing the specific area of the material. Printing is followed after the pre-treatment processing.

 

History of textile printing:

 

The Asian Continent has the longest tradition of decorating fabrics using textile printing methods. Antique textile was very old and rare the reason for that is they only stay alive in certain environments. Early day’s man was printing on the fabric in East Asia and Egypt in the year of 4th Century BC. Textile printing came to be known in the early age. This was familiar with the art of application of colour find out in cave paintings. The prehistoric people painted his body with colours. This evidence proves that the ancient civilization of India and Egypt people known about textile printing as early as 1600 BC. Even Europeans also became known this art. Stencil work started in the early stage to form a textile printing and it was developed by Japanese craftsmen. Block printing technique also practiced by them in wood, latterly they came to know the usage of copper and other bearing materials.

 

In 1785 roller printing technique was developed with cylinder model and the fabric is carried on the rotating cylinder pressed on it. Each colour carried out with the separate rollers. The roller design is created on copper material by hand or machine by pressure or etched by two methods one is pantograph another one is photoengraving methods.

 

The application of colours on the fabric by rotating the roller through the colour box, the surplus colour scraped off with the help of knives.

 

The significant contribution was given by the state of Andhra Pradesh to the history of hand printed fabric in India.

 

Difference between Dyeing and Printing

 

In dyeing, only mono colour applications can be done where as in printing single or multi colour application is possible. Salt is need for dyeing, but in printing it is not required. In dyeing, temperature is used for better penetration but in printing temperature is not used. Water plays an important role in dyeing, but in printing thickening agent plays an important role.

 

In dyeing percentage shade is calculated on the weight of the material, but in printing, percentage shade is calculated on the weight of the paste. In dyeing time is allowed for better penetration where as in printing time is not required, since colour is applied only on the surface of the fabric. In dyeing, simple machinery such as tanks, winches, jiggers, soft flow and padding mangle are required, but for printing it is more complex by way of design screen preparations, printing machines and after processing machines. The cost of dyeing per metre is lower than the cost of printing. The process of dyeing consumes more time than printing. Dyeing consumes more water than printing.

Basic printing types are divided into three major groups

  • Direct printing
  • Discharge printing Resist printing

Direct Printing

  • Direct printing is the process by which colorants, containing dyes, thickeners and the mordents or substances necessary for fixing the colour on the fabric, or printed in the desired pattern directly.
  • This is the most commonly used technique and is widely applied in modern industry.
  • The pigments are directly imprinted on the surface of the fabric, unlike the technique of dyeing.
  • As many as possible of blocks may be used; the number is not restricted in block printing.
  • Recently the rayon scarves printed with 120 applications made on the material somewhat expensive naturally.

Discharge Printing

  • Discharge printing was discovered early in 1800s.
  • In discharge printing, unlike direct printing, the fabric being printed is dyed by dischargeable dyes first. Next, the dyed fabric is printed with paste containing chemicals which have the ability to destroy the dyed colour.
  • Colour on the printed pattern will be discharged after steaming. This type of printing is done on both fine and delicate patterns.
  • Also a very careful process is required. One of the problems arising in discharge printing is the invisible printed pattern on the ground colour.

Resist Printing

  • In resist printing method dyes applied to a fabric but not fixed.
  • Because a resist formulation is printed on selected areas of the fabric.
  • The resist agent prevent fixation of the dye in subsequent processing.
  • The unfixed dye is washed away leaving a white pattern.
  • If the resist agent is applied before the dye, the method is called a preprint process.
  • This type of printing is older than direct and discharge printing method.

Types of printing

 

Block, Blotch, Duplex, Engraved roller, Electrostatic, Flock, Photo, Ink-jet, Screen, Stencil, Airbrush Spray, Transfer, Warp, Special methods (Tie and dyeing and Batik printing).

 

Block Printing

 

This type of printing was very oldest and simplest method comparison with other methods of printing. Commercially it is not important because it is very slow printing method cannot produce large quantities by this type of style. This type practiced in which countries labour is less costly. It is chiefly found in decorative pieces and the production of upholstery purpose. For block printing the design created on a wooden or metal block in a carving method. The dye paste applied on the face of the block then pressed on the surface area of the fabric. To get even print the pressure is followed uniformly. The earliest areas where block printing developed by Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat in India.

 

The skill of block printing began in the 18th century in Rajasthan and the craft has been followed by from generation to generation. The excellent design existing block printing is still found in the states. Rajasthan developed special technique of printing and dyeing of cotton fabrics. In Gujarat the use of wooden blocks for printing was more common. The period of Buddha’s time, trades in cotton cloth have existed between India and Babylon. India printed and woven cotton cloth exported to Indonesia, Malaya and the Far East countries. Surat emerges as a prominent centre for export of painted and printed fabrics.

 

Roller Printing

 

Printing large quantities of fabric is most frequently achieved through roller printing techniques. The design is engrave on a series of rollers, one roll per colour is used, and then attached to circulating drums as the rollers return, dye is, spread across them and the fabric is fed over the face of each roller until all colours have been applied.

 

Duplex Printing

 

The process of printing the same or different designs on face and back of the cloth is done in duplex printing method. Either the fabric is passed through the printing machine in two separate operations or it is printed by a special machine is called a duplex printing machine, which prints both sides simultaneously.

 

Duplex printing also called printing of both sides of the goods with the same or different motifs. Woven design effects are in simulated in this work. Curtains, hangings, some sportswear are printed by this a duplex printing method. The design is done in a skilful manner with very careful registration of the printing. The only method of identification of the design is detected by pulling the yarn.

 

Screen Printing

 

Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a patterned, partial paste blocked mesh screen. The open areas of the mesh screens can transfer colour paste on to fabric by squeezing the paste with a roller or squeegee. Because of simplicity of the application process, the wider range of dyes is available in screen printing than that in any other printing process. Depending on screen shape like applied, screen printing can be classified as flat screen printing and rotary screen printing. Nowadays the screens are made in nylon, polyester or any other synthetic material. The screen consists of wooden or metallic frame. Every design must have separate screen. This method was originally done by hand. Recently these types of printing was done even machine.

 

Stencil Printing

 

Stencil printing is another method used for several hundred years in countries around world. A stencil is applied on the cut-out area of a thin material. The design is usually limited to the application and generally used for small decorative or narrow width fabric. This is also very slow processing print like block printing. The printing usage is limited due to high costs involved in this method.

 

Transfer Printing

 

Transfer printing generally requires many steps to process. First, the design is printed on a thin, flat substrate. The Transfer printing technique is a quit recent development, a certain design is printed on paper and then transfer on to the fabric. Historically, many textile printing techniques have utilized the concept of transfer printing.

 

Today, sublimation transfer printing is the most common technology and utilized the sublimation properties of disperse dyes. In the printing step, design are printed on paper with disperse dyes inks which contain the disperse dye molecules in the solid state. To transfer the designs onto the cloth the printed papers are placed securely on the fabrics. This types of printing were introduced in the year of 1960. These types of printing literally transfer the printing from one surface to another so it is called transfer printing. Heat transfer technique has many advantages it has less amount of expensive. Printing of fabrics with this technique is much faster and produce large amount of fabrics in a very less time.

 

Blotch Printing

 

A blotch printing is a direct way of printing an image on a substrate by printing the background of the image to define the design by the areas that do not print. The non printed area remains same base colour. The original colour of the substrate in the desired image or pattern, other colours that can be added within these areas to produce a multicolour’s. A blotch printing might be used to imitate a chemically produced discharge print, with large areas of pigment print, usually produce a fabric with a stiff touch or “hand”.

 

Airbrush (spray) Printing

 

Air brush printing is an automated hand technique where artist follows a pattern freehand or fills in a stencil area with an air-powered gun that produces light and even layer.

 

Electrostatic Printing

 

A printing technique is similar to electrostatic flocking. A prepared screen is covered with powered dye mixed with a carrier that has electric properties. The screen is kept about ½ inch above the fabric. When the screen and fabric passed through are electric field, the dye procedure is pulled onto the material or fabric that time the print is take place with the help of heat fixing. In this method, the dye powder finely and mix with carrier, such as natural or synthetic resin. These have the property of high dielectric for the printing techniques.

 

Photo Printing

 

In this technique the digitally printable images for textiles, the designer can incorporate the use of high resolution image to push the limits of photo realistic printing. This method useful to develop realistic and also possible to produce through traditional printing methods. All details can be reproduced if the photographer and technician are careful. Sophisticated form of photo printing is the cymatia process.

 

Warp Printing

 

In warp printing the warp yarn is printed initially and there the weaving is done. The patterns are applied by using engraved rollers, flat bed rollers or rotary screen on the warp yarns prior to weaving. In this the filling yarns are solid in colour and the warp yarns are in printed with the design. Warp printing is very time consuming and expensive process. Having muted, hazy appearance.

 

Tie Dyeing

 

Tie- dye is a coloration method based on the resist principle. In the process of tie and dye typically consists of folding, twisting etc., This type of technique done with hand and can be applied colors on the fabrics. This method practiced by the people of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa with different method of dyeing. Tie-dye style is a similar to batik in that it is an ancient resist method developed in the same countries. It is particularly associated with Japan, where it is considered a historic art from, first the fabric is folded, gathered, knotted and tied with waxed strings or rubber bands and then dipped into a dye bath. After dry the tied thread or rubber band is removed.

 

Batik Dyeing

 

Batik is a resist type of dyeing process in which the molten wax is applied to the fabric first and then to dyeing takes place. After dyeing the wax is removed. This is an art developed in java-Indonesia artist, especially in central area of Java. The original meaning of the word batik is the art of drawing or writing on a piece of cloth with the help of molten wax.

 

Digital printing

 

This method the design is developed with the help of CAD and then print on the fabric using CAD. These types of print take place directly on to the fabric. Using this technique a piece of fabric prints with inexpensively in a large enough quantity.

 

Conclusion

 

Today dyeing and printing are as important part of modern technology in textile finishing. The interest in use to textiles as a platform of designs for decoration or identifications has existed for many centuries. The development of modern equipment and dyeing technology has able to reproduce highly qualified textiles with excellent colour fastness properties. It can be performed in wide varieties of fiber and fabric formations. The economical level of the production is lesser than before technology. However, as good as textile printing continuing to improve the quality and innovation in new techniques for the forthcoming generation people in future.

you can view video on Textile Printing

REFERENCES and URLs

 

  • Mauguire King, (2013)Advance in the dyeing and finishing of technical textiles, Woodhead Publication.
  • Asim Kumar Roy Choudhury,(2006) Textile preparation and dyeing, Science Publishers,
  • L. Gulkajami, (2013), Advanced in the Dyeing and Finishing of Technical Textiles, Wood Head Publishing, Oxford Cambridge, Philadelphia, and New Delhi