Comparison of textile print quality between inkjet and screen printings

Abstract

This research was concerned with an investigation of cotton print qualities that were achieved by inkjet printing and screen printing. The acrylic binder, S-711, with a pigment-to-binder (P/B) ratio of 1:2 (by weight) was used to produce one set of inkjet inks. BR-700 was used in the creation of another set of screen inks. Furne silica was added to the screen ink to increase the viscosity so that the ink would meet the rheology requirements. The viscosity and flow behaviour of both inks were acceptable. Both the ink viscosity and the particle-size distribution were slightly increased during storage at an ambient temperature for two months. The inkjet ink printed tabrics were pretreated with a solution of poly(ethylene oxide) having 2 to 3 million Dalton molecular weight. The printed fabrics from both inks were analysed for colour saturation, colour gamut and their volume, density, tone reproduction, stiffness, air permeability, and crock fastness. The type, concentration and P/B ratio were exactly the same in both inks in the pigment dispersions. Even though the loaded ink volume on fabrics, by inkjet, was tuned to be approximately the same in optical density as that given by the screen ink, by a multipass mode printing, both printed fabrics gave different colour saturations, colour gamuts and tone reproductions. The colour gamut volume, stiffness, air permeability and crock fastness of the inkjet inks are superior to those of screen inks. The print quality of the inkjet printing on cotton fabric was, thus, better. However, the inkjet ink printed cotton fabric needed to be printed three times to produce the same colour and tone reproduction as that produced by screen printing.