Effect of UV Curable Pretreatments on the Color Quality of Inkjet Printed Polyester Fabrics

Abstract

Woven and knitted polyester fabrics were pretreated with formulations containing waterborne UV curable resins and silica particles to improve inkjet print quality. The selected formulations were applied with low add-on to reduce the adverse effect on fabric hand without sacrificing the print quality. A print pattern with block areas and lines in cyan, magenta, yellow, and black colors was designed and inkjet printed on the pretreated fabrics with a wide-format inkjet printer (Encad Novajet 750) to investigate the effects of the UV curable pretreatment on the inkjet print color qualities including color depth, color gamut and color lightness. Experimental results show that both the color depth and gamut of prints on the pretreated taffeta and knitted polyester fabrics were enhanced compared to those on untreated polyester fabrics. However, both the color depth and gamut of the prints on the pretreated satin polyester fabrics were reduced. The lightness change of the inkjet printed colors on pretreated knitted fabrics is similar to that of untreated fabrics whereas the lightness change of prints on pretreated satin and taffeta fabrics shows some differences. All colors have increased lightness on pretreated satin fabrics. However, magenta and black have decreased lightness on the pretreated taffeta fabrics.