Fabric Pretreatment and Digital Textile Print Quality

Abstract

Digital image analysis and optical microscopy are used to compare various print quality parameters of pretreated fabrics. In this work, woven and knitted cotton fabrics were treated with various chemical formulations containing ingredients like alginate, silicone based textile softeners and fine silica powder. A special print pattern was designed and printed on paper-supported pretreated fabric samples using a commercially available ink jet printer. Analysis of these print patterns was performed using an optical microscope and a digital image analysis program. The quality of these printed patterns were evaluated in terms of (1) color related metrics (L* a* b*) and (2) appearance related metrics (line width). Results show that digital textile printing quality on plain weave and knitted cotton fabrics is influenced by the fabric pretreatments, the most noticeable being the appearance related quality, i.e., the line width. The print quality on these pretreated cotton fabrics was not significantly affected by the fabric structure and the hydrophilicity of the fabric surfaces as long as the pretreatment can give cotton fabrics a balanced hydrophilic/hydrophobic character. From these studies it is concluded that digital textile printing quality can be optimized with appropriate pretreatments. For the plain cotton weave and knit fabrics studied, a pretreatment containing 2% alginate, 2% silicone softener and 1% silica shows good balance in colorant retention and line width control.