Jetting performance of two lactam compounds in reactive dye solution

Abstract

Digital inkjet printing technology has great significance in textiles. In this paper, influences of two additives on the dye aggregation and jetting performance of reactive dye solutions are investigated, and the mechanism is analyzed. We explored the physical properties and jetting performance of reactive dye solutions with 2-pyrrolidone (PY) or N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP) by testing UV–visible absorption spectrum, rheological properties, surface tension, and observing the droplet formation. The results showed that PY and NMP could inhibit the dye aggregation. Moreover, two lactam compounds decreased the surface tension and increased the viscosity of dye solutions by the interaction between lactam compounds and reactive dye. PY and NMP could reduce the generation of satellite droplets of dye solutions. In addition, 5% PY/Red 218 and 5% NMP/Red 218 solutions produced better color images on cotton fabrics.