What is Printing?

Printing has often been described as dyeing in a localised, patterned design.

Textile printing utilizes the same dyes or pigments applied to produce a dyed
fabric. The same principles of specific dye classes having select fibre affinities
and the general fastness characteristics apply equally to printing as to dyeing.
Dyes or pigments used in dyeing are usually in a water bath solution. When the
same dyes or pigments are used for printing, they must be thickened with
gums or starches to prevent the wicking or flowing of the print design. The
thickend solution, about the consisitency of heavy buttermilk, is called the
print paste
Methods of Printing
There are several methods for printing of textiles. Two are of significant
commercial importance: heat transfer printing, is of less significance. Other
printing methods, not widely used in commercial production of textiles, are
block and batik printing. Many textile printers print fabrics in both screen and
roller methods, with some also installing heat transfer systems.
 BLOCK PRINTING
Block printing is making use of a carved piece of wood or any other type of wooden
block to imprint an image on fabric or paper. In the early days of printing, it was used
to print entire books. It is the oldest and simplest way of printing
In this method a wooden block with a raised pattern on the surface was dipped into
the printing colorant and then pressed face down on to fabric. The desired pattern
was obtained by repeating the process using different colors. Generally, the wooden
block is carved out of hand, Printing is done manually
Today the process of block printing is popularly associated with making designs on
fabrics by printing on them, with the help of a block made for that purpose.
Woodblock printing is the process of printing patterns on textiles; like linen, cotton or
silk by using wooden blocks. It is the simplest, but the slowest process of textile
printing. Hand block printing is capable of yielding higher artistic results, some of
which are not possible by any other designing method. Earlier, the design for the
hand block was usually a traditional Indian motif; however, now any design can be
engraved on the block to hand print the fabric. Rajasthan is home to hand block
printing. This technique of block printing is used in both fashion and interior industry.
Good wood block printing requires skill and practice in order to create uniformity and
clear patterns.

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
1. Simple method of printing 1. Involves much manual work
2. No expensive equipment required 2. Method is slow and therefore low
output
3. No limitation in repeat of size of style
3. Good skilled labors needed for multi
4. Prints produced have great
color design
decorative value and stamp of
craftsmanship 4. Fine and delicate designs hard to
produce
ROLLER PRINTING

Printing can also be defined as localized dyeing. Roller printing, also called cylinder
printing or machine printing, on fabrics is a textile printing process. Invented by:
Thomas Bell of Scotland in 1783. It is a modern continuous printing technique. This
was introduced in an attempt to reduce the cost of the earlier copperplate printing.
In this machine counterpart of block printing, engraved Cu cylinders or rollers are
used in place of hand carved blocks. In this method, a heavy copper cylinder (roller)
is engraved with the print design by carving the design into the copper. Copper is
soft, so once the design is engraved, the roller is electroplated with chrome for
durability.
Engraved copperplate printing the printing of textiles from engraved copperplates
was first practiced by Bell in 1770. It was entirely obsolete. The presses first used
were of the ordinary letterpress type, the engraved plate being fixed in the place of
the type. In later improvements the well-known cylinder press was employed; the
plate was inked mechanically and cleaned off by passing under a sharp blade of
steel; and the cloth, instead of being laid on the plate, was passed round the
pressure cylinder.
The plate was raised into frictional contact with the cylinder and in passing under it
transferred its ink to the cloth. The great difficulty in plate printing was to make the
various impressions join up exactly; and, as this could never be done with any
certainty, the process was eventually confined to patterns complete in one repeat,
such as handkerchiefs, or those made up of widely separated objects in which no
repeat is visible, like, for instance, patterns composed of little sprays, spots
It gives higher production without rotary screen-printing machine.14 colors can be
used for printing. Even Medium designs can be produced. It can be used for printing
any style. Any color is used for printing without higher alkali or conc. Acid. Higher
production by using single color. Complex design is possible.
Operation This machine has a main cylinder that is fitted with a large gear. In this
printing, the print paste is supplied from reservoirs to rotating copper rollers, which
are engraved with the desired design. These rollers contact a main cylinder roller
that transports the fabric. By contacting the rollers and the fabric, the design is
transferred to the fabric.
Engraved rollers Solid and shell engraved rollers are available which varies in length.
When the copper engraved rollers are chromium or nickel plated their lives can be
considerably lengthened.
As many as 16 rollers can be available per print machine, each roller imprints one
repeat of the design. As the roller spins, a doctor blade in continuous mode scrapes
the excess of paste back to the color trough.
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
1. Best suited for long production 1. Size of pattern is limited to 16 inch
runs for same pattern. for apparel and 22 inch for home
2. Best method for fine line patterns. furnishing.
3. Can produce half tones and fall of 2. Difficult to produce blotch designs.
effects. 3. Uneconomical for short runs.
4. Can print woven fabrics, knitted 4. Setup cost of roller printing m/c is
fabrics require small handling. high. Long production delays in
pattern changeover. Engraving is
expensive.
SCREEN PRINTING

It involves the application of the printing paste through a fine screen placed in contact with
the fabric to be printed. A design is created in reverse on the screen by blocking areas of the
screen with a material such as an opaque paint. The screen is then placed over the fabric
and the printing paste is forced through the open areas of the screen using a flexible
synthetic rubber or steel blade known as a squeegee.

In this process, the ink is pushed through a mesh or stencil to print a particular
design on the desired material. Either by cutouts or by an impermeable material, the
liquid only transfers to the areas the screen permits. Only one colour can be applied
at a time so a screen must be made for each (more on this when we talk about the
process).
When it comes to screen printing, natural fabrics seem to do better than synthetic
ones. Simply because they absorb liquids better, leaving a vibrant print behind. The
second group is usually made out of plastic and oil, which have a tendency to repel
water. Since they are very small particles, you’d still be able to print somewhat onto
them, but the result won’t be as spectacular as it could be. If you don’t know what
kind of fabric to pick, stick to cotton. It is the absolute king. Understandably, you
won’t always be able to use 100% cotton since they tend to be more expensive.
Then your second-best choice would be a blend of cotton with something like
polyester. 80% – 20%, 70% – 30%, 50% – 50% — the more cotton it has, the better
the end result will be. But keep in mind that even if you use 100% cotton, the end
result may vary depending on the consistency of the fabric. Thicker materials are
heavier and tend to absorb more ink, resulting in rich colours that will outlast those of
thinner materials. Finer and shinier fabrics absorb less ink which results in a ‘washed
out’ print.

PROCESS

Coating of screen with sensitising agent in dark

Drying at room temperature in dark

Preparation of design

Exposing the screen in light with the design in between

Hardening of the exposed area in light

Washing of unexposed area (design) with cold water

Drying
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGE
Simple and cost effective. For high production large no. of tables
required.
Quick pattern making
Delicate shading difficult to obtain.
16 colors can be used in a design.
Screen clogging may be there in fine
Sharp lines and features easily produced.
areas
BATIK PRINTING
The term "Batik" is an Indonesian-Malay word. Batik is a process of decorating cloth
by covering a part of it with a coat of wax and then dyeing the cloths. The waxed
areas keep their original color and when the wax is removed the contrast between
the dyed and undyed areas gives the pattern. One of the significant features of this
art is that it is very simple and can be done by anyone. Colourful batik prints grace
the home furnishings with elegance and style. Beautiful bags, household linens,
murals and wall paintings with striking batik works enjoy a great demand in the
domestic and international market. The batik wall hangings accentuate the walls with
their bright colors and motifs. Batik has also made its mark as impressive textile
products. Batik printed Kurtis, saris and wrappers are the preferred choices of the
fashion crazy populace.
Originated on island of Java and is a cottage-based industry.Batik is derived from
word “AMBATIK”.The resist-dyeing process, whereby designs are made with wax on
a fabric which is subsequently immersed in a dye to absorb the color on the
unwaxed portions, is known as batik printing.Special feature is the fine lines of color
running irregularly across the fabric.
 ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

Gives a good artistic effect Laborious

Cheap printing Time taking
Greater artistic design Cracking effect
Fabric has a rich and graceful Dye should be applied at low
appearance temperature than wax.

DYEING

Dyeing is required to makes textiles more attractive or improve the aesthetic appeal
and improve or incorporate the camouflage properties. Dyeing is the application of
color on ENTIRE lot of textiles. The form of textile could be fibre yarn, tops(wool),
fabric (piece dyeing), or garments etc.
Applying the color to the Textile (fibre, yarn, fabric or garments) usually by immersing
in liquor bath.
YARN DYEING
Dyeing of textiles at yarn stage is called yarn dyeing. yarn dyeing is done for
manufacturing stripes, checks and multi-colour Jacquard fabrics. Yarn dyeing is the
dyeing of the yarns before they have been woven or knitted into fabrics. Yarn dyeing
is used to create interesting checks, stripes and plaids with different-coloured yarns in
the weaving process. In yarn dyeing, dyestuff penetrates the fibres in the core of the
yarn. Yarn dyeing is slightly difference from woven or knit dyeing. Dyed yarns are used
for making stripe knit or woven fabrics or solid dyed yarn fabric or in sweater
manufacturing. Yarns are dyed in package form or hank form by yarn dyeing process .
 1. PACKAGE DYEING

In package dyeing the yarn is wound on a small perforated spool or tube called a
package. Many spools fit into the dyeing machine in which the flow of the dye bath
alternates from the centre to the outside, and then from the outside to the centre of
the package. Package dyed yarns do not retain the softness and loftiness that skein-
dyed yarns do. They are however satisfactory and very widely used for most types of
yarns that are found in knitted and woven fabrics.
PACKAGE DYEING MACHINERY
Recent technological advances have resulted in the development of a sophisticated
as well as an economic process which has been amended to accurate controls and
automation. The need to dye polyester at temperatures above boil lead to enclosing
and strengthening the vessel so that it could operate up to 140 degrees Celsius
under pressure.

The yarn to be dyed is wound on perforated beams or tubes so that the dye bath can
be circulated through the package. Suited to dye fabrics of pure cotton, polyester,
polyester wool, polyamide, nylon, flax/cotton and wool yarn, as well as zippers.

2. SKEIN (HANK) DYEING

Yarn mat be prepared in skein, hank, form and then dyed. The loose arrangement of
the yarn allows for excellent dye penetration. The skeins are hung over a rung and
immersed in a dyebath in a large container. Skein dyeing is the most costly method of
yarn dyeing, but the color penetration is best and the yarn retain a softer, loftier hand.
Skein-dyed yarn is used to a considerable extent for suiting and dress goods.
MACHINERY FOR SKEIN DYEING
This is the most suitable machine for dyeing delicate yarns (Silk, Bemberg, etc.) since
it prevents the material being too tightly packed; in fact other skein dyeing systems
frequently produce an excessive packing of the dyed material. The machine is
equipped with horizontal arms perforated in the upper part; skeins are stacked and
suspended on this rack. The liquor, forced through the arm holes, penetrates the
skeins and is then collected in an underlying vat. Standard machines are equipped
with a rod which moves the skeins at preset times, changing the bearing point to obtain
a more uniform dyeing. During the skein motion, the flow of the liquor is stopped to
avoid the formation of tangles in the yarn; since yarns are not fixed to rigid supports,
they can thoroughly shrink. This machine does not run under pressure. It is possible
to dye at steady temperatures since the liquor is contained in a separate tank.

3. BEAM DYEING
Beam dyeing follows the same concept as package dyeing. Here instead of a
perforated package( as in package dyeing), the complete warp sheet is wound
onto a perforated cylinder, which is then placed in machine. The flow of the dye
 solution alternates from the centre of the outside and then from the outside to
the center of the cylinder. Usually for the fabric like denim, in which the complete
warp is one color (normally blues), it is most cost efficiently to dye. The entire
warp yarn in the beam dyeing method, instead of the package dyeing method.

Beam dyeing machinery

The beam dyeing machine is suited to process a wide range of knitted and woven
textiles. The fabric in open width is rolled on to a perforated beam, then
subsequently loaded into a vessel that is closed and pressurized. The dye
impregnates the fabric as the dye liquor is allowed to go on circulating through the
perforations (holes) in the beam. Usually the beam dyeing machines are designed to
hold a single beam.

The fabric is placed under controlled tension, and is wound on to a perforated beam.
This results in the elimination of creases on the fabric.

The fabric is restricted to non movement during the dyeing process. This means that
there is no mechanical application of action to the fabric, the actual dyeing process is
motionless. The fabric remains stationary in the vessel as the pressure of the pump
forces the dye liquor through the fabric roll.