Effects of surface structure and substrate color on color differences in textile coatings containing effect pigments

Textiles with dynamically color-changing effects depending on the observation angle were achieved by applying a coating paste containing multicolor effect pigments using a knife-over-table coating method. Black and white textile substrates with different structure characteristics depending on yarn type (multifilament and spun) and thread count (high and low) were studied and compared to a paper test chart as a smooth reference. The influence of surface structures on effect pigment coatings were investigated and compared with TiO ₂ coatings. Scanning electron micrographs showed that the substrate surface roughness increased when constructed of multifilament yarns with high thread count, spun yarns with higher thread counts and spun yarns with lower thread counts. Multi-angle spectrophotometer measurements of effect pigment-coated samples showed that the color differences in form of the CIE L* a* b*-coordinates varied to great extents, depending on detection angles, surface roughness and color of the substrates, compared to TiO ₂ -pigment coatings with insignificant color-changing effects. The parallel alignment of effect pigment platelets was more easily achieved on the test chart. As a result, the color-changing effect was less intense on coated textiles. The effect were approximately reduced by half when coated on a substrate constructed of spun yarns compared to one made of multifilament yarns.