Influence of sublimation transfer printing on alterations in the structural and physical properties of knitted fabrics

Abstract The influence of sublimation transfer printing on alteration of the structural and physical properties of knitted fabrics was investigated in this research study. Seven different knitted fabrics, which differed in terms of structure and raw material composition (polyester, cotton and cotton/polyester), were printed using the sublimation transfer technique. For the sublimation of cotton/polyester and cotton knitted fabrics, a coating powder was used for paper modification with the aim to bond reactive ink to the natural fibres. The influence of yarn parameters, pattern and the density of knitted fabrics on the degree of changes after the printing process was considered. Smaller changes in structural and physical properties were recorded for polyester knitted fabrics, while major changes in structure were observed in knitted fabrics containing cotton fibres, where were weight gain and reduction in geometrical roughness values. In addition, a significant change in density was recorded for polyester printed knitted fabrics. The parameters that influenced the colour difference results for polyester knitted fabrics were the yarn parameters and the pattern. Significantly high colour difference values were obtained for cotton (from 7.9 to 14.2) and cotton/polyester (from 8.5 to 14.4) knitted fabrics. The main reason for the high colour difference results was the alteration in the structure of the knitted fabrics.