Improvement Fastnesses and Color Strength of Pigment Printed Textile Fabric

This paper focused on the improvement of fastnesses and color strength of pigment printed textile fabrics. To improve fastness and color strength of the polyester fabrics, atmospheric plasma treatment was used. Polyester fabric was treated with argon or air plasma at atmospheric pressure, and plasma pre-treatment effect on the pigment printing was evaluated. A printing paste comprising synthetic thickener, binder, and pigment was applied using a flat screen printing technique. The fabric was then dried and exposed to heat. The cured prints were evaluated for color property, color fastness to washing, and dry/wet rubbing. The effects of atmospheric plasma treatments were evaluated by XPS, SEM and AFM. When the properties of atmospheric plasma treated samples were compared to those of untreated sample, higher K/S values were obtained. Also, the fastness of treated samples increased between ½ and 1 point.