Method for applying patterns to cloth using printing techniques
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Textile printing is the process of applying color to fabric in definite patterns or designs. In properly printed fabrics the colour is bonded with the fibre, so as to resist washing and friction. Textile printing is related to dyeing but in dyeing properly the whole fabric is uniformly covered with one colour, whereas in printing one or more colours are applied to it in certain parts only, and in sharply defined patterns.[1]
In printing, wooden blocks, stencils, engraved plates, rollers, or silkscreens can be used to place colours on the fabric. Colourants used in printing contain dyes thickened to prevent the colour from spreading by capillary attraction beyond the limits of a pattern or design.
History
Woodblock printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and probably originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper. As a method of printing on cloth, the earliest surviving examples from China date to before 220 CE/AD.[citation needed]
Textile printing was known in Europe, via the Islamic world, from about the 12th century, and was widely used. However, the European dyes tended to liquify, which restricted the use of printed patterns. Fairly large and ambitious designs were printed for decorative purposes such as wall-hangings and lectern-cloths, where this was less of a problem as they did not need washing. When paper became common, the technology was rapidly used on that for woodcutprints.[2] Superior cloth was also imported from Islamic countries, but this was much more expensive.
Woodblock printing has a rich history and has evolved over time. In Japan, it became a highly respected art form called ukiyo-e, creating famous works like Hokusai's "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa" (circa 1830-1832) [1]. In Europe, it influenced other printing techniques like engraving and etching. Today, artists and craftspeople still use and innovate woodblock printing, keeping this ancient technique alive.
The Incas of Peru, Chile and the Aztecs of Mexico also practiced textile printing previous to the Spanish Invasion in 1519.[3]
During the later half of the 17th century the French brought directly by sea, from their colonies on the east coast of India, samples of Indian blue and white resist prints, and along with them, particulars of the processes by which they had been produced, which produced washable fabrics.[3]
As early as the 1630s, the East India Company was bringing in printed and plain cotton for the English market. By the 1660s British printers and dyers were making their own printed cotton to sell at home, printing single colours on plain backgrounds; less colourful than the imported prints, but more to the taste of the British. Designs were also sent to India for their craftspeople to copy for export back to England. There were many dyehouses in England in the latter half of the 17th century, Lancaster being one area and on the River Lea near London another. Plain cloth was put through a prolonged bleaching process which prepared the material to receive and hold applied colour; this process vastly improved the colour durability of English calicoes and required a great deal of water from nearby rivers. One dyehouse was started by John Meakins, a London Quaker who lived in Cripplegate. When he died, he passed his dyehouse to his son-in-law Benjamin Ollive, Citizen and Dyer, who moved the dye-works to Bromley Hall where it remained in the family until 1823, known as Benjamin Ollive and Company, Ollive & Talwin, Joseph Talwin & Company and later Talwin & Foster. Samples of their fabrics and designs can be found in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Smithsonian Copper-Hewett in New York.[citation needed]
On the continent of Europe the commercial importance of calico printing seems to have been almost immediately recognized, and in consequence it spread and developed there much more rapidly than in England, where it was neglected for nearly ninety years after its introduction. During the last two decades of the 17th century and the earlier ones of the 18th new dye works were started in France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. It was only in 1738 that calico printing was first, practiced in Scotland, and not until twenty-six years later that Messrs Clayton of Bamber Bridge, near Preston, established in 1764 the first print-works in Lancashire, and thus laid the foundation of the industry.[3]
From an artistic point of view most of the pioneer work in calico printing was done by the French. From the early days of the industry down to the latter half of the 20th century, the productions of the French printers in Jouy, Beauvais, Rouen, and in Alsace-Lorraine, were looked upon as representing all that was best in artistic calico printing.[4]
Methods
Traditional textile printing techniques may be broadly categorized into four styles:
Direct printing, in which colourants containing dyes, thickeners, and the mordants or substances necessary for fixing the colour on the cloth are printed in the desired pattern.
The printing of a mordant in the desired pattern prior to dyeing cloth; the colour adheres only where the mordant was printed.
Resist dyeing, in which a wax or other substance is printed onto fabric which is subsequently dyed. The waxed areas do not accept the dye, leaving uncoloured patterns against a coloured ground.
Discharge printing, in which a bleaching agent is printed onto previously dyed fabrics to remove some or all of the colour.
Resist and discharge techniques were particularly fashionable in the 19th century, as were combination techniques in which indigo resist was used to create blue backgrounds prior to block-printing of other colours.[5] Modern industrial printing mainly uses direct printing techniques.
The printing process does involve several stages in order to prepare the fabric and printing paste, and to fix the impression permanently on the fabric:
pre-treatment of fabric,
preparation of colours,
preparation of printing paste,
impression of paste on fabric using printing methods,
drying of fabric,
fixing the printing with steam or hot air (for pigments),
after process treatments.
Preparation of cloth for printing
Cloth is prepared by washing and bleaching. For a coloured ground it is then dyed. The cloth has always to be brushed, to free it from loose nap, flocks and dust that it picks up whilst stored. Frequently, too, it has to be sheared by being passed over rapidly revolving knives arranged spirally round an axle, which rapidly and effectually cuts off all filaments and knots, leaving the cloth perfectly smooth and clean and in a condition fit to receive impressions of the most delicate engraving. Some fabrics require very careful stretching and straightening on a stenter before they are wound around hollow wooden or iron centers into rolls of convenient size for mounting on the printing machines.[6]
The art of making colours for textile printing demands both chemical knowledge and extensive technical experience, for their ingredients must not only be in proper proportion to each other, but also specially chosen and compounded for the particular style of work in hand. A colour must comply to conditions such as shade, quality and fastness; where more colours are associated in the same design each must be capable of withstanding the various operations necessary for the development and fixation of the others. All printing pastes whether containing colouring matter or not are known technically as colours.[6]
Colours vary considerably in composition. Most of them contain all the elements necessary for direct production and fixation. Some, however, contain the colouring matter alone and require various after-treatments; and others again are simply thickened mordants. A mordant is a metallic salt or other substance that combines with the dye to form an insoluble colour, either directly by steaming, or indirectly by dyeing. All printing colours require thickening to enable them to be transferred from colour-box to cloth without running or spreading beyond the limits of the pattern.[6]
Thickening agents
The printing thickeners used depend on the printing technique, the fabric and the particular dyestuff . Typical thickening agents are starch derivatives, flour, gum arabic, guar gum derivatives, tamarind, sodium alginate, sodium polyacrylate, gum Senegal and gum tragacanth, British gum or dextrin and albumen.
Hot-water-soluble thickening agents such as native starch are made into pastes by boiling in double or jacketed pans. Most thickening agents used today are cold-soluble and require only extensive stirring.
Starch paste
Starch paste is made from wheat starch, cold water, and olive oil, then thickened by boiling. Non-modified starch is applicable to all but strongly alkaline or strongly acid colours. With the former it thickens up to a stiff unworkable jelly. In the case of the latter, while mineral acids or acid salts convert it into dextrin, thus diminishing its viscosity or thickening power, organic acids do not have that effect.[6] Today, modified carboxymethylated cold soluble starches are mainly used. These have a stable viscosity and are easy to rinse out of the fabric and give reproducible "short" paste rheology.
Flour paste is made in a similar way to starch paste; it is sometimes used to thicken aluminum and iron mordants.[6] Starch paste resists of rice flour have been used for several centuries in Japan.
Gums
Gum arabic and gum Senegal are both traditional thickenings, but expense prevents them from being used for any but pale, delicate tints. They are especially useful thickenings for the light ground colours of soft muslins and 9 penetrate as well into the fibre of the cloth or as deeply as pure starch or flour and is unsuitable for very dark, strong colours.[6]
Gum tragacanth, or Dragon, which may be mixed in any proportion with starch or flour, is equally useful for pigment colours and mordant colours. When added to a starch paste it increases its penetrative power and adds to its softness without diminishing its thickness, making it easier to wash out of the fabric. It produces much more even colours than does starch paste alone. Used by itself it is suitable for printing all kinds of dark grounds on goods that are required to retain their soft "clothy" feel.[6]
Starch always leaves the printed cloth somewhat harsh in feeling (unless modified carboxymethylated starches are used), but very dark colours can be obtained. Gum Senegal, gum arabic or modified guar gum thickening yield clearer and more even tints than does starch, suitable for lighter colours but less suited for very dark colours. (The gums apparently prevent the colours from combining fully with the fibers.) A printing stock solution is mostly a combination of modified starch and gum stock solutions.[6]
Albumen
Albumen is both a thickening and a fixing agent for insoluble pigments. Chrome yellow, the ochres, vermilion and ultramarine are such pigments. Albumen is always dissolved in the cold, a process that takes several days when large quantities are required. Egg albumen is expensive and only used for the lightest shades. Blood albumen solution is used in cases when very dark colours are required to be absolutely fast to washing. After printing, albumen thickened colours are exposed to hot steam, which coagulates the albumen and effectually fixes the colours.[7]
Printing paste preparation
Combinations of cold water-soluble carboxymethylated starch, guar gum and tamarind derivatives are most commonly used today in disperse screen printing on polyester. Alginates are used for cotton printing with reactive dyes, sodium polyacrylates for pigment printing, and in the case of vat dyes on cotton only carboxymethylated starch is used.
Formerly, colours were always prepared for printing by boiling the thickening agent, the colouring matter and solvents, together, then cooling and adding various fixing agents. At the present time, however, concentrated solutions of the colouring matters and other adjuncts are often simply added to the cold thickenings, of which large quantities are kept in stock. Colours are reduced in shade by simply adding more stock (printing) paste. For example, a dark blue containing 4 oz. of methylene blue per gallon may readily be made into a pale shade by adding to it thirty times its bulk of starch paste or gum, as the case may be. The procedure is similar for other colours.[7]
Before printing it is essential to strain or sieve all colours in order to free them from lumps, fine sand, and other impurities, which would inevitably damage the highly polished surface of the engraved rollers and result in bad printing. Every scratch on the surface of a roller prints a fine line on the cloth, and too much care, therefore, cannot be taken to remove, as far as possible, all grit and other hard particles from every colour.[7]
Straining is usually done by squeezing the colour through filter cloths like artisanal fine cotton, silk or industrial woven nylon. Fine sieves can also be employed for colours that are used hot or are very strongly alkaline or acid.[7]
Methods of printing
There are eight distinct methods presently used to impress coloured patterns on cloth:
Woman doing block printing at Halasur village, Karnataka, India.Wood handstamp for the textile printing of traditional paisley designs, Isfahan, Iran
This process is the earliest, simplest and slowest of all printing methods. A design is drawn on, or transferred to, prepared wooden blocks. A separate block is required for each distinct colour in the design. A block cutter carves out the wood around the heavier masses first, leaving the finer and more delicate work until the last so as to avoid any risk of injuring it when the coarser parts are cut. When finished, the block has the appearance of a flat relief carving, with the design standing out. Fine details, difficult to cut in wood, are built up in strips of brass or copper, which is bent to shape and driven edgewise into the flat surface of the block. This method is known as coppering.[1]
The printer applies colour to the block and presses it firmly and steadily on the cloth, striking it smartly on the back with a wooden mallet. The second impression is made in the same way, the printer taking care to see that it registers exactly with the first. Pins at each corner of the block join up exactly, so that the pattern can continue without a break. Each succeeding impression is made in precisely the same manner until the length of cloth is fully printed. The cloth is then wound over drying rollers. If the pattern contains several colours the cloth is first printed throughout with one colour, dried, and then printed with the next.[1]
Block printing by hand is a slow process. It is, however, capable of yielding highly artistic results, some of which are unobtainable by any other method.[8]William Morris used this technique in some of his fabrics.
This process was patented by Thomas Bell in 1785, fifteen years after his use of an engraved plate to print textiles. Bell's patent was for a machine to print six colours at once, but, probably owing to its incomplete development, it was not immediately successful. One colour could be printed with satisfactorily; the difficulty was to keep the six rollers in register with each other. This defect was overcome by Adam Parkinson of Manchester in 1785. That year, Bells machine with Parkinson's improvement was successfully employed by Messrs Livesey, Hargreaves and Company of Bamber Bridge, Preston, for the printing of calico in from two to six colours at a single operation.[8]
Roller printing was highly productive, 10,000 to 12,000 yards being commonly printed in one day of ten hours by a single-colour machine. It is capable of reproducing every style of design, ranging from the fine delicate lines of copperplate engraving to the small repeats and limited colours of the perrotine to the broadest effects of block printing with repeats from 1 in to 80 inches. It is precise, so each portion of an elaborate multicolour pattern can be fitted into its proper place without faulty joints at the points of repetition.[9]
Stencil printing
The art of stenciling on textile fabrics has been practiced from time immemorial by the Japanese, and found increasing employment in Europe for certain classes of decorative work on woven goods during the late 19th century. A pattern is cut from a sheet of stout paper or thin metal with a sharp-pointed knife, the uncut portions representing the part that will be left uncoloured. The sheet is laid on the fabric and colour is brushed through its interstices. The peculiarity of stenciled patterns is that they have to be held together by ties. For instance, a complete circle cannot be cut without its centre dropping out, so its outline has to be interrupted at convenient points by ties or uncut portions. This limitation influences the design.[9]
For single-colour work a stenciling machine was patented in 1894 by S. H. Sharp. It consists of an endless stencil plate of thin sheet steel that passes continuously over a revolving cast iron cylinder. The cloth to be ornamented passes between the two and the colour is forced onto it through the holes in the stencil by mechanical means.[9]
Screen-printing
Screen printing is by far the most common technology today. Two types exist: rotary screen printing and flat (bed) screen printing. A blade (squeegee) squeezes the printing paste through openings in the screen onto the fabric.
Digital textile printing
Digital textile printing is often referred to as direct-to-garment printing (DTG printing), or digital garment printing. It is a process of printing on textiles and garments using specialized or modified inkjet technology. Inkjet printing on fabric is also possible with an inkjet printer by using fabric sheets with a removable paper backing. Today, major inkjet technology manufacturers can offer specialized products designed for direct printing on textiles, not only for sampling but also for bulk production. Since the early 1990s, inkjet technology and specially developed water-based ink (known as dye-sublimation or disperse direct ink) have made it possible to print directly onto polyester fabric. This is mainly related to visual communication in retail and brand promotion (flags, banners and other point of sales applications). Printing onto nylon and silk can be done by using an acid ink. Reactive ink is used for cellulose based fibers such as cotton and linen. Inkjet technology in digital textile printing allows for single pieces, mid-run production and even long-run alternatives to screen printed fabric.[citation needed]
A similar printing method: Direct-To-Film printing (DTF printing) can also make the digital textile printing. The difference from DTG printing is that DTF printing first prints on a special transfer film while DTG printing prints on the substrate. One of the advantage of DTF printing is that it is more cost effective.
Flexo textile printing
Flexo textile printing on textile fabric was successful in China in the last 4 years[when?]. Central Impression Flexo, Rubber Sleeves as the printing plate in round engraved by laser (Direct Laser Engraving), Anilox in Sleeve technologies are applicated in the area. Not only the solid, but also 6 to 8 colours in fine register, higher resolution ratio and higher productivity which are the outstanding advantages extraordinary different from the traditional screen textile printing. Aerospace Huayang, Hell system, SPGPrints and Felix Böttcher contributed their technologies and efforts.[citation needed]
Other methods of printing
Although most work is executed throughout by one or another of the seven distinct processes mentioned above, combinations are frequently employed. Sometimes a pattern is printed partly by machine and partly by block, and sometimes a cylindrical block is used along with engraved copper-rollers in an ordinary printing machine. The block in this latter case is in all respects, except for shape, identical with a flat wood or coppered block, but, instead of being dipped in colour, it receives its supply from an endless blanket, one part of which works in contact with colour-furnishing rollers and the other part with the cylindrical block. This block is known as a surface or peg roller. Many attempts have been made to print multicolour patterns with surface rollers alone, but hitherto with little success, owing to their irregularity in action and to the difficulty of preventing them from warping. These defects are not present in the printing of linoleum in which opaque oil colours are used, colours that neither sink into the body of the hard linoleum nor tend to warp the roller.[9]
Lithographic printing has been applied to textile fabrics with qualified success. Its irregularity and the difficulty of registering repeats have restricted its use to the production of decorative panels, equal or smaller in size to the plate or stone.[9]
Calico printing
Goods intended for calico printing are well-bleached; otherwise stains and other serious defects are certain to arise during subsequent operations.[6]
The chemical preparations used for special styles will be mentioned in their proper places; but a general prepare, employed for most colours that are developed and fixed by steaming only, consists in passing the bleached calico through a weak solution of sulphated or turkey red oil containing 2.5 to 5 percent fatty acid. Some colours are printed on pure bleached cloth, but all patterns containing alizarin red, rose and salmon shades are considerably brightened by the presence of oil, and indeed very few, if any, colours are detrimentally affected by it.[6]
The cloth is always brushed to free it from loose nap, flocks and dust that it picks up whilst stored. Frequently, too, it has to be sheared by being passed over rapidly revolving knives arranged spirally round an axle, which rapidly and effectually cuts off all filaments and knots, leaving the cloth perfectly smooth and clean. It is then stentered, wound onto a beam, and mounting on the printing machines.[6]
Woollen printing
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The printing of wool differs little from the printing of cotton in general. Most of the colours employed in the one industry are used in the other, and the operations of steaming, washing and soaping are almost identical. Unlike cotton, however, wool requires special preparation, after bleaching, if the full tinctorial value of the colours is to be obtained.[10]
Two quite different methods of preparation are used, namely (1) the chlorination of the wool; and (2) the precipitation of stannic acid on the fibre. In the first method the woollen fabric is first passed through a solution of bleaching powder, then well squeezed and passed, without washing, into dilute sulphuric or hydrochloric acid, squeezed again and well washed in water, after which it is dried. Great care and experience are demanded in this operation to prevent the wool from becoming hard and yellow. In the second method the cloth is padded in sodium stannate, well squeezed, passed into dilute sulphuric acid, well washed and dried. For certain styles of work it is necessary to combine both preparations.[10]
Although alizarin, mordant colours and dyewood extracts can be used on wool, the vast majority of patterns printed on wool are executed by means of acid dye-stuffs and basic colours, for both of which this fibre possesses a natural affinity. In most cases therefore these colours are simply dissolved in a little acetic and citric acids, thickened with gum and printed without any further addition. The addition of tannic acid, however, can be made to, and considerably increases the fastness of, the basic dyes. Mordant colours like logwood black are applied in the usual way. The printing of wool is carried out exactly as for cotton, but if the best results are to be obtained, the engraving of the rollers must be deep, the blanket on the machine as solt as possible, and the drying of the printed cloth very gentle. After printing, the goods are steamed in moist steam or wrapped between moistened "greys" and steamed in a "cottage" steamer. If too little moisture is given, the colours lack both strength and brilliancy; if too much they run. The correct degree of dampness can only he determined by experience of the work, combined with a special knowledge of the particular apparatus employed.
After steaming, the printed goods are washed in plenty of water, then dried up and. finished with a little glycerol or some waxy preparation.[10]
Discharges may be very easily obtained on wool dyed in acid dye-stuffs, by means of stannous chloride and basic colours for the coloured effect, and hydrosulphite for the white.[10]
Silk printing
The colours and methods employed are the same as for wool, except that in the case of silk no preparation of the material is required before printing, and ordinary dry steaming is preferable to damp steaming.[10]
Both acid and basic dyes play an important role in silk printing, which for the most part is confined to the production of articles for fashion goods, handkerchiefs, and scarves, all articles for which bright colours are in demand. Alizarine and other mordant colours are mainly used for any goods that have to resist repeated washings or prolonged exposure to light. In this case the silk frequently must be prepared in alizarine oil, after which it is treated in all respects like cotton, namely steamed, washed and soaped, the colours used being the same.[10]
Silk is especially adapted to discharge and reserve effects. Most of the acid dyes can be discharged in the same way as when they are dyed on wool. Reserved effects are produced by printing mechanical resists, such as waxes and fats, on the cloth and then dyeing it in cold dye-liquor. The great affinity of the silk fibre for basic and acid dyestuffs enables it to extract colouring matter from cold solutions and permanently combine with it to form an insoluble lake. After dyeing, the reserve prints are washed, first in cold water to remove any colour not fixed onto the fibre, and then in hot water or benzene to dissolve out the resisting bodies.[10]
After steaming, silk goods are normally only washed in hot water, but those printed entirely in mordant dyes will stand soaping, and indeed require it to brighten the colours and soften the material.[10]
Some silk dyes do not require heat setting or steaming. They strike instantly, allowing the designer to dye colour upon colour. These dyes are intended mostly for silk scarf dyeing. They also dye bamboo, rayon, linen, and some other natural fabrics like hemp and wool to a lesser extent, but do not set on cotton.[citation needed]
Artificial fibre printing
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Calico is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than canvas or denim. However, it is still very cheap owing to its unfinished and undyed appearance.
A mordant or dye fixative is a substance used to set dyes on fabrics. It does this by forming a coordination complex with the dye, which then attaches to the fabric. It may be used for dyeing fabrics or for intensifying stains in cell or tissue preparations. Although mordants are still used, especially by small batch dyers, they have been largely displaced in industry by directs.
Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods such as clothing, household items, upholstery and various industrial products.
Bandhani is a type of tie-dye textile decorated by plucking the cloth with the fingernails into many tiny bindings that form a figurative design. Today, most Bandhani making centers are situated in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Sindh, Punjab region and in Tamil Nadu where it is known as Sungudi. It is known as chunri in Pakistan. Earliest evidence of Bandhani dates back to Indus Valley civilization where dyeing was done as early as 4000 B.C. The earliest example of the most pervasive type of Bandhani dots can be seen in the 6th century paintings depicting the life of Buddha found on the wall of Cave at Ajanta. Bandhani is also known as Bandhej Saree, Bandhni, Piliya, and Chungidi in Tamil and regional dialects. Other tying techniques include Mothra, Ekdali and Shikari depending on the manner in which the cloth is tied. The final products are known with various names including Khombi, Ghar Chola, Patori and Chandrokhani.
The manufacture of textiles is one of the oldest of human technologies. To make textiles, the first requirement is a source of fiber from which a yarn can be made, primarily by spinning. The yarn is processed by knitting or weaving, which turns it into cloth. The machine used for weaving is the loom. For decoration, the process of colouring yarn or the finished material is dyeing. For more information of the various steps, see textile manufacturing.
Resist dyeing (resist-dyeing) is a traditional method of dyeing textiles with patterns. Methods are used to "resist" or prevent the dye from reaching all the cloth, thereby creating a pattern and ground. The most common forms use wax, some type of paste made from starch or mud, or a mechanical resist that manipulates the cloth such as tying or stitching. Another form of resist involves using a dye containing a chemical agent that will repel another type of dye printed over the top. The best-known varieties today include tie-dye, batik, and ikat.
The textile bleaching is one of the steps in the textile manufacturing process. The objective of bleaching is to remove the natural color for the following steps such as dyeing or printing or to achieve full white. All raw textile materials, when they are in natural form, are known as 'greige' material. They have their natural color, odor and impurities that are not suited to clothing materials. Not only the natural impurities will remain in the greige material, but also the add-ons that were made during its cultivation, growth and manufacture in the form of pesticides, fungicides, worm killers, sizes, lubricants, etc. The removal of these natural coloring matters and add-ons during the previous state of manufacturing is called scouring and bleaching.
Woodblock printing on textiles is the process of printing patterns on fabrics, typically linen, cotton, or silk, by means of carved wooden blocks.
Roller printing, also called cylinder printing or machine printing, on fabrics is a textile printing process patented by Thomas Bell of Scotland in 1783 in an attempt to reduce the cost of the earlier copperplate printing. This method was used in Lancashire fabric mills to produce cotton dress fabrics from the 1790s, most often reproducing small monochrome patterns characterized by striped motifs and tiny dotted patterns called "machine grounds".
In textile manufacturing, finishing refers to the processes that convert the woven or knitted cloth into a usable material and more specifically to any process performed after dyeing the yarn or fabric to improve the look, performance, or "hand" (feel) of the finish textile or clothing. The precise meaning depends on context.
Natural dyes are dyes or colorants derived from plants, invertebrates, or minerals. The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes from plant sources—roots, berries, bark, leaves, and wood—and other biological sources such as fungi.
Wet Processing Engineering is one of the major streams in Textile Engineering or Textile manufacturing which refers to the engineering of textile chemical processes and associated applied science. The other three streams in textile engineering are yarn engineering, fabric engineering, and apparel engineering. The processes of this stream are involved or carried out in an aqueous stage. Hence, it is called a wet process which usually covers pre-treatment, dyeing, printing, and finishing.
Shweshwe is a printed dyed cotton fabric widely used for traditional Southern African clothing. Originally dyed indigo, the fabric is manufactured in a variety of colours and printing designs characterised by intricate geometric patterns. Due to its popularity, shweshwe has been described as the denim, or tartan, of South Africa.
Bagh print is a traditional Indian handicraft originating in Bagh, Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, India. The process is characterised by hand printed wood block relief prints with naturally sourced pigments and dyes. Bagh print motifs are typically geometric, paisley, or floral compositions design, dyed with vegetable colours of red and black over a white background, and is a popular textile printing product. Its name is derived from the village Bagh located on the banks of the Bagh River.
Yūzen (友禅) is a Japanese resist dyeing technique where dyes are applied inside outlines of dyed or undyed rice-paste resist, which may be drawn freehand or stencilled; the paste keeps the dye areas separated. Originating in the 17th century, the technique became popular as both a way of subverting sumptuary laws on dress fabrics, and also as a way to quickly produce kimono that appeared to be painted freehand with dyes. The technique was named after Miyazaki Yūzen (宮崎友禅), a 17th century fan painter who perfected the technique. Miyazaki Yūzen's fan designs became so popular that a book called the yūzen-hiinagata was published in 1688, showing similar patterns applied to kosode. A fashion for elaborate pictorial yūzen designs lasted until 1692.
William Morris (1834-1898), a founder of the British Arts and Crafts movement, sought to restore the prestige and methods of hand-made crafts, including textiles, in opposition to the 19th century tendency toward factory-produced textiles. With this goal in mind, he created his own workshop and designed dozens of patterns for hand-produced woven and printed cloth, upholstery, and other textiles.
Scouring is a preparatory treatment of certain textile materials. Scouring removes soluble and insoluble impurities found in textiles as natural, added and adventitious impurities: for example, oils, waxes, fats, vegetable matter, as well as dirt. Removing these contaminants through scouring prepares the textiles for subsequent processes such as bleaching and dyeing. Though a general term, "scouring" is most often used for wool. In cotton, it is synonymously called "boiling out", and in silk, and "boiling off.
Dunging was a process used in textile manufacturing to finish printed textiles, particularly those printed with aluminium or iron mordants. It was a process of exposing mordanted products into a solution of cow dung and hot water. Dunging was used to fix mordants as well as remove unfixed mordants and thickening agents from the fabric.
Ageing is a kind of after treatment process for certain printed textile materials in which the goods are exposed to warm and moist atmosphere. Steaming is an evolved way to obtain the intended results. The objectives of the ageing process include the developing and fixing of the mordants and colors.
Delaine was a kind of mixed cloth with cotton warp and wool in the weft. Delaines have many variations such as made of undyed yarns, and also printed or piece dyed. Delaine was a type of cloth used to manufacture women's dresses that was traded in the nineteenth century under many names to suit importers and traders. Moreover, it appeared that the plaintiffs' goods differed from delaines in various other respects.
This articleincorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:Knecht, Edmund; Cole, Alan Summerly (1911). "Textile-printing". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol.26 (11thed.). Cambridge University Press. pp.694–708. The article has a detailed description of the history and contemporaneous technologies of textile printing.
Collier, Ann M. (1970), A Handbook of Textiles, Pergamon Press, p.258, ISBN0-08-018057-4, 0 08 018056 6
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