The inkjet printing process for Lyocell and cotton fibres. Part 1: The significance of pre-treatment chemicals and their relationship with colour strength, absorbed dye fixation and ink penetration

A statistical study of the outcome of inkjet printing, using a reactive dye based ink, on three cellulosic fabrics, namley Lyocell (standard Tencel and Tencel A100) and cotton, pre-treated with urea, migration inhibitor, penetration agent and alkali is reported. Colour strength (as Integ value), absorbed dye fixation and ink penetration were analysed as main responses. A full factorial design method was applied to study the effect of the level of each ingredient in the pre-treatment formulation on the responses, together with the steaming time used for dye fixation. The interactions between variables were also evaluated. The statistically significant variables were determined for each response and contour plots constructed for the most significant interactions to assess where the optimum responses might be achieved.