Application of Xanthan Gum as a Pre-Treatment and Sharpness Evaluation for Inkjet Printing on Polyester

Abstract

Inkjet printing on polyester fabric displays versatile environmental advantages. One of the significant benefits of inkjet printing is a dramatic enhancement of the printing quality. In this study, xanthan gum—a bio-based thickening agent accompanied by several salts—was adopted for the pretreatment of polyester fabric aiming at improving the sharpness and color depth of inkjet printed patterns. The influences of four metal salts (NaCl, KCl, CaCl2 and MgCl2) on inkjet printing performance were studied. More importantly, a quantitative method for evaluating the sharpness of an inkjet printed pattern was established according to the characteristics of anisotropy and isotropy of diffusion and adsorption of ink droplets on a fiber surface. Results showed that xanthan gum along with a low dosage of bivalent salts can significantly improve the color depth (K/S value) and sharpness of the printed polyester fabrics. It is feasible to evaluate the sharpness of inkjet printed polyester fabrics using a five-stage system, selecting the inkjet ellipse coefficient (T) and inkjet ellipse area (S), which can provide a quantitative and rapid evaluation method for defining inkjet printing.

Advancements in Thickening Agents Used in Textile Printing

“…Cao, H. et al 53 reported that the pre-treatment of polyester fabric using xanthan gum and salt can enhance the color penetration and printing clarity of inkjet printing, and the divalent salt can give higher K/S values and printing clarity. The most preferable pretreatment condition was (0.3% xanthan gum paste and 0.1 mol/L calcium chloride).…”

Novel Mangosteen-Leaves-Based Marker Ink: Color Lightness, Viscosity, Optimized Composition, and Microstructural Analysis

“…Despite a large number of publications on biodegradable and environmentally friendly marker inks reported in the literature in recent years [ 7 , 20 , 21 , 22 ], most studies were carried out in the one-factor-a-time (OFAT) approach. For greater efficiency, the application of statistical analysis and regression coefficient (mathematical model) are necessary for better prediction on the optimum composition of marker ink with high color lightness and low viscosity.…”

Novel inkjet direct printing technology based on thermosensitive sol–gel transition inks

“…17 prepared cationic copolymer nanosphere dispersion by soap-free emulsion polymerization, which attached to the fabric, significantly enhancing the color performance of inkjet printed fabrics. Other pretreatments, including xanthan gum, 2 cationic primer, 18 and low free water content inks, 19–21 all improve the sharpness of the printed pattern to a certain degree. However, these methods entail a long treatment process and high energy consumption, water use, and process time (Scheme 1).…”

“…Digital inkjet printing also needs less water, produces less pollution, and is less labor-intensive than traditional printing. [1][2][3] Digital inkjet printing technology generally includes transfer printing and direct printing. Transfer printing is mainly applied to materials such as high-temperature-resistant polyester or nylon.…”

“…Polyester fiber is one of the most widely used synthetic fibers today due to its useful physical properties, 1 College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, China 2 Jiangsu Engineering Research Center of Textile Dyeing and Printing for Energy Conservation, Discharge Reduction and Cleaner Production (ERC), Soochow University, China 3 National Innovation Center of Advanced Dyeing and Finishing Technology, China such as excellent anti-wrinkle effect, outstanding light resistance, 5 chemical resistance substances, etc. However, the surface of polyester fiber is smooth and has very few polar functional groups.…”