Method for inkjet textile printing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inkjet textile printing with pigment inks faces challenges such as nozzle clogging, precipitation, and difficulty in achieving high-density patterns and brilliant images due to pigment flocculation and the need for binders, which also affect color fastness and softness of the textile fiber products.
Innovation Solution
A method involving pretreatment of textile fibers with a quaternary ammonium salt type cationic surfactant and a block isocyanate compound, followed by inkjet printing with an aqueous pigment ink containing a water-soluble dispersing agent and a self-emulsifying type urethane resin, which crosslinks to form a stable, insoluble entity that binds firmly to the fibers, preventing bleeding and penetration and enhancing color fastness and softness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a pigment ink is used for inkjet textile printing, then the environmental load is reduced and various fibers can be colored with a single ink, but nozzle clogging occurs and the pigment precipitates and flocculates over time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a pretreatment agent containing a cationic polymer to the textile fiber product before inkjet printing. This preliminary action modifies the fiber surface to improve pigment adhesion and prevent nozzle clogging by ensuring smooth pigment application and reducing the need for high binder concentrations that cause film formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a composite ink formulation combining pigment particles with a specific binder system consisting of a water-soluble polymer and a water-insoluble polymer in controlled proportions. This composite structure maintains pigment suspension stability, prevents flocculation, and ensures reliable nozzle operation while reducing environmental load.
2Reliability
If a binder is added to bind the pigment to the fiber, then the pigment binding is improved, but film formation on the nozzle tip occurs causing clogging and the textile feels hard
Solution Approach 1:
The patent carefully controls the concentration ratio of water-soluble polymer to water-insoluble polymer in the ink formulation, and adjusts the molecular weight and chemical structure of these polymers. These parameter changes optimize pigment binding efficiency while minimizing binder film formation on the nozzle tip and maintaining textile softness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a pretreatment agent applied locally to the textile fiber surface before printing. This creates a localized modified surface that enhances pigment adhesion without requiring high concentrations of binder throughout the entire ink system, thereby reducing film formation and maintaining nozzle operability.
3Device complexity
If the pigment ink penetrates the fiber directly, then the printing process is simplified, but high-density patterns cannot be obtained and image brilliancy is reduced due to migration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a pretreatment agent to the textile fiber product before inkjet printing. This preliminary modification of the fiber surface creates optimal conditions for pigment deposition, enabling high-density patterns and brilliant images without requiring complex printing process adjustments or additional post-treatment steps.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method enables brilliant, high-density inkjet printing on textile fibers with excellent color fastness and soft feeling while preventing nozzle clogging, thereby improving the quality of pigment-colored textile products.
Implementation Method 1
a self-emulsifying type urethane resin, which crosslinks to form a stable, insoluble entity that binds firmly to the fibers
Implementation Method 2
an aqueous pigment ink containing a water-soluble dispersing agent
Implementation Method 3
pretreatment of textile fibers with a quaternary ammonium salt type cationic surfactant
Data Source
AI summary
Method for inkjet textile printing comprising a printing step for printing an aqueous pigment ink on a specifically pretreated portion of a textile fiber product by an inkjet process,wherein said specific pretreatment is performed by applying at least:(A) a quaternary ammonium salt type cationic surfactant represented by the formula (1) below, and(B) a block isocyanate compound to the entire textile fiber product or a required portion thereof, and said aqueous pigment ink comprises at least a pigment, an aqueous liquid as a solvent or dispersion medium, and:(C) a water-soluble dispersing agent having a crosslinking property,(D) a self-emulsifying type urethane resin, and(E) a block isocyanate compound.[Two of R1 to R4: alkyl having 8 to 18 carbon atoms; the remaining two: methyl or ethyl; X−: anion.]