Ink-Jet-Printing of the Collection of Home Furnishing Fabrics

Abstract

The purpose of this work was to make a collection of ink-jet-printed furnishing fabrics and to use them in industry printing conditions. A contemporary CAD/CAM system by Sophis Systems (Belgium) containing the contemporary Socrates software package was used for making the collection. This equipment was used to digitize the original picture prepared within the framework of this investigation as well as design repeats. The bubble-jet technique of the digital impulse ink-jet printing was applied to print patterns on the linen fabric that had been impregnated in the appropriate bath. The printed surfaces were fixed and washed. The collection printed by the ink-jet method was transferred to the rotary screen printing system in the production process of a textile mill. Colour transfer and comparison of colour cards obtained by both ink-jet printing and rotary screen printing were evaluated using ISO standards by testing wash and light fastness as well as abrasion resistance. This investigation is important because of the needs of the textile industry for smaller production batches with patterns printed at low cost exclusively using the ink-jet procedure.