Printing involves applying color to defined areas of a substrate to obtain a desired pattern. There are two main types of printing: discharge printing and direct printing. Pigment dyes and reactive dyes are used. Rotary screen printing is used for bulk production and can print 8000-10,000 meters per shift using up to 14 screens. Hand screen printing is used for sampling and involves manually spreading paste through a screen onto fabric. After printing, fabrics are sent for soaping or washing to set the dyes before drying.

1. Printing
• Printing is applying color only to defined areas of a substrate to obtain the desired
pattern.
• There are basically two types of printing:
(i) discharge printing
(ii) direct printing
• Pigment dyes and reactive dyes are used in the company.

2. PRINT PASTE INGREDIENTS
DYE USED RECIPE TREATMENT COMMENTS
Pigment + binder +
thickener + softener +
Print-dry-cure (at Low cost + Time
Pigment Dyes surfactant + urea
150˚C, for 5-6 min) Saving
(hygroscopic agent) + anti
choking agent (if required).
Sodium Alginate +
NaHCO3 (fixing agent) +
Print-dry-ageing (i.e.
Hexa Metaphosphate (water
Reactive Dyes steam 102˚C)- wash- Nil
softener) + Soda Ash
saturated steam
(Oxidation) + urea
(hygroscopic agent)
Binder + Urea (hygroscopic Print-dry-ageing (i.e.
Rangolite SE (for
Discharge Printing agent) + thickener (HEF) + steam 102˚C)- wash-
discharge)
Softener + Pigment saturated steam

3. Design Studio
Re-generated
“Software
Swatch sample Photo shop” “Spec Sheet”
1st 2nd 3rd

4. Printing Machine
Machine Name Type
1 Ichinose Rotary Screen Printing Machine
1 Baby Screen Printing Machine Rotary Screen Printing Machine
1 Strike Off Manual flat-bed screen printing
Manual Flat-bed
Screen Printing M/C
Rotary Screen
Printing M/C

5. Hand Screen Printing
Purpose
Sampling Process Check the out come
Screen Printing consists of three elements :
Mesh Stencils Squeeze

6. Hand screen printing
• Printing process involves following steps:
 The print paste is prepared using binder, water and dyestuff.1 kg binder is
used for every 10 g of color.
 The table top is a sandwich of a rubber blanket, a cotton fabric and a resin
coated screen.
 The fabric is glued on to the table top & the screen is placed over the
fabric; the print paste is poured over it and spread on the fabric manually by
a wooden squeegee.

7. Rotary Sample Printing Machine
Machine used
• Sampling Machine –
Baby Rotary
• To check the fabric in garment form. screen printing
Machine Parts -
•Transporting Roller
•Crease Removing Roller
•14 Printing Rollers
•Nickel Screen

8. Screen development
• Nickel screen mesh is coated with photo-emulsion.
• The screen mesh is dried at 150˚C for 5 minutes.
• The machine has software which is used to print designs. The design is fed
into the machine using a CD.
• As per the design entered, photo-ink is sprayed on the mesh. The ink
displaces the photo-emulsion.
• It is then washed with water to unclog the pores and after this the screen is
ready to be used.

9. ROTARY SCREEN PRINTING
• Name of the machine – Ichinose
• Used for the bulk production.
• Average speed of m/c - 16 m/min.
• Average productivity – 8000-10,000 m/shift
• Maximum no. of screen possible – 14
• Speed : complexity of design increases –
speed of the production decreases.
• Average speed - 16 m/min

10. Printing paste preparation
• The ingredients found in paste formulations include the following: dyes or
pigments, thickeners, sequestering agents, dispersing or suspending
agents (surfactants), water-retaining agents
(humectants), defoamers, catalysts, and hand modifiers.
• In addition to the ingredients, pigments require a binder or resin system to
fix the pigment and may include adhesion promoters
• For blended fabrics pigments are used, which are not dyes but are colored
particles glued to the surface of the fabrics.

11. Soaping and washing
• After the printing is over the printed fabric is sent to soaping/washing and
then dried.
• Soaping is done after pigment printing and washing is done after discharge
printing.
• Yamuna soaper machine is used for washing, soaping and drying.
• Machine runs at the speed between 10 Mts. /min to 30 Mts. /min.
• Contact time between the printed fabric and soaping agent is 5-6 minutes.

12. Printing defects
Some of the printing defects are:
Improper positioning of
print
Fluff
Sharpness/blurr
Joint marks