Printing using pigment

Print Recipe

For making 1000 gram paste

·         Pigment -------------------------   x gram (usually 50 to 75 gram is taken)

·         Binder ---------------------------  (3x)/2 +70 gram

·         Thickener (synthetic) ------------   30 gram

·         Urea ----------------------------   20 gram

·         Ammonium Sulphate  -----------    30 gram

·         Water ---------------------------  as much required to make the paste 1000 gram or achieve

                              required viscosity

Reason for using the above chemicals

Pigment: it is the colour

Binder: it helps to form cross-linking and act as an adhesive to hold the pigment together with    

             the fabric.

Thickener: it gives required viscosity to the print paste so that it has pseudo plastic flow.

Urea: it acts as a hygroscopic agent and prevents over drying of the paste.

Ammonium Sulphate: it is an acid donor which helps to make the print paste acidic so that    

                                     binder can function properly.

Method of application

·         First the print paste is made using the above recipe.

·         Then the screen with the particular design is prepared.

·         The fabric is place flat on printing table.

·         Then the screen is placed on top of the fabric exactly where we want our design to be.

·         Then the print paste is placed on top part of the screen away from the design.

·         Using a squeegee the print paste is uniformly applied over the design.

·         Then the screen is removed and the pigment paste on the fabric is allowed to dry.