Patent Application
20220154394
Textiles and fabrics are flexible materials formed of a woven or non-woven network of natural or artificial fibres. Fabrics have an assortment of uses in daily life, such as clothing, bags, baskets, upholstered furnishings, window shades, towels, coverings for tables, beds, and other flat surfaces, as well as in art. Fabrics are used in many traditional crafts such as sewing, quilting and embroidery.
Images may be printed onto fabrics by a range of printing methods, including inkjet printing.
Features, of examples of the present disclosure will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description, examples and drawings.
The figures depict several examples of the present disclosure. However, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the examples depicted in the figures.
The present disclosure provides a fabric treatment composition for preparing a fabric substrate for printing, wherein the fabric treatment composition comprises at least one fibre-bonding agent, at least one cross-linking agent and a liquid carrier.
Images can be printed onto fabric substrates by printing, e.g. inkjet printing. However, challenges for printing on fabric substrates can arise from, for example, image quality and image durability in response to daily use and exposure to laundry detergents. Some printing media, such as cotton or cotton blends-based fabrics such as T-shirt fabrics, may have relatively strong hydrophilic characteristics. This hydrophilicity may allow aqueous inkjet inks to penetrate easily into the bulk of the fabric substrate. Excessive ink penetration can reduce optical density and colour vividness in CMYK ink printing.
A further challenge may be fibrillation, or so-called fibre “stick-out”, in which fibres or the ends of fibres extend or protrude outwardly from the surface of the fabric (in other words, in its z-direction). This may occur in some fibrous substrates such as some cotton-based substrates and mixed-fibre substrates. Protruding fibres can reduce smooth film-formation and can leave debris on the top surface.
In some cases, the effect of fibrillation or fibre “stick-out” may be detected by visual inspection, for instance, when printing dark images using CMYK inks onto fabrics which are white or light in tone, for example, fabric substrates having a CIELAB Color Space L* value of about 50 or higher. The effects of fibrillation may be visible on the darker image due to the contrast in colour or tone between the ink and the substrate.
The fabric treatment compositions of examples of the present disclosure may improve image quality and/or image durability of images applied to the substrate by inkjet printing. In some examples, the fabric treatment composition may reduce the visual effects associated with fibre “stick-out” and/or excessive ink penetration into the substrate.
In some examples, the at least one fibre-bonding agent may be present in an amount of from about 0.01 wt. % to about 1.0 wt. %, the at least one cross-linking agent may be present in an amount of from about 0.1 to about 2.5 wt. % and the liquid carrier may be present in an amount up to about 99.5 wt %.
In certain examples, the ratio of cross-linking agent to fibre bonding agent may be from about 3 to about 12 parts by weight of cross-linking agent to 1 part of fibre bonding agent.
In some examples; water may be present in an amount of at least about 75 weight %, at least about 80 weight %, at least about 85 weight %. Water may be present in an amount of at most about 99.5 weight %, at most about 99 weight at most about 98 weight %, at most about 97 weight %, at most about weight 95%. In some examples, water may be present in an amount of about 75 to about 98 weight %, about 80 to about 97 weight % or about 85 to about 95 weight %.
In some examples, the fibre bonding agent may have a glass transition temperature (Tg) that may be 0° C. or lower. In other examples, the fibre-bonding agent may have a glass transition temperature (Tg) from −30° C. to 0° C. or a glass transition temperature (Tg) ranging from −20° C. to −5° C. A polymer with a higher Tg can tend to make the fabric feel stiffer, as perceived by some consumers. It may also give a higher degree of shininess to the fabric which may be undesirable to some consumers. Elasticity may also be affected by using a fibre-bonding agent having a Tg higher than 0° C.
A fibre-bonding agent having a glass transition temperature of 0° C. or lower may form fabric treatment compositions having a stable viscosity which may be suitable for application of the fabric treatment compositions by spray, roller and digital (inkjet) printing methods.
In some examples, the fibre bonding agent may have a cross-linkable functional group on its molecular chain. A reactive cross-linkable functional group may allow further control of the balance between stickiness and stiffness and thereby feel of the fabric. When the fabric bonding agent is cross-linked, the final Tg of the polymer may, in some examples, be within the range of −30° C. to 0° C.
The fibre bonding agent may be compatible with the fabric cross-linking agent, as described below. That is to say, when the two components are mixed at room temperature and across a range of concentrations, no gelling or crashing occurs. Additionally, within a reasonable time frame for manufacture, such as over a 24 hour period, there may be no significant viscosity increase for the mixture (5-20% in solids content).
In one example, the fibre bonding agent may be selected to have a Zeta potential value of −5 millivolts or greater. In another example, the Zeta potential value may be 0 millivolts or higher. In a further example, the Zeta potential value may be 5 millivolts or higher. In a yet further example, the Zeta potential value may be 10 millivolts or greater.
In certain examples, the at least one fibre bonding agent may be selected from polymers and copolymers which meet the Tg condition as above.
In some examples, the fibre-bonding agent may be an agent selected from water-dispersible polymers or latest-containing particles. The fibre-bonding agent may be selected from, such as one or more polymers like polyacrylates and copolymers of, vinyl acetate latex, polyesters, vinylidene chloride latex, styrene-butadiene or acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymers, polyacrylic acids, polyacrylic esters, polymethacrylic esters and polyurethanes.
In a further example, the fibre bonding agent may include an acrylonitrile-butadiene latex.
In other examples, the at least one fibre bonding agent comprises at least one fibre bonding agent selected from latex-containing particles of vinyl acetate-based copolymers, acrylic polymers and copolymers, styrene copolymers, SBR-based copolymers, polyester-based copolymers and vinyl chloride-based copolymers, or the like.
In other examples, the at least one fibre bonding agent may be at least one fibre bonding agent selected from the group consisting of acrylic polymers and copolymers, vinyl-acrylic copolymers and acrylic-polyurethane copolymers, which may be copolymerized with other monomers, such as methyl acrylates, methyl methacrylate, ethyl acrylate, hydroxyethyl acrylate, hydroxyethyl methacrylate, ethylene, vinylacetates, vinylimidazole, vinylpyridine, vinylcaprolactams, methyl vinylether, maleic anhydride, vinylamides, vinylchloride, vinylidene chloride, dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, acrylamide, methacrylamide, acrylonitrile, styrene, acrylic acid, sodium vinylsulfonate, vinylpropionate, and methyl vinylketone, for example.
In some examples, the at least one fibre bonding agent may have an average molecular weight (Mw) of about 500 to about 200,000, about 10,000 Mw to about 200,000 Mw, about 20,000 Mw to 100,000 Mw, or about 100,000 Mw to 200,000 Mw.
The carrier liquid of the fabric treatment composition may be water. Water can provide a fabric-compatible medium for the application of the fabric bonding agent and cross-linking agent of the present disclosure to fabrics, particularly fabrics of the types commonly used for clothing. Organic solvents may be incompatible with some fabrics, such as fabrics formed wholly or partially from synthetic fibres.
Water may form at least 50 weight % of the fabric treatment composition. In some examples; water may be present in an amount of at least about 75 weight %, at least about 80 weight %, at least about 85 weight %. Water may be present in an amount of at most about 99.5 weight %, at most about 99 weight %, at most about 98 weight %, at most about 97 weight %; at most about weight 95%. In some examples; water may be present in an amount of about 75 to about 99 weight %, about 80 to about 97 weight % or about 85 to about 95 weight %. In some examples, the fabric treatment composition employed in the method is the fabric treatment composition of the present disclosure.
In some examples, the liquid carrier may be water and a co-solvent. In certain examples, the co-solvent may be ethanol, butanol, or a low molecular weight (less than about 100) polyethylene glycol or polyethylene oxide.
In certain examples, the at least one cross-linking agent may be at least one agent cross-linking agent having functional groups able to form a cross-linking reaction with reactive groups such as amine, carboxyl, hydroxyl and thiol. Such groups may be present on the fabric substrate, and/or may be present in the fabric treatment composition and/or ink that may be applied to the fabric substrate. In some examples, the cross-linking agent may crosslink with e.g. the binders of any ink applied to the coating. In some examples, the crosslinking agent may cause a crosslinking reaction that can improve adhesion of the coating layer e.g. to the fabric and/or ink applied over the coating. In some examples, the crosslinking agent may cause a crosslinking reaction that can increase the hydrophobicity of the surface of the fabric.
In some examples, the cross-linking reaction may be a cross-linking reaction which proceeds under conditions of heating at about 50° C. to about 200° C.
In some examples, the at least one cross-linking agent may be heterocyclic ammonium salt. In certain examples, the cross-linking agent is at least one heterocyclic ammonium salt of Formula 1:
a) a diallylazetidium salt of Formula 2;
b) a bis(2-methoxyethyl)azetidinium salt of Formula 3;
c) a nonylpropylazetidinium salt of Formula 4:
d) a undecylmethylazetidinium salt of Formula 5;
e) a nonylpropargylazetidinium salt of Formula 6;
or combinations thereof.
In certain examples, the composition may further comprise at least one ink crashing agent.
In some examples, the at least one ink crashing agent may be selected from: water soluble metallic organic salts, water-soluble metallic inorganic salts; and ionene compounds.
In certain examples, the composition further comprises at least one surfactant.
In certain examples, the composition further comprises a pH adjusting composition. In some examples, the pH adjusting composition includes acetic acid or sodium hydroxide.
In some examples, the composition has or is adjusted to have a pH of from about 5 to about 6.
The present disclosure also describes printing media obtained by treating a fabric and methods of using the compositions to make the printing media.
The present disclosure also provides a method of printing a fabric substrate comprising i) applying, to at least one area of a fabric substrate, a fabric treatment composition, the composition comprising at least one fibre-bonding agent, at least one cross-linking agent and a carrier liquid, to form a coating; and ii) printing at least one ink composition to the coating.
In some examples, the method may include the step of drying the coating layer prior to printing the at least one ink composition to the dried coating layer.
The fabric treatment composition may be applied by any method, including, for example, by spraying, dipping, spreading, soaking and/or printing (e.g. digital (inkjet) printing or screen printing).
The terms “coating” or “coating layer” do not necessarily imply a contiguous layer but includes a partial and/or discontinuous coating over the fabric.
At least the area of the fabric substrate that is treated with the fabric treatment composition may be of a light colour or tone, for example, white. In some examples, the fabric substrate may be white. At least the area of the fabric substrate that is treated with the fabric treatment composition may have a CIELAB Color Space L* value of about 50 to 100. In some examples, at least the area of the fabric substrate that is treated may have a L* value of 60 to 100, 70 to 100, 80 to 100 or 90 to 100. In some examples, the fabric substrate may have a CI LAB Color Space L* value of about 50 to 100. In some examples, at least the area of the fabric substrate that is treated may have a L* value of 60 to 100, 70 to 100, 80 to 100 or 90 to 100. In some examples, the L value of the ink may be about 66 points or less, about 50 points or less, about 40 points or less, about 30 points or less, about 20 points or less or about 10 points or less than the L* value of the fabric.
In some examples, the at least one ink composition may be at least one of a cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink.
The at least one ink composition may be an inkjet ink composition. The at least one ink composition may be printed by inkjet printing.
In certain examples, one or more of the printing steps may be a digital pigmented ink printing step, such as a thermal inkjet or a piezoelectric inkjet method.
In some examples, each ink composition may comprise a polymeric binder.
The polymeric binder may be present in an amount of 1 to 20 weight %, for example, 1 to 15 weight %, for instance 2 to 12 weight % or 3 to 10 weight %. In some examples, the polymer binder may be present in an amount of 5 to 8 weight % (e.g. about 6 weight %). The polymer binder may be comprise a polyurethane and/or an acrylic polymer (e.g. polyacrylic latex polymer). Examples of suitable polyurethanes include polyurethane dispersions and polyurethane-latex hybrid polymers. In one example, the polymer binder may be a polyester-polyurethane dispersion, for example, an aliphatic polyester-polyurethane dispersion. The polymer binder may be charged. In one example, the polymer binder may be an anionic aliphatic polyester-polyurethane dispersion. A suitable binder may be available from Covestro® AG under the trademark Impranil® DLN-SD.
The ink may include a humectant. An example of a humectant may be glycerol. The humectant (e.g. glycerol) may be present in an amount of 1 to 20 weight %, for example, 1 to 15 weight %, for instance 2 to 12 weight % or 3 to 10 weight %. In some examples, the polymer binder may be present in an amount of 5 to 8 weight % (e.g. 6 weight %).
The ink may include an anti-kogation agent. The anti-kogation agent may be present in an amount of 0.01 to 5 weight %, for example, 0.1 to 1 weight % (e.g. 0.5 weight %). An anti-kogation agent may help to reduce the risk of residue build-up at or in the inkjet printhead. An example of a suitable anti-kogation agent may be a phosphate ester. A suitable phosphate ester is oleth-3 phosphate. An example of a suitable anti-kogation agent may be supplied by Croda® under the trademark Crodafos® N-3A.
The ink may include a surfactant. In some examples, the ink may include two or more surfactants. Non-ionic surfactants may be employed. Suitable surfactants include ethoxylates and self-emulsifiable wetting agent based on acetylenic diol chemistry. In some examples, the amount of surfactant ranges from 0.01 to 10 weight %, for example, 0.1 to 5 weight %.
The inkjet ink composition also includes one or more pigment components to provide an ink composition having the desired visual characteristics of colour and tone. In some examples, the pigment can be present in an amount from about 0.5 wt % to about 15 wt % based on a total wt % of the inkjet ink composition. In one example, the pigment can be present in an amount from about 1 wt % to about 10 wt %. In another example, the pigment can be present in an amount from about 5 wt % to about 10 wt %.
In one example, an ink may comprise a pigment, a polymer binder, a humectant, an anti-kogation agent, a surfactant and water. In another example, the ink may also include a biocide.
In certain examples, the method may further comprise subjecting the printed substrate to a post-printing process to effect cross-linking between the fabric substrate, a cross-linking agent in the fabric treatment composition of the present disclosure and binder in the ink composition. The post-printing process may include applying heat or heat and pressure to the printed substrate at a temperature sufficient to cause cross-linking, for example, at temperatures of above 60° C. Examples of suitable temperatures include temperatures of, for example, at least 70° C. or at least 80° C. Suitable upper limits include temperatures of up to 220° C., for example, up to 200° C., up to 180° C. or up to 160° C. In some examples, curing temperatures of 60 to 220° C., for example, 70 to 200° C. or 80 to 180° C. or 80 to 160° C. may be employed.
The present disclosure further provides a printable fabric medium comprising: a fabric substrate; and a coating formed on at least one area of at least one side of the substrate, wherein the coating comprises or is formed of a composition comprising at least one fibre-bonding agent and at least one cross-linking agent. The coating may be formed from a fabric treatment composition comprising at least one fibre-bonding agent, at least one cross-linking agent and a carrier liquid as described in the present disclosure.
In some examples, the composition may be applied to the fabric substrate to form a dry coat weight of 0.05 gsm to 5 gsm or 0.5 gsm to 2 gsm for each coated area of the fabric substrate.
In certain examples, the substrate may be a white or light-coloured substrate. In some examples, the fabric substrate may be, for example, a fabric having an L* value from 50 to 100.
The present disclosure also provides a fluid set comprising a fabric treatment composition as defined above and at least one ink composition.
In one example, both the fabric treatment composition and the at least one ink composition can be stored either inside a printing head of a printer or in a separate container fluidically connected with the printing head, and digitally applied on the pre-treated fabric with a fabric treatment composition described above
In some examples, the at least one ink composition may comprise one or more of a cyan ink, a magenta ink, a yellow ink and a black ink.
In certain examples, the fluid set may comprise a fabric treatment composition as described above, a cyan ink, a magenta ink and a yellow ink. In some examples, the fluid set further comprises a black ink.
The present disclosure also discloses the use of a composition as defined above as a textile or fabric pre-treatment in a textile or fabric printing process.
The present disclosure discloses fabric treatment compositions, methods of using the fabric treatment compositions and fabrics treated with the compositions for a wide range of fabric printing substrates which may achieve excellent printing image quality at fast speed and may have excellent image durability.
The fibrous structure on some fabric substrates brings another challenge to the digital printing. Loose fibres may sometimes not be woven or plaited into the fabric surface and may protrude or “stick-out” of the surface (in the z-direction), and often have a dense appearance. When digital inks are printed onto the fabric substrate, the sticking-out fibres can impact the layout of the applied ink drops and impact the coherence of the ink film. These influences can reduce ink uniformity and ink density and give rise to poor image quality and image durability due to poor ink adhesion to substrate surface.
Sticking-out fibres can be removed during the manufacture of fabrics, by additional steps such as singeing or enzymatic treatment, but these additional processing steps may increase manufacturing cost and complexity. Therefore, in some applications (such as in middle to low-grade fabric substrates, such as may be used for relatively low value fabric products such as promotional T-shirt fabric substrates), the fabric may be shipped ‘as-is’ without any treatment to remove stick-out fibres.
In the present disclosure, a fibre bonding agent may be included in the fabric treatment composition. Without wishing to be bound by any theory, it may be understood that the bonding agent will firstly soften the fibres and will then hold the stick-out or loose fibres against the surface of the fabric. The process may be aided by pressure applied in surface coating or pre-treatment processes in which the fabric substrate passes between two rollers, such as between a printing or application roller and an impression or nip roller during padding processing. A fibre bonding agent also enhances the substrate smoothness microscopically which helps to improve further the image quality, often dramatically.
There is no specific limitation in selecting chemical for fibre bonding agent. During a pre-treatment or coating process, the fibre bonding agent should be capable of softening fibres under wet conditions and hold the fibres down in the dry condition, without any negative impact to the physical properties of the fabric, such as touch or softness.
The composition can be applied to a fabric by means of a treatment or coating device integrated into a printer. In such a case, there may be no drying mechanism incorporated to dry the fabric between treatment and printing (ie., wet-on-wet printing). A fibre bonding agent intended for such a process may alternatively or additionally both soften fibres under wet conditions and hold the fibres of the fabric down at least temporarily in the wet condition prior to printing, without any negative impact to the physical properties of the fabric, such as touch or softness when the fabric is dried.
The fibre bonding agent can be either water soluble synthetic or natural substance or an aqueous dispersible synthetic or natural polymeric substance. In some other examples, the fibre bonding agent may be a polymeric latex.
In some examples, the fibre bonding agent may have a glass transition temperature (Tg) that may 0° C. or less. In some examples, the fibre bonding agent has a glass transition temperature (Tg) ranging from −30° C. to 0° C. In some other examples, the fibre bonding agent has a glass transition temperature (Tg) ranging from −20° C. to −5° C. A fibre bonding agent having a glass transition temperature (Tg) above 0° C. may increase the stiffness of the fabric which may, in some circumstances, negatively impact, for some consumers, the softness or feel of the fabric. On the another hand, a fibre bonding agent having a lower Tg, for example, −40° C. or lower, may give an unacceptably sticky feel to the fabric for some consumers. Measurement of glass transition temperature (Tg) is described in, for example, Polymer Handbook, 3rd Edition, authored by J. Brandrup, edited by E. H. Immergut, Wiley-Interscience, 1989.
In some examples, the fibre-bonding agent may be an agent selected from water soluble polymers and copolymers, water dispersible polymers and copolymers; latex-containing particles, polymers and copolymers.
In certain examples, the at least one fibre-bonding agent may be selected from polymers and copolymers which meet the Tg condition as above.
In some examples, the fibre-bonding agent may be selected from one or more polymers like polyacrylates and copolymers thereof, polyvinyl acetates, polyesters, polyvinylidene chlorides, styrene-butadiene or acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymers, polyacrylic acids, polyacrylic esters, polymethacrylic esters and polyurethanes.
In a further example, the fibre-bonding agent may include an acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymer.
In yet a further example, the fibre-bonding agent may include an acrylic polymer, for example, a polyacrylic acid, polyacrylate, polymethacrylic acid or polymethacrylate.
In other examples, the at least one fibre-bonding agent comprises at least one fibre-bonding agent selected from latex-containing particles of a vinyl acetate-based copolymer, an acrylic polymer and copolymer, a styrene copolymer, an SBR-based copolymer, a polyester-based copolymer, a vinyl chloride-based copolymer, or the like.
In other examples, the at least one fibre-bonding agent may be at least one fibre-bonding agent selected from the group consisting of acrylic polymers and copolymers, vinyl-acrylic copolymers and acrylic-polyurethane copolymers, and includes polymers formed by copolymerising monomers, such as methyl acrylates, methyl methacrylate, ethyl acrylate, hydroxyethyl acrylate, hydroxyethyl methacrylate, ethylene, vinylacetates, vinylimidazole, vinylpyridine, vinylcaprolactams, methyl vinylether, maleic anhydride, vinylamides, vinylchloride, vinylidene chloride, dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, acrylamide, methacrylamide, acrylonitrile, styrene, acrylic acid, sodium vinylsulfonate, vinylpropionate, and methyl vinylketone, for example.
Other examples of fibre bonding agents include, but are not limited to, polyacrylates and copolymers with polyvinyl alcohol and poly(ethylene oxide) or copolymers with polyvinyl alcohol and polyvinylamine; cationic polyvinyl alcohols; aceto-acetylated polyvinyl alcohols; polyvinyl acetates; polyvinyl pyrrolidones including copolymers of polyvinyl pyrrolidone and polyvinyl acetate; gelatin; silyl-modified polyvinyl alcohol; styrene-butadiene copolymer; acrylic polymer latexes; ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers; polyurethane resin; polyester resin; and combinations thereof.
In some examples, the fibre bonding agent may be a cationic, anionic or non-ionic polymer. Suitable polymers include the polymers mentioned above. In some examples, the fibre bonding agent may be a cationic or non-ionic polymer. For example, where the crosslinking agent is cationic, the fibre-bonding agent may be cationic or non-ionic.
Given that a fabric cross-linking agent may be a cationic species, in one example, the fibre bonding agent may be selected to have a Zeta potential value of −5 millivolts. In another example, the fibre bonding agent has a Zeta potential of 0 millivolts or greater. In a further example, the Zeta potential value may be 5 millivolts or greater. In a yet further example, the Zeta potential value may be 10 millivolts or greater.
The Zeta potential is the potential across the interface of solids and liquids, and more specifically, the potential across the diffuse layer of ions surrounding a charged colloidal particle which is largely responsible for colloidal stability. Zeta potentials can be calculated from electrophoretic mobility, namely, the rates at which colloidal particles travel between charged electrodes placed in the dispersion, emulsion or suspension containing the colloidal particles, and can be also measured under fixed pH value using a Zeta Sizer. This was determined by diluting 1 or 2 drops of the dispersion in 100 ml of deionized water with preadjusting the pH to a constant value closed to that of fabric crossing agent. The details of the measurement method is descripted in the Zeta Sizer (Nano series) User Manual from Malvern Instruments plc.
In certain examples, the polymeric fibre bonding agent may have an average molecular weight (Mw) of about 500 to about 200,000. In another example, the average molecular weight of the polymeric binder may be from 10,000 Mw to about 200,000 Mw. In yet another example, the average molecular weight of the polymeric binder may be from 20,000 Mw to 100,000 Mw. In a further example, the average molecular weight of the polymeric binder may be from 100,000 Mw to 200,000 Mw. In one example, the polymeric binder may have a weight average molecular weight from 5,000 Mw to 200,000 Mw.
In some examples, the fibre-bonding agent may be a cationic acrylic emulsion polymer. In certain examples, the fibre-bonding agent may be a cationic acrylic emulsion polymer from the Raycat® range of polymers, from Specialty Polymers, Inc. In one example, the fibre-bonding agent is Raycat® 100.
In some examples, the fibre-bonding agent may be a styrene-butadiene emulsion.
In some examples, the fibre bonding agent may be cross-linkable. The term “cross-linkable” refers to a polymer substance that has reactive functional groups which can react with each other to form a structure between-the molecular polymeric chains. The fibre bonding agent may have “self-crosslinkable” capability can mean that macro-molecular chains have different reactive functional groups that can be used.
In some examples, the polymeric fibre bonding agent may be a self-crosslinkable aqueous acrylic dispersion such an Edolan® AB available from Tanatex Chemicals (having a solids content of 45% and Tg of −18° C.).
The polymeric fibre bonding agent may be selected to have chemical compatibility with the cross-linking agent (described in further detail below) and any other additives as described below such that, when the components of the composition are mixed together, no precipitation or gelling takes place.
In some examples, the fibre-bonding agent may be present in the composition in an amount of from about 0.01 to about 5 weight %, for example, 0.02 to about 2 wt % or 0.05 wt % to about 1 wt %. In other examples, the fibre-bonding agent may be present in an amount of from 0.01 wt % to about 1.0 wt %, or about 0.05 wt % to about 0.5 wt %.
In some examples, the at least one cross-linking agent may be present in an amount of from about 0.05 to about 10 weight %, for example, about 0.1 to about 5 wt % or about 2.5 weight %.
In some examples, the ratio of the cross-linking agent to the fibre-bonding agent may be from about 3 to about 12 parts by weight of cross-linking agent to 1 part fibre-bonding agent, for example, 5 to 10:1, about 6-9:1 or about 7-8:1 for example.
The crosslinking agent may be a reactive crosslinking agent. The cross-linking agent may be a compound having functional groups able to form a cross-linking reaction with reactive groups such as amine, carboxyl, hydroxyl and thiol of the fabric substrate, fibre-bonding agent of the fabric treatment composition and/or binders of pigmented inks, for example, under conditions of heating at 50° C. to 200° C., or by any other process whereby chains of a polymer become attached to each other or to the fabric substrate, including by thermal treatment or by treatment by light of appropriate wavelength, for example. The cross-linking agent should be compatible with the solvent, typically an aqueous solvent such as water, and the fibre bonding agent and other additives to form a uniform solution without phase separation or gelling.
In one example, the cross-linking agent may be a heterocyclic ammonium salt. Further, in one example, the heterocyclic salt may be a quaternary ammonium salt of a four membered heterocyclic ring of Formula 1:
wherein R3 may be hydroxyl, carboxy, acetoxy, alkoxy, amino or alkyl, for example at the 3′-position, and R1 and R2 may be end groups connecting the 1,1′-nitrogen position pm the ring. When R3 is a hydroxyl group, the structure is an azetidinium salt. Such salts are readily available from the reaction between either a primary amine or a secondary amine with epichlorohydrin following the two-step reaction as shown in equations 1 and 2.
The nitrogen has a positive charge with halide such as chlorine as a counter-ion and the ring structure makes it reactive under even mild conditions with multiple functional groups such as carboxylates, amines, phenols, phosphorus nucleophiles as illustrated in equations 3 to 6:
In other examples, the cross-linking agent may be a diallylazetidium salt (Formula 2), a bis(2-methoxyethyl)azetidinium salt (Formula 3), a nonylpropylazetidinium salt (Formula 4) a undecylmethylazetidinium salt (Formula 5) or a nonylpropargylazetidinium salt (Formula 6) and may be used singly or in combinations.
The following are additional examples of azetidinium salt-based cross-linkers that can be prepared from the reaction of Jeffamine polyetheramines (Huntsman Corporation) with epichlorohydrin (equations 7-13)
In other examples the cross-linking agent may be a polymeric heterocyclic salt having a polymeric backbone with appendant salt moieties, such as quaternary ammonium salts. In one example, the polymeric heterocyclic salt consists of four membered heterocyclic rings with a quaternary ammonium as shown by Formula 7
wherein R at the 3′-position may be hydroxyl, carboxy, acetoxy, alkoxy, amino or alkyl and the 1,1′-nitrogen position may be connected to a polymeric backbone having a long chain, such as a polyamide chain or polyalkylenepolyamine chain.
In one example, the polymeric oligomer to make polymeric heterocyclic salt (polyamide amine based azetidinium salt) may be prepared from polyamidoamine in following process:
The backbone polymeric structure includes, but is not limited to, polyethylene imine, polyamidoamine, the polyamidoaminoester, or polyester backbones with pendant secondary amine groups.
It may be understood that the polymer may be both cationic (due to the quaternary ammonium group) and reactive due to the Bayer strain (angle strain) in the four-membered ring. The presence of these cationic functional polymers helps to bind anionically-dispersed pigmented ink colorant, where reactive functional groups can react with nucleophilic groups of the printing media surface and improve the adhesion via chemical bonding. Crosslinking may also improve hydrophobicity and/or durability of the coating.
Example polymeric heterocyclic salts are commercially available, for example, under the trade names Beetle® PT746 (from BIP (Oldbury) Ltd) and the Polycup® series (from Solenis, Inc), such as Polycup® 8210, Polycup® 9200, Polycup® 7535, Polycup® 7360A, Polycup® 2000, Polycup® 172 and Polycup® 9700.
The treated substrate may be treated at elevated temperatures, for example, at temperatures of above 60° C. to effect crosslinking to cure the coating. Examples of suitable temperatures include temperatures of, for example, at least 70° C. or at least 80° C. Suitable upper limits include temperatures of up to 220° C., for example, up to 200° C., up to 180° C. or up to 160° C. In some examples, curing temperatures of 60 to 220° C., for example, 70 to 200° C. or 80 to 180° C. or 80 to 160° C. may be employed.
The composition may further comprise an ink pigment crashing agent to improve further the print quality, by facilitating precipitation, or desolubilisation, of components of the ink used to overprint the treated or coated fabric. A crashing agent may be especially advantageous when the ink pigment or colorant shows strong dispersion in the liquid vehicle of the ink.
In certain examples, the composition comprises from about 0.01 wt. % to about 2.0 wt. % of the at least one ink crashing agent or about 0.02 to about 1.0 wt. % or about 0.05 wt. %.
The ink crashing agent may be a polymeric, acidic or ionic composition or combinations thereof. The agent may be selected to crash or react with at least one pigment or colorant component of the ink with which the compositions of the present disclosure are to be used.
In one example, the ink pigment crashing agent can be a water soluble metallic salt, either organic salt or an inorganic salt.
In some examples, the inorganic salts are water-soluble and multi-valent charged salts. Multi-valent charged salts include cations, such as Group I metals, Group II metals, Group III metals, or transition metals, such as sodium, calcium, copper, nickel, magnesium, zinc, barium, iron, aluminium and chromium ions. The associated complex ion can be chloride, iodide, bromide, nitrate, sulfate, sulfite, phosphate, chlorate, acetate ions.
In other example, the ink pigment crashing agent may be an organic salt and may be a water-soluble organic salt, such as a water-soluble organic acid salt. By the term ‘organic salt’, we refer to an associated complex ion that has an organic species and cations which may or may not the same as inorganic salt like metallic cations discussed above. Organic metallic salts are ionic compounds composed of cations and anions and having a formula such as (CnH2n+1COO-M+)*(H2O)m where M+ may be a cation species including Group I metals, Group II metals, Group III metals and transition metals such as, for example, sodium, potassium, calcium, copper, nickel, zinc, magnesium, barium, iron, aluminium and chromium ions. Anionic species can include any negatively charged carbon species with a value of n from 1 to 35. The hydrates (H2O) are water molecules attached to salt molecules with a value of m from 0 to 20. Examples of water soluble organic acid salts include metallic acetate, metallic propionate, metallic formate, metallic oxalate, and the like. The organic salt may include a water dispersible organic acid salt. Examples of water dispersible organic acid salts include a metallic citrate, metallic oleate, metallic oxalate, and the like.
In some examples, the ink pigment crashing agent may be a Group II acetate, propionate, formate or oxalate. In one example, the ink pigment crashing agent is a Group II metal propionate, such as calcium propionate.
In some examples, the ink pigment crashing agent can be an ionene compound. An ionene compound is a polymeric compound having ionic groups as part of the main chain, where ionic groups can exist on the backbone unit, or exist as the appendant groups to an element of the backbone unit, i.e. the ionic groups are part of the repeat unit of the polymer. In some examples, the ionene compound may be a cationic charged polymer. The cationic ionene polymer may have a weight average molecular weight of 100 Mw to 8000 Mw. Examples of such cationic charged polymers include: poly-diallyl-dimethyl-ammonium chloride, poly-diallyl-amine, polyethylene imine, poly2-vinylpyridine, poly 4-vinylpyridine poly2-(tert-butylamino)ethyl methacrylate, poly 2-aminoethyl methacrylate hydrochloride, poly 4′-diamino-3,3′-dinitrodiphenyl ether, poly N-(3-aminopropyl)methacrylamide hydrochloride, poly 4,3,3′-diaminodiphenyl sulfone, poly 2-(iso-propylamino)ethylstyrene, poly2-(N,N-diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate, poly 2-(diethylamino)ethylstyrene, and 2-(N,N-dimethylamino)ethyl acrylate.
The ionene compound may be a naturally occurring polymer such as cationic gelatin, cationic dextran, cationic chitosan, cationic cellulose or cationic cyclodextrin. The ionene polymer may alternatively be a synthetically modified naturally occurring polymer such as a modified chitosan, e.g., carboxymethyl chitosan or N,N,N-trimethyl chitosan chloride.
In some examples, the ionene compound may be a polymer having ionic groups as part of the main chain, where ionic groups exist on the backbone unit such as, for example, an alkoxylated quaternary polyamine of Formula 8:
wherein R, R1 and A can be the same or different and may be such as linear or branched C2-C12 alkylene, C3-C12 hydroxy-alkylene, C4-C12 dihydroxy-alkylene or dialkyl-arylene; X may be any suitable counter-ion, such as halogen or other similarly charged anions; and m has a numerical value to provide a polymer having a weight average molecular weight ranging from 100 Mw to 8000 Mw. In some examples, m may be an integer ranging from 5 to 3000. The nitrogen can be quaternized in some examples.
In some other examples, the ionene compound may be a polymer having ionic groups as part of the main polymer chain, but exist as the appending group to an element of the backbone unit. The ionic groups are not on the backbone but are part of the repeating unit of the polymer, such as quaternized poly(4-vinyl pyridine) of Formula 9 below:
In this example, the above polymer units can repeat to provide a polymer with a weight average molecular weight ranging from 100 Mw to 8000 Mw.
In some examples, the ionene polymer may be a cationic gelatin, cationic dextran, cationic chitosan, cationic cellulose, cationic cyclodextrin, carboxymethyl chitosan, N,N,N-trimethyl chitosan chloride, alkoxylated quaternary polyamines, polyamines, polyamine salts, polyacrylate diamines, quaternary ammonium salts, polyoxyethylenated amines, quaternized polyoxyethylenated amines, poly-dicyandiamide, poly-diallyl-dimethyl ammonium chloride polymeric salt, quaternized dimethylaminoethyl(meth)acrylate polymers, polyethyleneimines, branched polyethyleneimines, quaternized poly-ethylenimine, polyureas, poly[bis(2-chloroethyl)ether-alt-1,3-bis[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]urea], quaternized poly[bis(2-chloroethyl)ether-alt-1,3-bis[3-(dimethylamino)propyl], vinyl polymers or salts thereof, quaternized vinyl-imidazole polymers, modified cationic vinyl alcohol polymers, alkyl-guanidine polymers, or a combination thereof. The ionene compound can be selected from the group consisting of polyamines and/or their salts, poly-acrylate diamines, quaternary ammonium salts, poly-oxyethylenated amines, quaternized poly-oxyethylenated amines, poly-dicyandiamide, poly-diallyl-dimethyl ammonium chloride polymeric salt and quaternized dimethyl-aminoethyl(meth)acrylate polymers.
In some examples, the ionene compound may include polyimine compounds and/or their salts, such as linear polyethyleneimines, branched polyethyleneimines or quaternized poly-ethylene-imine.
In some examples, the ionene compound may be a substitute of urea polymer such as poly[bis(2-chloroethyl)ether-alt-1,3-bis[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]urea] or quaternized poly[bis(2 chloro-ethyl)ether-alt-1,3-bis [3-(dimethylamino)propyl]. In yet some other examples, the ionene compound may be a vinyl polymer and/or their salts such as quaternized vinyl-imidazole polymers, modified cationic vinyl-alcohol polymers, alkyl-guanidine polymers, and/or their combinations. The ionene compound can be a homopolymer of diallyl-dimethyl-ammonium chloride (poly-DADMA).
Commercially available ionene polymers include, for example, those sold under the trade marks BTMS-50, Incroquat®CR or Induquat®ECR from Indulor Chemie GmbH (Germany); Floquat® series from SFN Inc.; QUAB® series from SKW QUAB Chemicals Inc.; Tramfloc® series from Tramfloc Inc.; Zetag® series from BASF and ZHENGLI® from ZLEOR Chemicals Ltd.
Depending on formulation preferences for the application and manufacturing, other additives, such as surfactants, hydrophobicity agents, thickening agents, optical dyes, defoamers and pH-control agents may be used in the compositions of the present disclosure.
In certain examples, the composition may further comprise at least one surfactant. In some examples, the at least one surfactant may be present in an amount of from about 0.005 to about 0.05 wt %.
Any suitable surfactant may be present. Suitable surfactants may include non-ionic, cationic, and/or anionic surfactants. Examples include a silicone-free alkoxylated alcohol surfactant such as, for example, TECO® Wet 510 (Evonik Tego Chemie GmbH) and/or a self-emulsifiable wetting agent based on acetylenic diol chemistry, such as, for example, SURFYNOL® SE-F (Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.). Other suitable commercially available surfactants include SURFYNOL® 465 (ethoxylated acetylenic diol), SURFYNOL® CT 211 (non-ionic, alkylphenylethoxylate and solvent free), and SURFYNOL® 104 (non-ionic wetting agent based on acetylenic diol chemistry), (all of which are from Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.); ZONYL® FSO (a.k.a. CAPSTONE®, which is a water-soluble, ethoxylated non-ionic fluorosurfactant from Dupont); TERGITOL™ TMN-3 and TERGITOL™ TMN-6 (both of which are branched secondary alcohol ethoxylate, non-ionic surfactants), and TERGITOL™ 15-S-3, TERGITOL™ 15-S-5, and TERGITOL™ 15-S-7 (each of which is a secondary alcohol ethoxylate, non-ionic surfactant) (all of the TERGITOL™ surfactants are available from The Dow Chemical Co.). Fluorosurfactants may also be employed.
In some examples, the surfactant may be an alcohol alkoxylate surfactant available under the trademark, Dynwet® 800.
In certain examples, the composition may further comprise a pH adjustment composition. In some examples, the pH adjustment composition may be selected from acetic acid and sodium hydroxide.
In certain examples, the composition may further comprise a hydrophobicity agent to modify the hydrophilic or hydrophobic properties of the fabric substrate. Fabric substrates for printing purposes may exhibit a range of surface hydrophobicity depending upon the chemical structure of its threads and of any chemical additives used in a finishing process for the fabric. Cotton or cotton blend-based fabrics, for example, may have strong hydrophilic characteristics due to —OH groups on the cellulose molecular structure. Since hydrophilicity allows aqueous inkjet inks to easily penetrate the bulk of the fabric substrate, hydrophilicity may reduce ink optical density. A printing substrate having an optimum level of hydrophobicity may reduce penetration of the solvent of aqueous inkjet inks.
In one example, the hydrophobicity agent or agents can be selected from organic fluorocarbon compounds, particularly fluorocarbon compounds having a hydrocarbon polymer backbone, such as a polyamide, polyester or polyurethane backbone and appended fluorinated short (C1 to C8) alkyl chains or rings or fluoroalkyl chains or rings, and derivatives thereof. In some examples, the short chains or rings may be C4 to C6. In certain examples, the short chains or rings may be C4 or C6. Examples include poly(fluorooxetane), acrylate-modified poly(fluorooxetane), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
In some examples, the hydrophobicity agent is an organic fluorocarbon supplied by Huntsman® International LLC, under the trademark, PHOBOL® CP-C.
In another example, the hydrophobicity agent or agents can be selected from silicone-based compounds.
In some examples, the silicone-based compounds may be polymeric polydialkylsiloxanes such as a polydimethylsiloxane. They may be used as aqueous emulsions through dispersing silicone oil in water using an appropriate emulsifier. The silicone structure provides the ability to form hydrogen bonds with fibres and provide hydrophobicity effects to the outer surface of fibres. Silicone compounds can consist of a silanol or a silane. The silanol and silane components react to form a three-dimensional cross-linked sheath around fibres, with the outwardly positioned methyl groups of the silicone polymer generating the hydrophobicity effects.
In other examples, the polydialkylsiloxanes can be selected from polymethylhydrosiloxane, hydromethyl polysiloxane, dimethyl polysiloxane, hydromethyl-dimethyl polysiloxane, polyhexamethyl disiloxane, polyecamethyl tetrasiloxane, polydodecamethyl pentasiloxane, polyoctamethyl trisiloxane, polyoctamethyl cyclotetrasiloxane, polydodecamethyl cyclohexasiloxane, polydecamethyl cyclopentasiloxane, and combinations thereof.
The interaction of the hydrophobicity agent with the base fabric substrate can vary depending on the substrate and the hydrophobicity agent. For example, hydrophobicity agents like polysiloxane emulsions can be incorporated into the fibres, lie on the surface of the fibres, or fill the pores and/or spaces between fibres that compose the base fabric substrate. Hydrophobicity agents that are fatty acids can form chemical bonds with the fibres in the base fabric substrate. Hydrophobicity agents such as fluorocarbon polymers can form a physical coating to the surface of the fibres that compose the base fabric substrate.
The hydrophobicity agent can control the surface energy (y) of the base fabric substrate. In one example, the treated base fabric substrate can have a surface energy from about 25 millinewton per meter (mN/m) to about 45 mN/m at 25° C. In another example, the treated base fabric substrate may have a surface energy from about 30 mN/m to about 45 mN/m at 25° C. In other examples, the treated base fabric substrate may have a surface energy from about 40 mN/m to about 45 mN/m. The surface energy (y) can be measured by conventional means, such as with a force tensiometer (such as the K11 tensiometer by Krüss, North Carolina).
The hydrophobicity agent may be present in the fabric treatment composition in an amount of 0.05 weight % to about 20 weight %, for example, about 0.1 to about 10 weight % or about 0.5 wt % to about 5 wt %.
The weight ratio of the hydrophobicity agent to the fibre-bonding agent may be of 4 to 20:1, for example, 5-15:1 or 6-10:1 or 7-8:1.
The compositions of the present disclosure are suitable for use with fabric substrates made of any kind of natural, synthetic or composite (blended) fabrics. In one example, the fabric substrate may be a cotton fabric, which may include, but is not limited to, regular plant cotton, organic cotton, pima cotton, supima cotton and slub cotton. In other examples, it can be made of other fabric substrates such as linen (from flax) which may have a textured weave structure, Lycra or Spandex (registered trade marks). In other examples, the fabric may be a synthetic fabric such as polyester, or man-made fibres produced from natural trees, cotton, and plants, such as rayon. The fabric may comprise a mixture of fibres, such as a mixture of both natural fibres and synthetic fibres, such as a polyester and cotton 50%/50% blended fabric, or tri-blends made up of three different types of material, such as polyester, cotton and rayon.
In some examples, the fabric substrate may be selected from the a single yarn material, such as cotton, woven to have a range of different structures due to the weaving method, for example as plain weave cotton, end-on-end weave, voile weave, twill weave, Oxford weave and so on.
In some examples, the fabric substrate may be made by a knitting method using the yarns listed above, or by a special knitting processes to produce a fabric substrate such as scuba double-knit fabric which may be usually made of polyester mixed with either Lycra or Spandex
The fabric treatment compositions can be applied to the fabric substrate as part of the printing process, in which case the application apparatus may be incorporated into the printer apparatus, or away from the printer process, such as being accomplished in a fabric manufacture site such as in a finishing procedure in a dye house, generating a pre-treated substrate before printing operation.
In some examples, once the fabric treatment composition is applied to the fabric substrate, the fabric substrate may be pressed prior to printing. In some examples, the pressure, that may be applied, may be about 69-1030 kPa (about 10 to about 150 PSI) optionally between about 200 and 480 kPa (about 30 to about 70 PSI). In some examples, pressing may cause the fibres of the fabric to become better aligned along the plane of the fabric.
In one example, the processing can be carried out using padding procedures. The fabric substrate can be soaked in a bath and the excess can be rolled out. More specifically, impregnated fabric substrates (prepared by bath, spraying, dipping, etc.) can be passed through padding nip rolls under pressure. The impregnated fabric, after nip rolling, can then be dried with application of heat for an appropriate period of time which may be controlled by machine speed at an appropriate peak fabric web temperature. In some examples, pressure can be applied to the fabric substrate after impregnating the base fabric substrate with the fabric treatment composition. In some other examples, the surface treatment may be accomplished in a pressure padding operation. During such operation, the base fabric substrate may be first dipped into a pan containing the treatment composition and may be then passed between padding rolls. The padding rolls (a pair of two soft rubber rolls or a metal chromic metal hard roll and a tough-rubber synthetic soft roll, for example), apply a pressure to composite-wetted fabric material so that composite amount can be accurately controlled. In some examples, the pressure, that may be applied, may be about 69-1030 kPa (about 10 to about 150 PSI) optionally between about 200 and 480 kPa (about 30 to about 70 PSI).
The composition-treated fabric can be dried. Drying may be carried out using box hot air dryer. The dryer can be a single unit or a series assembly of several units (typically 3 to 7 units) to generate a temperature profile with initial higher temperature (to remove excessive water) and mild temperature in the final units (to ensure complete drying with a final moisture level of about 3-5%, for example). The peak dryer temperature can be programmed into a profile with higher temperature at the beginning of the drying when moisture may be higher and reduced to a lower temperature as the fabric web becomes drier. Drying may be controlled to a temperature of about 100° C. to about 120° C. In some examples, the operation speed of the padding/drying line may be about 50 metres per minute (about 50 yards per minute).
In alternative arrangements, the treatment may be accomplished by the device integrated to the printer. In this case, the composition may be applied on the fabric substrate by a method such as those described below, and then pass to the printing head. In other words, printing may be carried out in a “wet (ink)-on-wet(media)” process compared with the “wet(ink)-on-dry(media)” system described above.
In one example, illustrated in
In other examples, the compositions of the present disclosure may be applied using roller techniques, of which several are illustrated in
An alternative arrangement is illustrated in
In the examples illustrated, the roller assemblies may be into a printer or may be provided adjacent or remote the printer.
The ink compositions, including white ink compositions or CMYK compositions employed in examples of the present disclosure, may comprise a pigment or colorant dispersed in a carrier liquid. The compositions may also include a polymer binder, surfactant and/or an anti-kogation agent. The compositions may be printed by inkjet printing and can, therefore, be referred to as inkjet ink compositions.
The inkjet ink compositions may comprise a polymer binder, such as a polyurethane dispersion, polyacrylic latex polymer or polyurethane-latex hybrid polymer, together with a pigment and an aqueous carrier. The polymer (solids) may be dispersed in an inkjet ink composition may be present in the inkjet ink composition an amount of 0.1 to 30 or 20 weight % or 0.1 to 10 weight %, for example, 0.5 to 7 weight %, or 0.6 to 5 weight % of the total weight of the inkjet ink composition.
The aqueous carrier may be water, present in the inkjet ink composition in an amount of at least 30 weight %, for example, at least 40 or 50 weight %. In some examples, water may be present in the inkjet ink composition in an amount of at least 60 weight %. Water may be present in an amount of at most 99 weight %, for example, at most 95 weight %. In some examples, water may be present in the inkjet ink composition in an amount of 30 to 99 weight %, for instance, 40 to 98 weight % or 50 to 95 weight %. In other examples, water may be present in an amount of 60 to 93 weight %, for instance, 70 to 90 weight %.
The polymer binder in the ink composition may be any example of the anionic polymer binders or the non-ionic polymer binder set forth for the fabric treatment composition, in any amount set forth for the fabric treatment composition. The polymer binder, prior to being incorporated into the ink composition, may be dispersed in water alone or in combination with an additional water soluble or water miscible co-solvent, such as those described for the pigment dispersion. It is to be understood however, that the liquid components of the binder dispersion become part of the ink vehicle in the ink composition. The examples of reactive ink binder can be used include, but not limited to, polymers based a polyurethane dispersion, polyacrylic latex polymer or polyurethane-latex hybrid polymer.
The polymer that may be dispersed in an inkjet ink composition may be present in the inkjet ink composition an amount of 0.1 to 30 or 20 weight % or 0.1 to 10 weight %, for example, 0.5 to 7 weight %, or 0.6 to 5 weight % of the total weight of the inkjet ink composition.
The aqueous carrier may be water, present in the inkjet ink composition in an amount of at least 30 weight %, for example, at least 40 or 50 weight %. In some examples, water may be present in the inkjet ink composition in an amount of at least 60 weight %. Water may be present in an amount of at most 99 weight %, for example, at most 95 weight %. In some examples, water may be present in the inkjet ink composition in an amount of 30 to 99 weight %, for instance, 40 to 98 weight % or 50 to 95 weight %. In other examples, water may be present in an amount of 60 to 93 weight %, for instance, 70 to 90 weight %.
The inkjet ink composition may also include a surfactant. Any suitable surfactant may be present. Suitable surfactants may include non-ionic, cationic, and/or anionic surfactants. Examples include a silicone-free alkoxylated alcohol surfactant such as, for example, TECO® Wet 510 (Evonik Tego Chemie GmbH) and/or a self-emulsifiable wetting agent based on acetylenic diol chemistry, such as, for example, SURFYNOL® SE-F (Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.). Other suitable commercially available surfactants include SURFYNOL® 465 (ethoxylated acetylenic diol), SURFYNOL® CT 211 (non-ionic, alkylphenylethoxylate and solvent free), and SURFYNOL® 104 (non-ionic wetting agent based on acetylenic diol chemistry), (all of which are from Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.); ZONYL® FSO (a.k.a. CAPSTONE®, which is a water-soluble, ethoxylated non-ionic fluorosurfactant from Dupont); TERGITOL™ TMN-3 and TERGITOL™ TMN-6 (both of which are branched secondary alcohol ethoxylate, non-ionic surfactants), and TERGITOL™ 15-S-3, TERGITOL™ 15-S-5, and TERGITOL™ 15-S-7 (each of which is a secondary alcohol ethoxylate, non-ionic surfactant) (all of the TERGITOL™ surfactants are available from The Dow Chemical Co.). Fluorosurfactants may also be employed.
The inkjet ink composition may also include a co-solvent, in addition to water. Classes of co-solvents that may be used can include organic co-solvents, including alcohols (e.g., aliphatic alcohols, aromatic alcohols, polyhydric alcohols (e.g., diols), polyhydric alcohol derivatives, long chain alcohols, etc.), glycol ethers, polyglycol ethers, a nitrogen-containing solvent (e.g., pyrrolidinones, caprolactams, formamides, acetamides, etc.), and sulfur-containing solvents. Examples of such compounds include primary aliphatic alcohols, secondary aliphatic alcohols, 1,2-alcohols, 1,3-alcohols, 1,5-alcohols, ethylene glycol alkyl ethers, propylene glycol alkyl ethers, higher homologs (C6-C12) of polyethylene glycol alkyl ethers, N-alkyl caprolactams, unsubstituted caprolactams, both substituted and unsubstituted formamides, both substituted and unsubstituted acetamides, and the like. Further examples of suitable co-solvents include propylene carbonate and ethylene carbonate.
The aqueous ink jet compositions may further include at least one humectant. Humectants for use in ink jet ink compositions are known in the art and are suitable for use herein. Examples include, but are not limited to, alcohols, for example, glycols such as 2,2′-thiodiethanol, glycerol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, polyethylene glycol, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, propylene glycol and tetraethylene glycol; pyrrolidones such as 2-pyrrolidone; N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone; N-methyl-2-oxazolidinone; and mono-alcohols such as n-propanol and iso-propanol. Advantageously, the humectants are selected from the group consisting of 2,2′-thiodiethanol, glycerol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, polyethylene glycol, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, propylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, 2-pyrrolidone, n-propanol and mixtures thereof. In one example, the humectant comprises a mixture of alcohols. In a further example, the humectant comprises a mixture of 2,2′-thiodiethanol and a glycol such as a polyalkylene glycol.
A single co-solvent may be used, or several co-solvents may be used in combination. When included, the co-solvent(s) is/are present in total in an amount ranging from 0 wt % to 60 wt %, depending on the jetting architecture, though amounts outside of this range can also be used. As other example, the co-solvent(s) may range from about 1 wt % to about 30 wt % or about 20 wt % of the total wt % of the inkjet ink composition.
The inkjet ink composition may also include various other additives to enhance the properties of the ink composition for specific applications. Examples of these additives include those added to inhibit the growth of microorganisms, viscosity modifiers, materials for pH adjustment, sequestering agents, anti-kogation agents, preservatives, and the like. Such additives may be present in an amount of 0 to 5 wt % of the inkjet ink composition.
The inkjet ink composition also includes one or more pigment components to provide an ink composition having the desired visual characteristics of colour and tone. In some examples, the pigment can be present in an amount from about 0.5 wt % to about 15 wt % based on a total wt % of the inkjet ink composition. In one example, the pigment can be present in an amount from about 1 wt % to about 10 wt %. In another example, the pigment can be present in an amount from about 5 wt % to about 10 wt %.
Where the ink composition is a white ink, the white pigment may be or include titanium dioxide. The pigment (e.g. titanium dioxide) may be present in an amount of 0.1 to 20 weight %, for example, 5 to 15 weight % or about 6 to 12 weight %, for instance, 10 weight %.
Where the ink composition is a CMYK ink, the pigment of colorant may be present in an amount of 0.1 to 20 weight %, for example, 0.5 to 10 weight %, or 1 to 6 weight % or 2 to 5 weight %. As described above, CMYK inks may be applied e.g. by inkjet printing over a white ink layer formed from a white ink composition.
As used herein, the term “pigment” generally includes organic or inorganic pigment colorants, magnetic particles, aluminas, silicas, TiO2 particles and/or other ceramics, organo-metallics or other opaque particles, whether or not such particulates impart colour. Thus, although the present description primarily illustrates the use of pigment colorants, the term “pigment” can be used more generally to describe pigment colorants, as well as other pigments such as organometallics, ferrites, ceramics, etc.
Suitable pigments include the following, which are available from BASF Corp.: Paliogen® Orange, Heliogen® Blue L 6901F, Heliogen® Blue NBD 7010, Heliogen® Blue K 7090, Heliogen® Blue L 7101F, Paliogen® Blue L 6470, Heliogen® Green K 8683, Heliogen® Green L 9140, Chromophtal® Yellow 3G, Chromophtal® Yellow GR, Chromophtal® Yellow 8G, Igrazin® Yellow 5GT, and Igrante® Rubine 4BL. The following pigments are available from Degussa Corp.: Color Black FWI, Color Black FW2, Color Black FW2V, Color Black 18, Color Black, FW200, Color Black 5150, Color Black S160, and Color Black 5170. The following black pigments are available from Cabot Corp.: REGAL® 400R, REGAL® 330R, REGAL® 660R, MOGUL® L, BLACK PEARLS® L, Monarch® 1400, Monarch® 1300, Monarch® 1100, Monarch® 1000, Monarch® 900, Monarch® 880, Monarch® 800, and Monarch® 700. The following pigments are available from Orion Engineered Carbons GMBH: Printex® U, Printex® V, Printex® 140U, Printex® 140V, Printex® 35, Color Black FW 200, Color Black FW 2, Color Black FW 2V, Color Black FW 1, Color Black FW 18, Color Black S 160, Color Black S 170, Special Black 6, Special Black 5, Special Black 4A, and Special Black 4. The following pigment is available from DuPont: Ti-pure® R-101. The following pigments are available from Heubach: Monastral® Magenta, Monastral® Scarlet, Monastral® Violet R, Monastral® Red B, and Monastral® Violet Maroon B. The following pigments are available from Clariant: Dalamar® Yellow YT-858-D, Permanent Yellow GR, Permanent Yellow G, Permanent Yellow DHG, Permanent Yellow NCG-71, Permanent Yellow GG, Hansa Yellow RA, Hansa Brilliant Yellow 5GX-02, Hansa Yellow-X, Novoperm® Yellow HR, Novoperm® Yellow FGL, Hansa Brilliant Yellow 10GX, Permanent Yellow G3R-01, Hostaperm® Yellow H4G, Hostaperm® Yellow H3G, Hostaperm® Orange GR, Hostaperm® Scarlet GO, and Permanent Rubine F6B. The following pigments are available from Sun Chemical: Quindo® Magenta, Indofast® Brilliant Scarlet, Quindo® Red R6700, Quindo® Red R6713, Indofast® Violet, L74-1357 Yellow, L75-1331 Yellow, L75-2577 Yellow, and LHD9303 Black. The following pigments are available from Birla Carbon: Raven® 7000, Raven® 5750, Raven® 5250, Raven® 5000 Ultra® II, Raven® 2000, Raven® 1500, Raven® 1250, Raven® 1200, Raven® 1190 Ultra®. Raven® 1170, Raven® 1255, Raven® 1080, and Raven® 1060. The following pigments are available from Mitsubishi Chemical Corp.: No. 25, No. 33, No. 40, No. 47, No. 52, No. 900, No. 2300, MCF-88, MA600, MA7, MA8, and MA100. The colorant may be a white pigment, such as titanium dioxide, or other inorganic pigments such as zinc oxide and iron oxide.
Specific examples of a cyan colour pigment may include C.I. Pigment Blue-1, -2, -3, -15, -15:1, -15:2, -15:3, -15:4, -16, -22, and -60.
Specific examples of a magenta colour pigment may include C.I. Pigment Red-5, -7, -12, -48, -48:1, -57, -112, -122, -123, -146, -168, -177, -184, -202, and C.I. Pigment Violet-19.
Specific examples of a yellow pigment may include C.I. Pigment Yellow-1, -2, -3, -12, -13, -14, -16, -17, -73, -74, -75, -83, -93, -95, -97, -98, -114, -128, -129, -138, -151, -154, and -180.
While several examples have been given herein, it is to be understood that any other pigment or dye can be used that may be useful in modifying the colour of the cross-linkable ink.
Specific examples of black pigment include carbon black pigments. An example of an organic black pigment includes aniline black, such as C.I. Pigment Black 1.
In some examples, the pigment may be a cyan, magenta, black, yellow and white pigment.
The pre-treated fabric may then be printed onto by any suitable process, such as digital pigmented inkjet printing. The printing may include multiple passes of printing.
After printing with the ink composition to form an image, the printed substrate may be heated. Heating may facilitate crosslinking of the crosslinking agent as described above. Suitable heating temperatures include temperatures of above 60° C. Examples of suitable temperatures include temperatures of, for example, at least 70° C. or at least 80° C. Suitable upper limits include temperatures of up to 220° C., for example, up to 200° C., up to 180° C. or up to 160° C. In some examples, curing temperatures of 60 to 220° C., for example, 70 to 200° C. or 80 to 180° C. or 80 to 160° C. may be employed.
As used in the present disclosure, the term “about” is used to provide flexibility to an endpoint of a numerical range. The degree of flexibility of this term can be dictated by the particular variable and is determined based on the associated description herein.
Amounts and other numerical data may be expressed or presented herein in a range format. It is to be understood that such a range format is used merely for convenience and brevity and thus should be interpreted flexibly to include not just the numerical values explicitly recited as the limits of the range, but also to include individual numerical values or sub-ranges encompassed within that range as if each numerical value and sub-range is explicitly recited.
As used in the present disclosure, the term “comprises” has an open meaning, which allows other, unspecified features to be present. This term embraces, but is not limited to, the semi-closed term “consisting essentially of” and the closed term “consisting of”.
It is noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
L* is the lightness element of the CIELAB Color Space defined by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE). L* defines a value for the whiteness, from black (0) to white (100).
In this application, the terms “fabric” and “textile” are used interchangeably except where indicated or where the context requires otherwise.
Compositional amounts are given as percentages or parts by weight (wt %) except where indicated or where the context indicates otherwise.
Inks used for the printing tests on fabric samples were formulated based on the following recipe: 6% of Impranil® DLN-SD, 6% of glycerol, 0.5% of Crodafos® N-3 Acid, 1% of LEG-1, 0.22% of Aticide® B20, 0.3% of Surfynol® 440, 10% TiO2 dispersion for white ink, or 3% of cyan pigment dispersion for cyan ink or 2.5% carbon black dispersion for black ink and balance of water. The prints were printed on Innovator durability plot (at 3 dpp (dots per pixel) ink for CMYK and 24-42 dpp for white ink), A3410 pen on Gildan® 780 black T-shirt fabric and Gildan® 780 white T-shirt fabric without using any pre-printing processing such as using water to pre-wet the substrate. Comparative examples were carried out similarly, without any prior treatment with compositions of the present disclosure. Gildan® white mid-weight 780 cotton T-shirts (having a basis weight of 180 gsm) were used as the fabric substrates in this example. The fabric treatment composition was applied at around 2-5 grams per square meter (gsm) based on the dry weight of the composition. The fabric treatment compositions were applied to the fabric substrates using padding technique where the fabrics were soaked in the fabric treatment composition solution for about a minute, and then the fabrics were squeegeed to remove excess fabric treatment liquid vehicle. The pre-treated fabrics were exposed to 120° C. to dry for 10 minute using a hot air dryer.
After the pre-treated fabric substrates were prepared, the prints were generated using a thermal inkjet printhead via wet or dry printing, using Innovator durability plot having an HP® A3410 thermal inkjet pen. The fabric substrates imaged with the ink were then heat cured at 150° C. for 1 minute at 44 psi of pressure using a clam shell hot press. The printed fabric samples were then washed for 5 cycles using conventional washing machine at 40° C. with standard laundry detergent, with air drying between cycles.
Treatment formulations for pre-treatment of a white substrate prior to printing with a cyan ink are listed in Table 1, and printing test results are listed in Table 2.
The treated white substrate was printed with ink as described above and the prints were cured at 150° C. for 3 min. The durability of the printed images was tested after 5 washing cycles using a conventional washing machine (Whirlpool, model 589-01) on a 40° C., 50 min washing cycle with a detergent (Tide™ liquid detergent). The printed fabrics were air dried between washing cycles. The optical density (OD; measured with an X-Rite spectrophotometer) and La*b* before and after the washes. The results are given in Table 2. LE may be calculated with the following equation:
A smaller value for LE indicates a smaller change in ink optical density.
The test results for ink optical density (represented by pure black and cyan ink optical density, OD) (OD—higher values are better) and durability (ΔE—lower values are better) are listed in Table 2.
As can be seen from the results set out in Table 2, examples of the present disclosure perform considerably better than the comparative example, but a margin of about 1.5 times higher in respect of optical density and by a factor of five for washing durability.
As can be seen, examples of the present disclosure perform considerably better than the comparative example.
In other examples, the stability of fabric treatment compositions having different fibre-bonding agents was tested. The tests were carried using the fabric treatment composition of Exp 1 above and additional compositions obtained by replacing the fibre bonding agent of Exp 1 with fibre-bonding agents having a range of different Zeta potential values. Composition stability was assessed by observing any viscosity change during a 24 hour period at room temperature following formulation. The results are given in Table 3.
As can be seen, viscosity stability of the fabric treatment composition decreases with decreasing Zeta potential. Accordingly, fabric treatment compositions having a fibre-bonding agent having a Zeta potential of −5 millivolts or higher may form formulations having a stable viscosity. These compositions may be suitable for application by spray, roller and digital (inkjet) printing processes.
As the Zeta potential of the fibre-bonding agent decreases, compositions may form having a higher viscosity, including forming gels. Such compositions may be suitable for fabric treatment composition application processes such as screen printing, for example.
In summary, the present disclosure discloses a fabric treatment composition and methods to make and apply such a composition to a fabric substrate. The treated or coated fabrics may be used as printing substrates for digital pigmented ink printing. The fabric treatment composition comprises at least one fibre bonding and at least one cross-linking agent. In some examples, an ink crashing agent may be included in the composition. The methods to use such fabric treatment compositions to make the printing media are wide ranging and include, for example, roller and spray application methods which may be performed in either the fabric production or dye house or in a device conveniently integrated inside a digital printer.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2020/017220 | 2/7/2020 | WO | 00 |
