Digital alkali resist prints on polyester

In earlier papers we have described sulphite-based and secondary amine-based resist printing of cotton using ink-jet procedures. This paper describes the chemical resist printing of polyester fabrics padded with disperse dyes to create a white image on a coloured background. Polyester grounds have been prepared by the pad-dry ‘dyeing’ of polyester fabrics with alkali clearable disperse dyes, such as a Dianix PC (DyStar) or a Dianix SF (DyStar) dye, and subsequently ink-jet printed with sodium carbonate based ink formulations to yield a white image on a solid ground following high temperature steaming and appropriate wash-off procedures. Coloured images have been achieved by a two-step process whereby the coloured ground fabric was initially printed with an alkali based ink and then over-printed in a second step with an illuminating ink formulation containing a alkali stable disperse dye, such as a Dianix AD (DyStar) or Serilene ADS (Yorkshire Chemicals).