DYEING AND PRINTING MACHINES

Submitted to: Ms. Ettishiri

Submitted by: Anshul Khanna Sabhyata Marwah Nitin Katoch (B.ftech Sem III)

Introduction to dyeing
Textile materials are usually coloured to make them attractive or for functional reasons. The aesthetic appeal provided by the colouration techniques finally increases the value of the textile material. There are two ways of adding colour to a textile substrate viz., Printing and Dyeing. Dyeing provides uniform single colouration throughout the surface of the textile material.

Yarn dyeing
Yarn may be dyed in different forms Skein Package Beam

Skein Dyeing
Skein dyeing consists of immersing large, loosely wound hanks (skein) of yarn into dye vats that are especially designed for this purpose. Skein Dyeing Machine is the most suitable machine for dyeing delicate yarns (Silk, Bamberg, etc.) since it prevents the material being too tightly packed; in fact other skein dyeing systems frequently produce an excessive packing of the dyed material. The machine is equipped with horizontal arms perforated in the upper part; skeins are stacked and suspended on this rack. The liquor, forced through the arm holes, penetrates the skeins and is then collected in an underlying vat. Standard machines are equipped with a rod which moves the skeins at pre-set times, changing the bearing point to obtain a more uniform dyeing. During the skein motion, the flow of the liquor is stopped to avoid the formation of tangles in the yarn; since yarns are not fixed to rigid supports, they can thoroughly shrink. This machine does not run under pressure. It is possible to dye at steady temperatures since the liquor is contained in a separate tank.

The operating costs of this machine are generally very high because it require a very high liquor ratio (1:15. 1:25 . 1:30 ). Standby times for loading and unloading operations are also very high and the arms must be often cleaned. This machine can be used also for scouring and finishing processes

Package dyeing
In package dyeing, yarn is wound on small perforated spool or tube called package. Many spools fit into the dyeing machine in which the flow of the dye bath alternates from the centre to the outside , and then from outside to the centre of the package. Packages may be tubes, cheeses or cones. Cores for dye packages may be rigid stainless steel, plastic or paper. Plastic and paper types are normally intended to be used only once while stainless steel cores can be reused indefinitely. Plastic and paper cores as well as stainless steel springs are used as compressible cores. These compressible cores allow more packages to be forced into the dye vessel and increase the capacity of the machine.

As shown in the figure, the yarn packages are placed on perforated spindles on a frame which fits into a pressure vessel where dyeing takes place. The top cover, which must be removed for loading and unloading, is secured during dyeing. Most package dyeing machines are capable of dyeing temperatures up to 135C. The number of packages may vary from as few as one in a laboratory machine to several hundred in a large production machine. The dye formulation is pumped through the perforations in the spindles and package cores into the yarn. The flow of liquid can be either from inside-to-outside of the package or outside-in. Periodic reversal of the direction of flow improves uniformity of dyeing.

A heat exchanger using high pressure steam as the heat source heats the dye liquor in a package dye machine. The steam coils for heating the liquor are also used as cooling coils after the dye cycle is completed. Liquor ratio in a package dye machine is typically about 1O:l when the machine is fully loaded. The liquor ratio can be lowered by only partially flooding the machine. If the liquor covers all of the packages but does not fill the top dome of the machine, the liquor ratio is only slightly lower than it is in a fully flooded machine.

Beam Dyeing
Beam Dyeing is the larger version of package dyeing. Yarns or full width of woven or knitted fabric is wound on to perforated cylindrical beams and enclosed in to a container. Dye liquor is circulated under pressure through perforation, same as package dyeing. A beam dyeing machine is for dyeing yarns or fabrics that have been wound onto a special beam that has evenly perforated holes along its barrel. The dye is forced through the barrel into the yarn/fabric from inside to outside and vice versa. The beam dyeing machines may be capable of dyeing a single beam or to dye multiple beams. The fabric or yarn have better dyeing results because of there is no dimensional changes as well as there is no mechanical force applied to it. The high performance pumps circulate the dye liquor in efficient manner to achieve even dyeing results.

The working principle is same as that of yarn dyeing machines. The process of beam dyeing is as follows: The fabric or yarn in open width is rolled on to a perforated beam. The beam then subsequently inserted into a dyeing vessel. The machine is closed and pressurized. The dye liquor is circulated in to out and out to in directions , under pressure and temperature is employed as per the process requirement. The chemicals and auxiliary are injected as per requirement of the process.

Piece Dyeing
Dyeing is carried out in fabric stage, generally to produce single solid colour in the substrate. The dyeing of cloth after it has been woven or knitted is known as piece dyeing. The various method used for this type of dyeing include Jet Dyeing Jig Dyeing Pad Dyeing and Beam Dyeing

Jet Dyeing
Jet dyeing machines came into existence with a purpose to minimise or eliminate the drawbacks of earlier machines like winch, jig and beam dyeing machine. Jet Dyeing is a process that can be used for batch dyeing operations. In this process, dyeing is accomplished in a closed tubular system, basically composed of an impeller pump and a shallow dye bath. The fabric is to be dyed loosely collapsed in a form of a rope, and tied into a loop. The impeller pump supplies a jet of dye solution, propelled by water and or air, which transport the fabric within the dyeing system, surrounded by dye liquor, under optimum conditions. Turbulence created by the jet aids in dye penetration and prevents the fabric from touching the walls of the tube, thus minimizing mechanical impact on the fabric.

Jet dyeing machines provide the following advantages compared to atmospheric becks for dyeing fabrics made from texturized polyester. Vigorous agitation of fabric and dye formulation in the cloth tube increases the dyeing rate and uniformity. Rapid circulation of fabric through the machine minimizes creasing because the fabric is not held in any one configuration very long. Lengthwise tension on the fabric is low so the fabric develops bulk and fullness of handle. Dyeing at high temperature of about 130C gives rapid dyeing, improved dye utilization, improved fastness properties and makes possible the elimination of carriers required when dyeing at lower temperatures. The lower liquor ratio used in jet dyeing allows shorter dye cycles and saves chemicals and energy.

Some disadvantages of jet dyeing machines compared to becks are as follows: Capital and maintenance costs are higher. Limited accessibility makes cleaning between dyeing and sampling for colour during the dye cycle difficult. The jet action tends to make formulations foam in partially flooded jet machines. The jet action may damage the surface of certain types of fabrics.

Jig Dyeing
The jig- dyeing process involves treating fabric in open width. Fabric is not immersed in a dye bath, but rather passed through a stationary dye bath. To produce darker collars the fabric must pass through the dye bath more times than when a lighter shade is desired. A jig consists of a trough for the dye or chemical formulation. The fabric from a roll on one side of the machine is run through the formulation in the trough and wound on a roll on the opposite side of the jig. When the second roll is full, the drive is reversed, and the fabric is transferred through the formulation back to the first roll. Live steam injected into the bottom of the trough through a perforated pipe across the width of the jig heats the formulation. A dye jig is normally used for dyeing at pressure of one atmosphere although pressurized, high temperature jigs have been made. Covering the top of a jig minimizes heat loss to the atmosphere, keeps the temperature uniform on all parts of the fabric and minimizes exposure of the formulation to air. Maximum batch size on a jig may be up to several thousand meters of fabric. Jigs exert considerable lengthwise tension on the fabric and are, therefore, more suitable for woven than for knit fabrics. Since the fabric is handled in open width, a jig is very suitable for fabrics which crease if dyed in rope form.

Beam Dyeing
Beam dyeing for piece dyeing is practically identical to beam dyeing used for yarns. Fabric is wound on to a perforated cylinder where the dye bath is forced through the fabric layers. The fabric remains stationary. The process is used to dye fabrics of lightweight, open construction because the dye bath cannot circulate through a beam of densely constructed fabric. Beam dyeing is a rapid and economical method for dyeing lightweight, open fabrics. Moreover beam dyed fabrics is not subject to the stress and tensions common to the jig and pad methods

Pad Dyeing
Pad dyeing is accomplished with a machine called a dye pad. Fabric in open width first passes through the dye bath, and then through the rollers, where the dye solution is squeezes into the fabric. Pad dyeing like jig dyeing, places tension in the fabric while it is passing through the pad, which causes flattening and degradation in the hand of the material. The pad dyeing machines overcome the deficiency of winch and jig dyeing machines of smaller batch size and discontinuity in dyeing. Padding mangle offers continuous process of fabric in the dyeing liquor. Application of dyestuffs is conducted in the pad dyeing machines with single or multiple dipping in solution. During padding, the fabric passes into a solution of chemicals, under a submerged roller and out of the bath. It is then squeezed to remove excess solution. The objective of this process is to mechanically impregnate the fabric with the solution. The padding operation itself consists of two essential steps: thorough impregnation by immersion of the absorbent fabric in a dye solution containing a wetting agent, followed by squeezing of the wet fabric between rollers to expel air and replace it with dye liquor, as well as expressing surplus liquor back down the sloping fabric surface. The cloth to be padded is taken up by either from the folded form or from the batched condition and fed to the padding machine over a set of guide rollers. The fabric is straightened in warp as well as weft directions. It is necessary to attach and end piece on both the sides of batch.

Pad dyeing machine

Winch Dyeing
The winch or beck dyeing machine is oldest form of piece dyeing machine. The construction is comparative simple and therefore economical to purchase and operate. It is suitable for practical all types of fabric, especially light weights, which can normally withstand creasing when in rope form as woollen and silk fabric, loosely woven cotton and synthetic fabrics, circular and warp knitted fabrics. This a dyeing machine for fabrics in rope forms with stationary liquor and moving material. A winch dyeing machine consists essentially of a dye vessel fitted with a driven winch (usually above liquor level) which rotates and draws a length of fabric, normally joined end to end, through the liquor. Winch dyeing machines are a low cost design simple to operate and maintain, yet versatile in application proving invaluable for preparation, washing or other treatments as well as the dyeing stage itself. In all winch dyeing machines a series of fabric ropes of equal length are immersed in the dye bath but part of each rope is taken over the two reels or the winch itself. The rope of fabric is circulated through the dye bath being hauled up and over the winch throughout the course of the dyeing operation. The dyeing process on a winch dyeing machines is based on higher material to liquor ratio as compared with other dyeing machines. The process is conducted with very little tension. The total dyeing is lengthier as compared to other machines.

Advantages of winch dyeing Construction and operation of winch are very simple The winch dyeing machines are suitable for types of wet processing operations from desizing to softening. The winch dyeing machine is suitable for practically all types of fabrics which can withstand creasing in rope form processing. The tension exerted on winch is less than jig, the material thus dyed with fuller hand. The appearance of the dyed goods is clean and smooth on winch dyeing machines.

Limitations of winch dyeing Batch dyeing operations needs trimming, sewing, opening out the rope, loading and unloading for individual lots separately Since several lengths of fabric are run over the winch reel into the liquor and sewn end to end, continuous length processing is not possible in a single batch. Fabric is processed in a rope from which may lead to crease marks. Particularly in heavy, woven, thin and light synthetics. Most of the machine works under atmospheric pressure.

Garment Dyeing
Dyeing of completed garments of non-tailored categories such as sweaters, sweat shirts, hosiery and panty hoses.

Tailored items like suits or dresses cannot be dyed as garments because the difference in shrinkage of the various components distort and misshape the article.

Paddle Machine
Paddle machines can be used to dye textiles in many forms, but are used mostly to dye garments. Steam injection directly into the dye bath heats these types of machines.

The paddle circulates the bath and garments around a perforated central island. Chemicals, water and steam for heat are added inside the perforated central island. The overhead paddle machine is simply a vat with a paddle having blades the full width of the machine. The blades dip a few centimetres into the vat to stir the bath and push the garments down, keeping them submerged in the dye liquor.

Introduction to Printing
Textile printing is the most versatile and important of the methods used for introducing colour and design to textile fabrics. Considered analytically it is a process of bringing together a design idea, one or more colorants, and a textile substrate (usually a fabric), using a technique for applying the colorants with some precision.

Screen printing
Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate. A fill blade or squeegee is moved across the screen stencil, forcing or pumping ink into the mesh openings for transfer by capillary action during the squeegee stroke.

Flat screen printing

The amount of print paste passing through the screen can be controlled in several ways. Factors affecting this are: The mesh (threads per inch) or raster (threads per cm) of the screen fabric; generally a coarse mesh allows more paste to pass through than a fine one

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 The fraction of open area in the screen fabric; this depends not only on the mesh but also on the yarn diameter and the effect of subsequent treatments, such as calendaring The hardness and cross-section of the squeegee blade; a hard rubber squeegee with a sharp crosssection is suitable for outlines, whereas a soft, rounded blade applies more paste and is suitable for blotches The hardness of the printing table; if the top of the table is firm a soft squeegee is probably necessary, whereas with a resilient table surface a harder squeegee is preferable The viscosity of the print paste; within the constraint of the requirement for good definition, the viscosity can be varied, thinner pastes passing through the screen pores more readily than viscous ones The number of squeegee strokes; from two to four strokes are usually applied The squeegee angle and pressure The speed of the squeegee stroke In order to increase the speed of flat-screen printing, it was necessary to devise a method of printing all the colours simultaneously. Unfortunately, flat screens are not suitable coloration units for a truly continuous process, and in all the successful machines for fully automatic flat-screen printing the colour is applied through the screens while the fabric is stationary. All the screens for the design (one screen for each colour) are positioned accurately along the top of a long endless belt, known as a blanket. A machine intended to print traditional furnishing designs might have space for 15 or more screens. The width of the gap between the areas printed by any two adjacent screens must be a whole number of lengthways design repeats. The fabric is gummed to the blanket at the entry end and moves along with the blanket in an intermittent fashion, one screen-repeat distance at a time. All the colours in the design are printed simultaneously while the fabric is stationary; then the screens are lifted and the fabric and blanket move on. When the fabric approaches the turning point of the blanket, it is pulled off and passes into a dryer. The soiled blanket is washed and dried during its return passage on the underside of the machine.

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Fully automatic flat-screen printing machine (simplified diagram); rollers 1 and 2 move as shown, to maintain the lower side of the blanket in constant motion, 3 is the pressure roller, 4 the temporary adhesive application unit and 5 the blanket washer.

Squeegee systems
When flat screens are used for printing, the paste can be spread across the screen either along the length, or across the width. The two most popular squeegee systems are Double-blade squeegee A pair of parallel rubber-blade squeegees is driven across the screen with the print paste in the gap between them.

Magnetic-rod squeegee A rolling-rod squeegee moved by an electromagnet, driven intermittently under the blanket.

Rotary Screen Printing

Fully automatic flat-screen machines cannot be described as operating continuously, because their printing action is in fact intermittent. In flat screen machines the fabric cannot move continuously but the use of rotary-screen machines has proved to be a simpler and more economical means of achieving this goal. In rotary-screen printing, continuous rotation of a cylindrical screen while in contact with the fabric ensures genuinely continuous printing. Print paste is fed into the inside of the screen, and during printing is forced out through the design areas with the aid of a stationary squeegee.

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Rotary-screen squeegee systems

In the case of flexible-blade squeegees, the rotation of the screen in contact with the stationary blade builds up the pressure to force the paste through the screen. This is, of course, the converse of flat-screen printing, where the screen remains stationary while the squeegee moves. Print paste is often poured into flat screens by hand, even in fully automatic machines, but the continuous movement of a cylindrical screen and the restricted access necessitates automation of this operation. The print paste is pumped into the screen through a flexible pipe from a container at the side of the machine; inside the screen, the paste pipe has a rigid structure as it also acts as a support for the squeegee. Holes in the pipe allow the paste to run down into the bottom of the screen since the paste is pumped in from one end, the holes need to be larger at the end furthest from the pump to achieve an even spread across the full width of the screen. A sensor (level control) actuates the pump when the paste level falls below a pre-set height.

Squeegee Systems
The first squeegees used were of the traditional rubber type, but excessive wear of the rubber, due to the continuous movement, and the drag on the inside of the screens, which caused screen distortion, soon led to their replacement with flexible, stainless steel blades. The curvature of the blade, and hence the angle of contact between the blade and the screen, changes according to the applied pressure, which can be readily altered by adjusting the bearings at The magnetic-rod squeegee were also used in rotary machines. In machines with flexible-blade squeegees one boundary of the pressure wedge between rod and screen is stationary, but with rod squeegees both boundaries are moving both ends of the squeegee assembly. In most rotary machines there is a resilient bed under the screen position, and with high magnetic-field. This increases the contact area of rod and screen and, coupled with extra pressure introduced by the two moving surfaces, results in a higher minimum amount of paste being forced through the screen than with a stationary, metal-blade squeegee

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When printing lightweight synthetic fabrics or transfer paper, a metal blade is therefore often preferred to a rod.

Rod and blade squeegees

Roller printing
Roller printing, also called direct printing, method of applying a coloured pattern to cloth, invented by Thomas Bell of Scotland in 1783. A separate dye paste for each colour is applied to the fabric from a metal roller that is intaglio engraved according to the design. The technique can be used with almost any textile fabric. In roller printing, the print paste is supplied from reservoirs to rotating copper rollers, which are engraved with the desired design. These rollers contact a main cylinder roller that transports the fabric. By contacting the rollers and the fabric the design is transferred to the fabric. As many as 16 rollers can be available per print machine; each roller imprints one repeat of the design. As the roller spins, a doctor blade in continuous mode scrapes the excess of paste back to the colour trough. At the end of each batch the paste reservoirs are manually emptied into appropriate printing paste batch containers and squeezed out. The belt and the printing gear (roller brushes or doctor blades, squeegees and ladles) are cleaned up with water.

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In the diagram F are the engraved rollers, E is the fabric, H is the colour box, J are the doctor blades, A is the pressure bowl and B is the resilient covering. On a multicolour machine the printing rollers, with colour boxes and other auxiliary equipment, are arranged around a larger pressure bowl with minimum separation of the rollers. Setting and maintaining the correct registration (that is, fitting each colour of the design relative to the others) requires an arrangement for separately rotating each roller a small distance while the drive to all the rollers is engaged.

Problems
A major disadvantage of engraved-roller printing that has shown up in recent years is that there is a limit to the fabric width that can be printed. The application of pressure to the mandrel ends inevitably produces some bending and the fabric edges tend to be printed more heavily than the middle. Another disadvantage of engraved-roller printing is that the sequence of colours printed cannot be chosen arbitrarily, because of the colour contamination problem. The pale colours should be placed early in the order, with the stronger ones at the end. A third significant disadvantage is the time lost in pattern changing, due to the need to handle the heavy rollers and associated accessories and to difficult access.

Roller printing machine

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Digital Printing
Digital fabric printing is a relatively new technology with tons of applications. Most commercially available fabric is rotary screen printed; each print run is typically several thousand yards. The high minimums are due to the cost and time required to prepare a unique set of screens, with each colour in a design requiring a separate screen. The main advantage of digital printing is the ability to do very small runs of each design (even less than 1 yard) because there are no screens to prepare. The inkjet printing technology used in digital printing was first patented in 1968. In the 1990s, inkjet printers became widely available for paper printing applications. The technology has continued to develop and there are now specialized wide-format printers which can handle a variety of substrates everything from paper to canvas to vinyl, and of course, fabric. The inks used in digital printing are formulated specifically for each type of fibre (cotton, silk, polyester, nylon, etc.). During the printing process, the fabric is fed through the printer using rollers and ink is applied to the surface in the form of thousands of tiny droplets. The fabric is then finished using heat and/or steam to cure the ink (some inks also require washing and drying). Digitally printed fabric will wash and wear the same as any other fabric, although with some types of ink you may see some initial fading in the first wash. The major downside to digital printing is the cost. As with any new technology, the costs are always high when it first becomes available. As time goes on and the technology continues to develop it will undoubtedly become more affordable. Before any printing is carried out, the designs need to be developed in a digital format that can be read by the printers. Thus, all development has to be based on co-operation between the design software companies, the ink manufacturers and the printing machine developers.

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