Behavior of Prepared-For-Print Fabrics in Digital Printing
Traci May-Plumlee, Assistant Professor
Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management
2401 Research Drive, Box 8301, NCSU
Raleigh, NC 27695-8301
919-513-4196
JiHyun Bae
Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management
2401 Research Drive, Box 8301, NCSU
Raleigh, NC 27695-8301
ABSTRACT
Engineered print design for sewn products can reduce material waste and facilitate customized design of textile products. But, digital printing systems must produce output reliably and consistently for integration into a production process. This study examined changes in dimension and grain alignment of digitally printed and post-treated prepared-for-print (PFP) cotton fabric. Following post-treatment, substantial shrinkage and some skewing of the printed design was found. Furthermore, dimensional change results from one fabric were not predictive of results for a second fabric. These performance concerns impact end product quality and adaptability to the production environment. Future work should focus on delineating an optimum set of pretreatment conditions for PFP fabrics that will result in proper grain orientation and minimal, predictable shrinkage.
Read the entire article:
http://www.tx.ncsu.edu/jtatm/volume4issue3/articles/Bae/Bae_full_141_05.pdf
May 2005