A Comprehensive Review: Printing Auxiliaries and Applications in Textile Pigment Printing

Pigment printing is the most popular method of printing all over the world. More than 80% of the printed goods are based on pigment printing. In principle, all types of fibers can be printed in pigment printing. Printing paste is the main constituent of printing which enables the formation of the predefined patterns. The printing paste for pigment printing generally contains pigments, emulsifiers, binders, softeners, thickeners, antifoaming agents, and crosslinking agents. The use of different auxiliaries depends upon various parameters such as style of printing, substrate to be printed, and dyes used for printing etc. Therefore it is necessary to give individual consideration to each of the printing paste constituents. Accordingly, an insight into the printing auxiliaries and their role in pigment printing was made in this paper. Besides, process of pigment printing, composition of printing paste, mechanism of printing, characteristics of pigment printing, and features of printing auxiliaries were discussed briefly. Furthermore, advantages and disadvantages of pigment printing were discussed in this paper. Textile auxiliaries play a vital role in the final outcome of a good quality printed product.