Reactive Printing vs Pigment Printing

Nowadays, there are two main methods used to achieve vibrant colors and long-lasting prints on fabric – reactive printing and pigment printing. Both techniques offer unique advantages and disadvantages, making them suitable for different applications in home textiles, clothing, and other products. This article will explore the differences between reactive printing and pigment printing, including their characteristics, operating methods, historical development, and functional uses.

What is Reactive Printing

Reactive printing, also known as reactive dyeing, is a popular method used to color textiles and fabrics. This technique involves applying reactive dyes to the fabric, which then chemically bond with the fibers during the dying process. Reactive dyes contain chemically active groups that can react with hydroxyl groups in cellulose and amino groups in protein fibers, forming covalent bonds with the fibers during dyeing to produce "dye-fiber" compounds. The resulting colors are bright, vibrant, and highly fastened, making reactive printing a preferred choice for many textile applications. This process is widely used for dyeing and printing on various fibers such as cotton, linen, viscose, silk, and wool, as well as their blends, due to its excellent performance in terms of color spectrum, brightness, applicability, and fastness properties.

What is Pigment Printing

Pigment Printing is an advanced textile coloring technique that combines pigments with binders to create durable, colorful designs on fabric surfaces. This method uses insoluble colorants (pigments) mixed with thermoplastic or thermosetting synthetic resins as binding agents to form pigment printing inks. These inks are then applied to the fabric using mechanical or manual methods and undergo drying and baking processes to form a thin film that tightly covers and adheres the pigments onto the fibers, resulting in vivid and long-lasting prints. Pigment printing is suitable for various fiber types and their blends, offering advantages such as bright and light-stable colors, excellent rubbing fastness, good hand feel, and environmental sustainability due to its reduced water consumption compared to dyeing processes. The pigment paste used in this technique mainly consists of pigments, film-forming substances (binders), thickeners, crosslinking agents, catalysts, and other components, which work together to provide superior color retention, fastness properties, and overall print quality.

Historical Development

Reactive Printing

The development of reactive dyeing can be traced back to the 1950s, when Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) in the UK discovered dichlorotriazinyl dyes, which can covalently bond with cellulose fibers under alkaline conditions, leading to the application for the first patent for reactive dyes. In 1956, ICI released the first reactive dye product, Procion RED MX-2B, marking the official beginning of the world of reactive dyes.

Pigment Printing

Pigment printing has a long history in ancient times when people used natural pigments mixed with natural polymers to adhere pigments to fabrics. However, due to limitations in the color spectrum and poor fastness properties of natural binding materials, they were not suitable for clothing fabrics, limiting the development of pigment printing.

With the development of polymer chemistry, various series of binders and organic synthetic pigments have rapidly evolved. Various pigments with a complete color spectrum, bright colors, and good fastness have emerged. Modern pigment-printed products exhibit wear resistance, flexural resistance, crease resistance, hand rub resistance, and water washability that fully meet clothing requirements.

Characteristics

Reactive Printing

1. Reactive dyes are one of the best choices for replacing banned dyes and other types of cellulose fiber dyes such as sulfur dyes, ice dyes, and reducing dyes.
2. Reactive dyes can achieve high levels of fastness properties, especially wet fastness, with economical dyeing processes and simple dyeing operations.
3. Reactive dyes offer a wide color spectrum, bright colors, excellent performance, and strong applicability. Their color shades and properties basically meet market requirements for fibers and fabrics.
4. Reactive dyes are suitable for printing and dyeing new cellulose fiber products such as Lyocell fiber.

Pigment Printing

1. Pigment printing employs thermoplastic or thermoset synthetic resins as binders, mixed with insoluble pigments to form pigment printing inks. These inks are applied to the fabric surface by mechanical or manual methods and then dried and baked to form a thin film, tightly covering the pigments on the fibers to achieve the purpose of printing and coloring.
2. The printed fabric has bright and vivid colors with good light stability. It can give the fabric a full, dry, and soft handle, especially excellent rub fastness. With proper use, the dry and wet rub fastness can reach Grade 4 or above (for reference only), and the wash fastness is excellent. The fabric also has good air permeability.
3. The printing ink has excellent chemical and physical stability, unaffected by the components of the printing paste. It has good mesh permeability and is easy to clean in printing machines.

Pigment Printing Operating Methods ( Transfer Printing )

1. First, use a computer to separate the colors of the design.
2. Then, engrave a high-quality transfer printing roller (intaglio) for the pattern using a high-precision MDC electronic engraving machine made in Switzerland. Using the electronically engraved roller and ink, print the design onto special paper to create a thermal transfer printing paper. After controlling the time, temperature, and pressure, the design is transferred onto the fabric.
3. Finally, use the printed fabric to sew various exquisite home textiles, clothing, travel goods, etc., bringing beauty and elegance to people's lives.

Functional Uses

Reactive Printing

Due to their composition of chromophores, linking groups, and active groups, reactive dyes can form strong covalent bonds with fibers during use, giving them a series of unparalleled characteristics compared to other cellulose fiber dyes. This establishes their position as a key dye for cellulose fibers, highlighted by the following four aspects:

1. They offer excellent wash fastness, especially wet fastness.
2. They provide a wide color spectrum, including bright colors and strong applicability.
3. They have good light stability and are suitable for printing and dyeing new cellulose fiber products such as Lyocell fiber.
4. Their color shades and properties basically meet market requirements for fibers and fabrics.

Pigment Printing

The unique advantages of pigment printing include:

1. Pigment-printed fabrics exhibit excellent rub fastness, especially in dry and wet conditions.
2. The printed fabric has good air permeability and a full, dry, and soft handle.
3. Pigment printing inks have excellent chemical and physical stability, unaffected by the components of the printing paste.

Conclusion

Both reactive printing and pigment printing offer unique advantages for textile applications, with each method suitable for different purposes depending on the desired characteristics and fastness properties required. While reactive dyes are preferred for their excellent wash fastness, wide color spectrum, and suitability for new cellulose fiber products, pigment printing offers superior rub fastness, air permeability, and handle. As technology continues to evolve, both methods will undoubtedly continue to play a significant role in the textile industry, offering innovative solutions for home textiles, clothing, and other applications.

At Pingio Home, we are proud to utilize the latest technology in our Reactive Printing process to create stunning and high-quality bedding sets. Our state-of-the-art production facilities allow us to combine cutting-edge equipment with skilled craftsmanship, resulting in bedding that is not only aesthetically pleasing but also durable and long-lasting. By using Reactive printing, we can achieve intricate designs and vibrant colors that capture the essence of each collection. This advanced printing method enables us to bring your favorite artwork, patterns, and styles to life on our bedding products, ensuring a perfect blend of fashion and function. With our commitment to quality and innovation, Pingio Home continues to set the standard for reactive printed bedding in the industry.

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