METHOD OF MAKING FABRIC FOR INK JET DYEING AND METHOD OF INK JET DYEING

Abstract: A method of making a fabric to be processed with ink jet dyeing and, further, to a method of ink jet dyeing for forming a clear and sharp image free from bleeding of ink on the fabric. In particular, the invention relates to : a method of making a fabric for ink jet dyeing characterized in that the fabric is subjected to application of hydrous treating liquid constituted of hydrous polymeric solution in which water-insoluble solvent is dispersed or emulsified, and then to drying ; and a method of ink jet dyeing characterized by executing ink jet printing with the use of said fabric and, after development of color, said fabric is washed for removal of pretreating agent.

Description: This invention relates to a method of preparing a fabric for ink jet printing so as to impart a clear and sharp image free from ink oozing. As a method of forming a pattern on a fabric, hand printing, roller printing, screen printing or transfer printing has been used conventionally, but in such a method a pattern is previously formed on a screen, engrave roller or transfer paper. In the field of paper printing, however, an ink jet printing system has been developed recently and is now in practical use. Pattern formation according to the ink jet system has attracted attention in the field of textile industry in that it allows printing through combination with a pattern reader or a computer and thus without much time and cost, and thus attempts to apply the method directly to the fabrics have been made. In this method, however, the most important problem to overcome for obtaining a fine image on the fabric is to prevent ink oozing. To resolve the problem, for example, the following methods have been proposed. (1) Method of applying a pretreatment to the fabric for preventing ink oozing. (2) Method of adding an additive to the ink for prevention of oozing. (3) Method of using both pretreatment and ink additive. However, the method of using an additive in the ink for prevention of oozing as in the foregoing method (2) or (3) may be considerable in the effect of preventing oozing but is apt to induce deterioration of the ink discharge performance and reliability on account of the increasing ink viscosity, tackiness and insoluble component. For the pretreatment of fabric under the method (1) above, there may be cited a water repellent treatment for preventing movement of the ink (Japanese Patent Publication No. SHO 60-99081) and a treatment with a water-soluble polymer for the purpose of enhancing water retention of the fabric (Japanese Patent Publication No. SHO 61-55277 and US-A-4,702,742). However, by merely imparting an aqueous solution of a water-soluble polymer, oozing of each drop of ink may be reduced, but the ink is not absorbed in a short time, and so when inks of different color come into contact with each other, ink oozing occurs at the boundary of the colors, and a sharp pattern is not obtainable. Then, for improving the water absorption and retention, a treatment method for increasing the surface area of the water-soluble polymer in the fabric has been examined. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. HEI 2-112489 describes a method using a treatment solution having a water-soluble polymer dispersed or emulsified in the form of fine particles in oil. According to this pretreatment method, the water-soluble polymer is imparted to the fabric in the form of fine particles, and so it has a large surface area and may well stop the oozing of ink. But, when dried, the fabric is in the state of being covered with the fine particles of the water-soluble polymer, and so the water-soluble polymer is apt to fall off the fabric, and thus it lacks stability in prevention of oozing. Further, because of the oil base, it was difficult to wash the pretreatment apparatus. Each of JP-A-2-84593 and JP-A-2-99677 discloses the application to a fabric, to reduce oozing of ink, of a water-in-oil emulsion containing water soluble polymer particles, the polymer being dispersed in the oil. The present invention provides a method of preparing a fabric for ink jet printing in which the fabric is treated with an emulsion having an oil phase provided by a water-insoluble solvent and an aqueous phase provided by an aqueous solution of a polymer, and thereafter dried characterized in that the emulsion is an oil in water emulsion in which the aqueous polymer solution constitutes the continuous phase thereof and the oil phase is dispersed or emulsified in the aqueous polymer phase. Thus the fabric is pretreated with a pretreatment material which is an O/W type emulsion having a water-insoluble solvent dispersed or emulsified in an aqueous solution of a water-soluble polymer. The pretreatment material is imparted to the fabric which is then dried and subjected to ink jet printing to produce a clear and high grade image. According to another aspect the invention provides a method of ink jet printing in which the fabric is pretreated with the pretreatment material as described above, dried, and subjected to an ink jet printing process including a development step, and during the development step, the fabric is washed to remove unwanted pretreatment material. Fig. 1 is a photomicrograph of an ink jet printing fabric according to the method embodying the present invention as described below in Example 1, and Fig. 2 is that of a fabric as described below in Reference 2, each showing the surface condition of the fabric. As a result of investigations, we have found that a fabric having a water-soluble polymer present in the form of a number of fluffy bridge-like pieces of matter in the gaps between the fibers is remarkably distinguished in the efficiency with which ink jet printing can be applied to it to provide level printing and prevent ink oozing. Such a fabric is obtained using an O/W type emulsion having a water-insoluble solvent dispersed or emulsified in an aqueous solution of a water-soluble polymer as a treatment solution. An aqueous solution provided by merely dissolving a water-soluble polymer, when it is imparted to a fabric and dried, increases in viscosity and reduces in volume as the moisture evaporates from the surface during the drying process and, while gradually drawing the fibers to one another, recedes into the bundle of fibers finally into solid matter filling the gaps between the fibers in such a form as to bond the fibers to one another. Under such conditions, the fabric greatly hardens due to bonding of fibers to one another and thus involves difficulties of being distorted and having depressions and projections produced. Furthermore, when the ink is imparted, the distortion and depressions and projections increasingly occur to make it difficult to apply the ink jet printing evenly. Among other difficulties, when the ink is imparted, it spreads over the surface of fibers bound in a bundle and runs through the threads sooner than it is absorbed by the water-soluble polymer, and so a large quantity of the water-soluble polymer may be added, but the oozing is scarcely stopped, and a print of satisfactory grade is not obtainable. On the other hand, according to the method of the present invention, a treatment solution of an O/W type emulsion having a water-insoluble solvent dispersed or emulsified in an aqueous solution of a water-soluble polymer is used, and this emulsion provides an effect of roughing the film of the water-soluble polymer and having it lose its fluidity during the drying process and finally forms a number of fluffy bridges across the gaps between the fibers. In fact, when the fabric thus pretreated is observed by an electron microscope, the dried pretreatment agent is noted in the form of a number of fluffs of a length of several microns to several tens of microns partly bridging the fibers in the gaps between the fibers. The fabric treated according to the method of the invention is characterized in that the water-soluble polymer, when dried, presents a very great surface area and is, therefore, readily dissolved and that it is not in the form of a continuous film but in the form of fluffs so that it does not retain the ink on the surface but has it readily absorbed into the fabric. Also, the dried water-soluble polymer is extensively distributed in the gaps between the fibers, and so when it absorbs the ink jet ink, it turns into a homogenous color size inside the fabric structure to provide a very high level printing. These features provide a distinguished effect of quickly absorbing the ink imparted onto the fabric, thickening the same and greatly enhancing the effect of preventing oozing. Moreover, because there is less adhesion of the fibers to one another by the water-soluble polymer, the fabric is soft in feeling and is easy to handle. Furthermore, since the water-soluble polymer is applied in the form of a solution, upon drying it may provide fine fluffy pieces but is scarcely separated from the fibers. These features are not obtainable with the W/O type emulsion. As described in the foregoing, the solution having the water-soluble polymer dispersed or emulsified in oil has not the water-soluble polymer dissolved but dispersed as fine particles in oil or emulsified in oil together with a small amount of water not enough to dissolve the polymer, resulting in little bonding to the fabric, and so the fine particles remaining on the fiber surface after drying are apt to fall off the fabric. Further, depending on the type of the water-soluble polymer used according to the material or dye, the treatment solution itself may be of poor stability and may contain particles which have settled, resulting in uneven fixture to the fabric to deteriorate the level printing and stability in prevention of ink oozing. Thus, the method of the present invention features in using a treatment solution of an O/W type emulsion having an aqueous solution of a water-soluble polymer used as a continuous phase and 5% or more of an water-insoluble solvent dispersed or emulsified in the solution. By this method, the prevention of oozing was greatly improved. Fig. 1 is a microscopically enlarged view of the surface of an ink jet printing fabric obtained according to an embodiment of the present invention as described later in Example 1, and from the drawing, fibers having very small fluffy bridge-like pieces of matter of the water-soluble polymer will be clarly noted. Fig. 2 shows the surface of a fabric treated with an aqueous solution of a water-soluble polymer and dried as obtained in Reference 2 from which it can be seen that the fibers are bonded to one another by water-soluble polymer. Water-soluble polymers which may be used in the method of this invention are natural sizing materials (including semi-artificial sizing materials) and artificial sizing materials, and the natural sizing materials include starchy materials such as raw starch and solubilized starch, gummy materials such as locust bean, guiaic and tamarindo, and algal materials such as sodium alginate, and the semi-artificial sizing materials include cellulose materials such as methyl cellulose, hydroxymethyl cellulose and carboxymethyl cellulose. The artificial sizing materials include the vinylic materials such as poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(vinylmethyl ether), acrylic materials such as poly(acrylic acid), poly(methacrylic acid), polyacrylates, polymethacrylates and polyacrylamide, malic acid copolymers such as copolymers with styrene and vinyl acetate, and other compounds such as polyvinylpyrrolidone and poly(ethylene oxide). Such water-soluble polymer may be used appropriately in combination with the printing ink to be used so that there is no difficulty caused by a lack of printing affinity or the like. As a particularly preferable polymer with little hazard to printing affinity, carboxymethyl cellulose (abbreviated as CMC in the following) or sodium alginate may be cited. For prevention of the oozing, the water-soluble polymer is preferably present in an amount of 1.0-20% in the treatment solution, and an amount of 2.0-10% is most preferably used. When present to an excess of 20%, infiltration of the pretreatment solution to the inside of the fabric deteriorates, and the polymer forms a continuous layer and has a lower oozing preventive capacity. Also, desizing becomes more difficult, and such is not economically advantageous. If less than 1.0%, the ink is scarcely absorbed, and so the oozing preventive effect is not appreciable. Also, in order for the water-soluble polymer to be dissolved to form an O/W type emulsion, water is preferably present in an amount of 30% or more in the treatment solution. More preferably, it is present in an amount of 30%-90%. Water-insoluble solvents which may be used in the method of invention include those solvents which are liquid at room temperature and substantially do not dissolve water and the water-soluble polymer, and as such solvents, aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbons such as heptane, octane, nonane, decane, undecane, dodecane, tridecane, kerosine, mineral turpentine, benzene, toluene, xylene and petroleum benzine; hydrocarbon halides such as trichloroethylene, tetrachloroetylene, methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, dichloroethane, dichloropropane, dichlorobutane and chlorobenzene; and plasticizers such as tributyl phosphate, dioctyl phosphate, dioctyl phthalate and dibutyl phthalate, are preferable. Of these, a hydrocarbon having less odor and boiling at 250°C is preferably used as it scarcely remains on the surface of the fabric after drying, and as such hydrocarbon, mineral turpentine or kerosine may be cited. These may be used independently or in combination of two or more. As for the content of the water-insoluble solvent in the treatment solution, 5% or more is required for obtaining bridging thin pieces of the water-soluble polymer. If present in an amount of 70% or more, it is difficult to stably disperse or emulsify in water as an emulsion. Also, the water content is relatively reduced, so that the viscosity of the solution is increased due to the water-soluble polymer and the solution is difficult to apply to the fabric. Therefore, for prevention of the oozing and stability of the dispersion or emulsion of the pretreatment agent, the water-insoluble solvent is present in the treatment solution in a preferred amount of 5%-70% or, more preferably, 20%-60%. Also, in-order to increase the surface area of the water-soluble polymer after drying and to disperse discontinuously the water-soluble polymer in the fabric and thereby provide a high grade oozing preventive effect, it is preferable that the proportion of the dry solid component to the water-insoluble solvent in the pretreatment solution is 1/2.5-1/20; N.B. the dry solid component quoted herein refers to the component remaining as a solid after drying. In a method of the present invention, a surface active agent (SAE) is preferably added in order to stably emulsify the water-insoluble solvent in the aqueous solution. Here, the surface active agent is not particularly retricted so long as it forms an O/W type emulsion, and a non-ionic, high HLB agent is preferable used. Examples of such surface active agents are fatty esters of polyoxyethylene, alkyl polyoxyethylene ethers, alkyl aryl polyoxyethylene ethers, fatty esters of polyhydric alcohols and fatty esters of polyoxyethylene sorbitan. When a high HLB surface active agent is used as the main component of the SAE, together with a low HLB SAE, used concurrently, stability of the emulsion is further improved. The amount of SAE used in the treatment solution is preferably 0.1-10% or, more preferably, 0.5-4%. Depending on the fabric and dye to be applied, there may be added a salt, anti-oxidant, anti-reduction agent and/or level dyeing agent to the treatment solution for improving the printing. Summing up what has been described previously, the basic composition of a pretreatment solution for use in a method embodying the invention is shown below, in percentage by weight. Water-soluble polymer 1-20% Water-insoluble solvent 5-70% Surface active agent 0.1-10% Water 30-90% 100 The following composition may be preferred. CMC 3-7% Turpentine 30-60% Polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether 1% Water 32-66% 100 Such solution may be prepared simply by dissovling the water-soluble polymer in part of water to be used and mixing this aqueous solution of the water-soluble polymer with an O/W emulsion of the water-insoluble solvent emulsified in the remaining water with the surface active agent used. The emulsion may be imparted to the fabric, in a method according to the invention, by any of the pad, print and coating methods, but in view of the high viscosity of the treatment solution, a method of imparting the treatment solution by the print or coating method then pressing the fabric through a mangle to impregnate the solution into the fabric, is particularly preferable. The amount of the pretreatment agent to be imparted to the fabric may be increased or decreased depending on the structure or material of the fabric or the amount of ink to be imparted, but as a pickup it is 50-300% by weight of the fiber. The fabric may then be heated and dried according to a conventional method. The ink jet applied to a fabric proposed by a method embodying the present invention discharges ink from a nozzle and transforms the discharged ink liquid into drops to be controlled and used, and the ink jet methods may be classified as follows: (1) Continuous discharge system (deflection type and divergency type); and (2) On-demand system (pressure pulse type, bubble jet type and electrostatic discharge type), and any of these methods may be employed. Thereafter, the print fabric is generally subjected to the processes of developing and soaping. In the developing process, the dye is transferred from the water-soluble polymer to the fiber and fixed. Then, in the soaping process, the water-soluble polymer and other pretreatment agents are removed from the fabric, and for these processes, conventional facilities and methods are usable. The effects of the fabric thus obtained for ink jet printing are as follows. The ink jet printing fabric obtained according to the preparative method of the invention, when it comes into contact with an ink comprising water as a main medium, has the water-soluble polymer in the fabric instantly absorb the water and thicken to achieve the prevention of oozing, and so it is applicable to all of the water-based inks including inks having a disperse dye or any other water-insoluble dye dispersed and those of a water-soluble dye such as reactive dye and acid dye. Also, the materials to which the method of the invention is applicable include artificial fibers (polyester, nylon, acryl, etc.), natural vegetable fibers (silk, hemp, etc.) and animal fibers (silk, wool, etc.), and so the method is a reasonable and generally applicable method. Further, the fabric structure is not particularly limited, and woven, knit and non-woven fabrics are usable. Now, the main effects of the present invention will be summarized as below. (1) Compared with the case of imparting the same amount of the water-soluble polymer as a mere aqueous solution, the oozing preventive effect is very high. (2) Fine particles of the water-soluble polymer scarcely fall off the fabric, as they do in the case of a fabric treated with a W/O type emulsion. (3) Being water based, in contrast to the W/O type emulsion, the polymer is readily washed off with water to facilitate cleaning of the apparatus. After ink jet printing and color development, the pretreatment agent can be removed from the fabric in the washing process so that the texture and grade of the print fabric are not impaired. Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the following Examples. Example 1 Using carboxymethyl cellulose (hereafter abbreviated) as CMC) as a water-soluble polymer and mineral turpentine as a water-insoluble solvent, a pretreatment solution of the following composition was prepared. Fine Gum MC-8 (CMC; product of Daiichi Kogyo Seiyaku) 5% Water 63% Mineral Spirit A (Mineral turpentine, product of Nippon Oil) 30% Nonipol 100 (Surface active agent, polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether, HLB 13.3; product of Sanyo Kasei Kogyo) 2% To the water-soluble polymer dissolved in water, the surface active agent was added, and the mixture was stirred with mineral turpentine added little by little, and there was produced an O/W type emulsion. This pretreatment solution was imparted to a silk fabric (Habutae) which was then squeezed through a mangle (squeezing rate: 60%) and dried on a tenter, and a fabric for ink jet printing was thus obtained. This pretreated fabric was soft and hard lust lost to white. By this, it is obvious that the water-soluble polymer is differently fixed from that in Reference 2 shown later. To determine the texture of the pretreated fabric the bending resistance was measured according to the cantilever method (JIS L1096). The results are shown in Table 1. A larger figure indicates a harder fabric. This pretreated fabric was printed using the ink jet conditions shown below. Ink jet system: On-demand type Nozzle diameter: 75 microns Drive frequency: 4000 Hz Resolution: 8 dots/mm (Ink) Remasol Turquoise Blue G Liquid (reactive dye, product of Hoechst) Cibacron Red 6B Liquid (reactive dye, product of Ciba Geigy) Each dye was prepared into an ink of the following composition. Reactive dye: 30% Ethylene glycol: 20% Ion exchange water: 50% After printing, the fabric was subjected to steaming with saturated steam at 100°C for 15 minutes to fix the dye then to water washing and soaping at 60°C to remove the pretreatment agent and unfixed dye, and dried. With this print sample, the length of oozing at the boundary of the two-color print and one-color print was measured. As for the oozing, the distance of movement (mm) of the color of the two-color print to the adjacent color of a one-color print was measured. A small figure indicates less oozing. Also, the grade of the print as a whole was evaluated through visual observation. The sample had the oozing suppressed well and had no distortion produced in the image, and a beautiful print was obtained (grade o). These results are also shown in Table 1. The water-soluble polymer was entirely removed from the fabric, and so the texture of the fabric was not at all degraded. Example 2 Similarly, dissolving sodium alginate in water, an O/W emulsion of the following composition was obtained. Snow Algin M (Sodium alginate, product of Fuji Kagaku Kogyo) 3% Sodium trichloroacetate 5% Water 50% Mineral Spirit A (Product of Nippon Oil) 45% Nonipol 100 (Surface active agent, product of Sanyo Kasei Kogyo) 2% This was applied to a cotton fabric (broad) under the same conditions as those of Example 1, and a print sample was obtained (grade o). The print image had the oozing well suppressed, with no color shading, and was of good grade. The results are shown in Table 1. Example 3 Similarly, dissolving sodium alginate in water, an O/W emulsion of the following composition was provided. Snow Algin M (Sodium alginate, product of Fuji Kagaku Kogyo) 3% Water 35% Mineral Sprint A (Product of Nippon Oil) 60% Nonipol 100 (Surface active agent, product of Sanyo Kasei Kogyo) 2% This was imparted to a nylon jersey (thick cloth) by the print method. The pickup was 100%. Treating under the same conditions as those in Example 1, a print sample was obtained (grade o). The printed image had the oozing suppressed well. Also, as the dye penetrated well into the fabric, the fabric was stretched, but it had no undyed portion produced on the surface. The results are shown in Table 2. Example 4 Similarly, dissolving CMC in water, an O/W emulsion of the following composition was obtained. Fine Gun SP-1 (CMC, product of Daiichi Kogyo Seiyaku) 8% Water 45% Mineral Spirit A (Product of Nippon Oil) 20% Nonipol 100 (Surface active agent, product of Sanyo kasei Kogyo) 1% This was applied to a nylon tricot fabric (thin cloth) under the same conditions as those of Example 1, and a print sample was obtained (grade o). The printed image had the ink oozing well suppressed and was good in level dyeing and dyed in dark colors. The results are shown in Table 2. Example 5 Similarly, dissolving CMC in water, an O/W emulsion of the following composition was obtained. Fine Gum MC-8 (CMC, product of Daiichi Kogyo Seiyaku) 5% Water 45% Mineral Spirit A (Product of Nippon Oil) 50% Nonipol 100 (Surface active agent, product of Sanyo Kasei Kogyo) 1% This was imparted by coating to a nylon twill. The coating was 40 g/m². Thereafter, the fabric was treated and dried under the same conditions as those of Example 1, and an ink jet print sample was obtained (grade o). Disperse dye inks of the following composition were used for ink jet ink. Ink C.I. Disperse Yellow 42 C.I. Disperse Blue (Disperse dyes) 56 Each dye was prepared into an ink of the following composition. Disperse dye 10% 1,4-butanediol 20% Ion exchange water 50% After printing, the fabric was subjected to steaming with superheated steam at 170°C for 7 minutes to fix the dye, then to water washing and normal reduction clearing at 80°C and dried. The printed image had the oozing well suppressed and was good in level dyeing, being dyed in dark colors. The results are shown in Table 2. References 1 and 2 An untreated silk fabric (Habutae) was taken as a sample of Reference 1. Also, a silk fabric (Habutae) having an aqueous solution of the following composition imparted to it was taken as a sample of Reference 2. Fine Gum MC-8 5% Water 93% Nonipol 100 (Surface active agent) 2% Each was ink jet printed using the same conditions as those of the preceding Examples. The print image of Reference 1 (untreated) showed considerable oozing (grade x). The sample of Reference 2 had the fabric distorted on account of thick sizing, and so the image was somewhat distorted. Also, the ink was oozing at parts where the ink was imparted rather heavily, and thus the print was inferior in grade (grade ▵) to Example 1 (grade o). Reference 3 A treatment solution having a water-soluble polymer dispersed in oil was prepared according to the following composition. CMC was preveiously pulverized by a jet mill. Mineral Spirit A 92.1% Sorbitan monooleate (Surface active agent) 2.1% Fine Gun MC-8 5.0% Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate (Surface active agent) 1.8% This pretreatment fabric was soft but in a state of having white powder over the surface of the cloth. Under the same condition as those of the previous Examples, it was subjected to ink jet printing. The results are shown in Table 1 (grade ▵). The print had the oozing prevented rather better than that of Reference 2 but had large oozing from part to part and was lacking in level dyeing. References 4 and 5 An untreated cotton broad cloth was taken as a sample of Reference 4. Also, preparing an aqueous solution of the following composition, a cotton broad cloth having the aqueous solution imparted to it was taken as a sample of Reference 5. Snow Algin M 5% Water 93% Sodium trichloroacetate 5% Each was ink jet printed under the same conditions as those of the previous Examples. The results are shown in Table 1. The print image of Reference 4 (untreated) showed oozing (grade x). The sample of Reference 5 was in a state of being solidly sized, and the image was slightly distorted (grade ▵). Further, the image showed oozing at parts where the ink was sticking rather greatly, and the print as a whole was inferior to that of Example 2. Reference 6 An aqueous solution was prepared according to the following composition, and it was imparted to a silk "Habutae" fabric. Fine Gum MC-8 5% Water 90% Mineral Spirit A 3% Nonipol 2% Under the same conditions as those of the previous Examples, ink jet printing was applied. The results are shown in Table 1. The print image (grade ▵) showed some oozing at parts where the ink was imparted rather heavily and was not much different from that of Reference 2. Materials Bending resistance of treated fabric (mm) Print oozing (mm) Grade Example 1 Silk 50 0.2 o Reference 1 Silk 50 5.5 x Reference 2 Silk 80 1.2 ▵ Reference 3 Silk 50 0.5 ▵ Reference 6 Silk 75 1.2 ▵ Example 2 Cotton 60 0.1 o Reference 4 Cotton 33 3.3 x Reference 5 Cotton 92 0.8 ▵ Materials Dry solid/turpentine weight ratio Print oozing (mm) Grade Example 3 Nylon jersey 1/20 0.2 o Example 4 Nylon tricot 1/2.5 0.4 o Example 5 Polyester twill 1/10 0.2 o The oozing preventive effect of the method of the present invention allows application of the ink jet printer to the field of textile printing as in the field of paper printing. Thus, pattern formation by means of a pattern reader or computer is applicable, and so the cost of pattern formation is greatly reduced as compared with the conventional hand printing, roller printing, screen printing and transfer printing. The method of the invention is thus very advantageous for printing a variety of patterns each in a small quantity.

Claims: A method of preparing a fabric for ink jet printing in which the fabric is treated with an emulsion having an oil phase provided by a water-insoluble solvent and an aqueous phase provided by an aqueous solution of a polymer, and thereafter dried characterized in that the emulsion is an oil in water emulsion in which the aqueous polymer solution constitutes the continuous phase thereof and the oil phase is dispersed or emulsified in the aqueous polymer phase. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the water-insoluble solvent is present in the emulsion in an amount of 5-70% by weight of the emulsion. A method according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the water is present in the emulsion in an amount of 30-90% by weight of the emulsion. A method according to any preceding Claim, wherein the water-soluble polymer is present in the emulsion in an amount of 1.0-20% by weight of the emulsion. A method according to any preceding Claim, wherein the weight of the dry solid component in the emulsion is 1/2.5-1/20 of the weight of the water-insoluble solvent. A method of ink jet printing, in which the fabric is pretreated, by a method according to any preceding claim, with a pretreatment material to prepare the fabric for ink jet printing, the fabric is thereafter subjected to an ink jet printing process including a development step, and during the development step, the fabric is washed to remove unwanted pretreatment material.

Inventors: HANDA NOBUYOSHI, MASUDA YUTAKA, USUI HIROMI, HANDA, NOBUYOSHI, MASUDA, YUTAKA, USUI, HIROMI
Applicants: TORAY INDUSTRIES, TORAY INDUSTRIES, INC.
Application year: 1991
Main classification: D06P5
IPC codes: D06P5