Reactive dye printing with mixed thickeners on viscose

The rheology of binary mixtures of three anionic thickeners, alginate, carboxymethyl starch (CMS) and a modified polyacrylic acid has been measured. Two reactive dyes were printed from pastes based on these mixtures. The printing (amount applied, penetration, fixation) and the final print (colour yield, levelness, fabric stiffening) were assessed. Several of the mixtures showed dye-dependent behavior, and evidence suggests that the CMS undergoes interactions with one of the dyes used. In small amounts alginate and CMS seem effective as a rheology modifiers, with CMS avoiding dye-dependent rheology changes and providing high colour yields. Other parameters are dye-dependent. While the study does not include the thickeners used singly, the most advantageous mixture seems to be a modified polyacrylic acid with a small addition of CMS.