A study on the process parameters of discharge printing of cotton fabrics

Discharge printing of cotton fabrics with sodium- and zinc formaldehyde sulphoxylate with different fixation conditions was discussed in this study. Superheated steam, saturated steam and thermofixation were used for fixation processes. It was observed that steam based fixations resulted in the higher discharging effects, while thermofixation lead to an inadequate effect even in higher temperatures. Superheated steam was found to be advantageous in terms of lower fixation times. Sodium formaldehyde sulphoxylate gave superior discharging effects compared with zinc formaldehyde sulphoxylate, which caused higher strength loss especially in superheated steam fixation. Furthermore, the effects of the softeners on the discharge printing results were also investigated in the scope of the study.