How to Print Using Indian Natural Dyes

General Procedure

1. Tanning of Fabric with Myrabolan Powder

If myrobalan powder is taken

a. Take 200 gms of Myrobalan powder for 1 kg of fabric

b. Make a smooth paste with water, without any lumps

c. Add water till it becomes 5 liters.

d. Mix well

e. Soak the fabric in this

f. Work the fabric in this solution at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes.

g. Squeeze the material and dry it in shade.

h. When dried, remove the unfixed material by striking it against wall.



2. Preparation of Thickening Agent

Using Tamarind Seed Powder

a. Add 100 gms of Tamarind seed powder in 1 liter of boiling wter.Sprinkle the powder in the boiling water stirring to avoid lumps.

b. Cook and mix till a fine paste is ready, cool it and filter the contents.

c. Remember that this paste is stable only for 2 to 3 days.

Or

Take Bhagvathi gum, add 30 to 50 gms of powder for 1 liter of water. It is also soluble in cold water.

This paste has better stability

Avoid Gum Arabic.

3. Mordanting the Solution with Mineral Salts

Take the mineral salts according to the following formula:

x parts of mineral salts
15 to 20% boiling water
70% thickening agent
to make it 100%.

The following are the general guidelines for getting the dark shades.

Alum= 10%, available by the name of Fitkari
Potassium Dichromate= 5%, available as Lal Kashish
Copper Sulphate= 10%, available by the name of mor Thuth
Ferrous Sulphate= 1 to 5%, available by the name of Hira Kashish
Iron Solution = 50%

Iron solution is made by the following procedure:

a. Take 2 kg of Iron Pieces, 1 to 1.5 kg of Jaggery and add 20 liters of water.

b. Keep in a plastic container for 3-4 weeks

Tin Chloride= 0.5 to 1.0 %

The Procedure for making the paste is:

a. Ground the mineral salt into powder form.
b. Add water and boil.
c. When completely dissolved, add the thickening agent.

The paste is ready for the printing process

4. Printing

Now Print the fabric using blocks. Dry and wash as follows:

5. Washing

 When washing in river keep the printed portion face down so that it touches water. Wash for about 5 to 10 minutes, printed portion is not touched. Care should be taken that printed portion should not touch the unprinted portion.

After washing, dry in flat on the ground. Dont hang. Now the fabric is ready for developing.


6. Developing of Color

Fabric is developed using traditional material. For yellow ranges Pomegranate rind ( Anar ka Chilka) or Forest Yellow (Amba Haldi) 50% or Moduga flowers ( Desuda phool) are taken. For Pinks to reds maroons Alizarin(0.5% with 10-20% Dhavdi flowers added to dye bath), Mnajistha(25-50%) is taken, for grey ranges: Rathanjoth(30% to 50%), Ferrous Sulphate is taken, for brown range: catechu ( Katha) and its componets are taken.

 Powder the dye and mix and boil with water for 3-4 boils. Filter it. Make a dye bath with material to Liquor ratio of 1:20 at 50 deg C. Add the solution in it. Enter the fabric ( already mordanted ) in it. Work well and raise the temperature to boil. Dye for 30-40 minutes. Wash and soap. Dry in shade.

Defects in Dyeing with Reactive Dyes

Defects in Dyeing with Reactive Dyes

Defect: Colors are not fast to washing, Abrasion;Staining in the fabric when transporting from place to the other, water marks on the fabric

Remedy : Wash the fabric with soap and soda ash at right temperature. Adding sequestering agent will yield good results. Treating with Ammonia will also give good results.

Defects in the fabric due to Printing- Need to take out full color

Remedy: Treat the dyed fabric with Sodium Hydrosuphite with 5-10 gm Sodium Hydrosulphite at 75 deg C for 30-45 minutes. Add 5-7 gms Caustic Soda for even removal of colors. The color becomes light yellow or brown after removal. Wash it thoroughly with soap.

The color can also be removed by solution of Sodium Hypochlorite. Treat the fabric with a sodium hypochlorite solution ( 3-5 gms Chlorine) for 20-30 minutes. Keep the pH between 9-10. The fabric is treated with Acetic acid after removal of color to remove chlorine and to neutralise the fabric.

The fabric can be redyed after removal of color

Defect: Bleeding in colors during washing, abrasion

Remedy: Boil the fabric with caustic, Treat the fabric with Hydrogen Peroxide ( 5-10 gpl, 60-70 deg C) to make the color fast.


Defect: The fabric has been dyed in darker shade, uneven dyeing

Remedy: To take out color from the fabric treat it with caustic for 45-60 min at 70 deg C. Thereafter treat the fabric with 10-20 gpl Acetic Acid for 40-60 min at 80-85 deg C.

Defect: Uneven dyeing, marks of water, marks of colors

Remedy: Wash the fabric in soap and redye in a darker shade

Defect : The fabric has become stiff and rough after dyeing

Remedy: Finish after adding right softner

Defect: Color staining of fabric, uneven dyeing

Remedy: Redye the fabric in darker shade.

Defect: Color staining in fabrics of darker shade, uneven undyeing

Remedy: Dye the fabric in Sulphur black

Caution: Please treat a small length fabric to check the effectiveness and any harmful effects before commencing a full treatment.

Printing with Natural Dyes

Printing with Natural Dyes

In traditional methods in India, printing is essentially carried in three steps:

1. Preparation of the Cloth
2. Mordanting
3. Dyeing

1. First of all the cloth is prepared by applying tannin.

2. A thickened mordant is printed on this tannin treated cloth in the desired pattern.

3. The cloth is then dyed so that dyestuff attaches itself to those parts of the cloth to which mordant has been applied.

Thus the various processes are:

a. Tanning of fabric
b. printing of mordant
c. fixing of the modant
d. washing out the excess of fixing agent
e. dyeing
f. washing and soaping.

Harda or Myrobalan is used in India as a tanning agent for dyeing and printing with natural colours.

It is applied on scoured cotton fabric in cold ( 10-40 gpl) using conventional method of tub dip wherein the Harda powder is replenished with each piece added to the bath.

After drying various metallic salts such as alum or ferrous sulphate are printed on the fabric either separately or in mixtures.

It is then subsequently dyed with madder root ( Manjith), pometranate rind, kusum flowers and other vegetable dyes.

Trade Names of Natural Dyes

DYE SOURCE	BOTANICAL NAME/ SOURCE	TRADE NAME
Pomegranate	Punica granatium	Pacific
Myrobalan	Terminalia chebula	Kongo
Cutch	Acacia catechu	Thar
Kamala	Mallotus phillipinensis	Basant
Nut Galls	Quercus infectoria	Amber-M
Madder	Rubia cardifolia	Indus
Himalayan Rhubarb	Rheum emodi	Desert
Indigo	Indigofera tinctoria	Nile
Annato	Bixa orellana	Amazon
Lac	Coccus laccae	Rhine-M

You can find a tutorial on How to Use Natural Dyes here.  Receipes for natural dyes can be found here.

FAQ in textile dyeing

Here is an amazing site to answer the following ( and many more) frequently asked questions on Dyeing:

Which dyes are more lightfast?

How can I fix non-reactive dyes

Is there anything I can do to "set" the dye on purchased fabric?

How can I dye spandex (or Lycra or elastane)?

How can I dye nylon?

How can I dye rayon?

How can I dye satin or charmeuse?

How can I dye polyester?

What are mordants? What's the difference between mordants and other dye chemicals?

What is soda ash? What's it used for?

What temperature should the soda ash be?

What is the effect of pH? What is the optimal pH?

What is urea for? Is it necessary?

What is the effect of temperature?

Should I use distilled or spring water instead of tap water?

Do I need to use salt?

How are thickeners such as alginate used with dye?

How do you use Silk Salt or other large salt crystals to make bursts of color?

Help! I ruined clothing by spattering bleach. How can I fix it?

How do you "bleach" a screen print on a t-shirt?

Can you tie dye something that is already dark?

How can I neutralize the damaging effects of chlorine bleach?

What chemicals can be used to remove dye?

Which Procion MX dyes discharge the best? Which are good at resisting chlorine bleach?

Which Procion MX dyes are pure, and which are mixtures?

Which MX dyes at one supplier are the same as those at another?

How can I mix Procion MX dyes to get specific colors?

What is in Procion type dye powder?

What other brand names are Procion MX type dyes sold under?

What do the letters and numbers in the code name for a Procion MX type dye mean?

Which Procion MX dyes discharge the best? Which are good at resisting chlorine bleach?

Which Procion H dyes are pure unmixed colors, and which mixtures? How do they compare from one retailer to another?

Which Wash Fast Acid dyes are pure, rather than mixtures?

What are Kiton Levelling Acid Dyes?

My colors just washed out! What happened?

My colors are not very bright. What did I do wrong?

Why are there specks of color all over my fabric?

Why did the thread stay white when I dyed clothing?

How do you tie-dye a star or mandela pattern?

How do you tie-dye a spiral?

How do you tie-dye letters of the alphabet?

How can I tie-dye a peace sign?

How can I dye clothing or fabric in the washing machine?

Can I paint on clothing with oil paints?

Can I screenprint with a dye resist?

How do you tie-dye socks?

Is it safe to eat or breathe fiber reactive dyes?

Which dyes are the safest? Which are the most dangerous?

Aren't natural dyes always safer than synthetic dyes?

Is all-purpose dye safer than fiber reactive dye?

Integrated Finishing for Denim- my Notes

Preshrinking of Textile Fabrics- or compressive shrinkage

Shrinkage can be
- Natural Wash shrinkage- When the fibres swell in the presence of water and tensions induced during Spinning, weaving and processing of fabrics
- Compressive or Mechanical Shrinkage

It can be compared to the action of press. The effectiveness of ironing depends upon:
Temperature of the press
Amount of Moisture present in the fabrics
Amount of Physical Pressure Applied
Time duration of application of press.

In case of pressing, the new memory is set by drying, in compressive shrinking, it is the palmer unit which dries the fabric, thereby setting its new memory

Amount of preshrinkage left in the fabric is adjusted by varying the relative speed of the palmer to that of the rubber belt unit.

Temperature

The temperature affects in the following way the various components of the palmer/ compressive shrinkage unit

- Rubber Belt Cylinder
o Lower Temperature- Fabric appearance is affected- Sharp crease
o Higher temperature- rubber belt life is shortened
- Palmer Cylinder
o If lower temperature: No dry Stuff; Elongation of preshrunk fabric- also stretching of inspection and rolling operation.
o The purpose of palmer cylinder is to dry a fabric to a level of about 4% relative humidity. If there is higher temperature, there is elongation with natural moisture regain.
- Temperature of fabric as it enters rubber belt unit
If properly controlled, then high production. Most fabrics will shrink more easily if heated before entering the rubber belt unit.
Moisture

- 100% cotton denim may require as much as 14% moisture to permit effective pre shrinkage
- Moisture must be uniform thoroughout the length, width, and depth of fabric

How to ensure moisture uniformity
- Use of heated cans
- Apply needed moisture of fabric vial cooling water applied to rubber belt surface. But it also depends upon the condition of the rubber belt. Freshly grinded rubber belt carry more water à water removal roll of the rubber belt unit

Penetration of moisture applied to the fabric is very important. If insufficient moistureà Innermost dry layers of yarn will act like spring and cause the fabric to elongate.

Pressure

Maximum amount of rubber belt compression should not be greater than 25% of the actual belt thickness.

More heavy the fabric, more potential, more compression will it need

d. Duration

If above three factors are maintained and we have a sufficiently large palmer unit, we can compress durably a fabric to its ‘zero’ potential.

Its important to use cooling cans at the exit of the palmer

Fabric Scray: Use of exit scray allows additional time for fabric cooling as it is impossible to roll fabrics without the use of lengthwise tension.

Guider: The function of the guider is to keep the fabric to its full width.

Skyer: It is a sort of time delay device allowing time for moisture to penetrate into the fabric without the need to increase the machine length.

Heated Can: purpose: it is to drive the surface moisture into the fabric and to preheat the fabric.

Palmer

Function

Dry the fabric and set shrinkage
Adjust the shrinkage
To compare incoming and outgoing fabric tension and determine fabric shrinkage

Less dense the felt, greater is the drying capacity

Exit Scary
- To relax and cool;
- To prevent hot stop marks. It increases the rubber belt life
- To facilitate shrink environment
Why Wet Finishing for Denim

- Moisture doesn’t penetrate in the core- in foam finishing
- Its better to shrink fabric with a low moisture content than those which are bone dried

In integrated Machine

Padder- wetting
- squeezing the moisture
- application of heat

Once it is shrunk the fabric is thoroughly dried by palmer

- Hand can be adjusted in padder use of starch, lubricant
- Width can be controlled by adjusting tension between the padder and dry can
- Higher speed
- Even ness of the moisture content- Residual moisture after leaving palmer should be 4%

Drying depends upon the pressure of the steam, m/c speed, size of palmer , construction of felt

Rubber Belts: 36-40 deg. Shore

Harder- crack and lesser shrinkage capacity
Softer- require replacement frequently
Thickness- 67mm

Thicker- more grinding
- cracking
- more wear and tear to machine parts
- energy consumption

Rubber belt: Inside circumference- 3.962m
- Rubber surface width should exceed fabric width by at least 6” and preferably 8”

How to increase the life of the Rubber belt

- Nip pressure used on rubber belt should be optimum
- Over tension in the rubber belt should be avoided
- Belt should be run with sufficient cooling water in its interior and exterior surface
- Belt should be run with lowest possible operating temperature 115 deg- 140deg
- Frequency of grinding of the rubber belt should be optimum ie should be enough and at sufficient depth.
- Grind when density of belt surface has varied by 10% of its original hardness
- Water removal roll pressure adjustment is very important to insure max. belt life. Water acts not only to cool the rubber, but is also a lubricant
- Product machine stops or “hot stops” should be avoided to the maximum extent possible. One of the best ways to eliminate is to install scrays at the entrance and exit of the shrinking machine.
- Foreign objects should be avoided. Knot size for joining fabrics should be smaller.
- Regular cleaning and inspection of rubber belt.
- Use correct belt width
- Be careful during installation and maintenance of rubber belt, avoid use of chemicals.

Function of Felt Palmer

- It is required to maintain the preshrunk fabrics in intimate uniform contact with the surface of the heated cylinder in order to ensure uniform smooth drying of the fabricà new dimensionally stable memory.
- Fabric drying depends upon, palmer cylinder temperature, shrinking machine speed and permeability of the drying felt.
- It helps in precise fabric shrinking adjustment. It acts as a fabric puller to precisely control tension on the fabric
- Provides a pressing and calendaring effect on the preshrunk fabric