Pigment Printing Systems and Binder Application
topic
Pigment printing applies insoluble pigment particles suspended in polymer binder to fabric surfaces through screen or digital printing followed by hot air curing at 150 to 170 degrees Celsius that crosslinks the binder polymer to mechanically fix pigment particles to fibre surfaces, providing multi-fibre printing capability on any fibre type without dye-fibre chemical affinity requirements but with handle and wash fastness limited by the binder film properties.
Role
Provides the simplest and most versatile printing method applicable to any fibre type without the chemistry adaptation required for fibre-reactive dyes by using binder adhesion rather than dye-fibre bonding for colour attachment, with pigment printing dominating home textile and casual apparel printing markets where its cost simplicity and fibre universality outweigh the handle and wash fastness limitations versus dye-based printing systems.