REACTIVE DYES IN

PRINTING
Textile and Man 2015
Reactive dyes

•  Translucent, soft imprint.

•  Maintain the feel and the features of the fabric.
•  Good wash fastness.
•  Wide range of color can be produced with reactive dyes.
•  Is used both for coloring and printing. Suitable for a variety of printing
methods such as resist printing and discharge printing.
•  Reactive dyes are used to dye cellulose fibers, as well as protein fibers and
some polyamides.
•  Reactive dye adheres to the fiber by a chemical bond (pigment adheres
to the fiber with binder).
•  Steaming and finishing washes are required to fix the color.  
Reactive Dye types and groups

•  Reactive dyes are divided into dyeing and printing colorants based on the reactivity and
substantivity of the dye types. Substantivity describes the amount of the attraction of the dye
for the fiber. The higher the substantivity, the greater the attraction. Reactivity means ability to
react with the material.

•  There is a wide selection of reactive dyes for variety of uses. Remazol dyes are widely used
because of the medium substantivity and medium reactivity, which make them suitable for a
variety of methods.

•  Remazol dyes are part of the Vinyl Sulfone dye group. Vinyl Sulfones discharge well. Other
reactive dye group is e.g. Chlorotriazine dyes like Levafix PN and Cibacron P, which discharge
poorly. However, Chlorotriazine dyes endure agents that are used for resist printing, unlike vinyl
sulfones.
Direct printing with reactive dyes for
cellulose fibers
•  The printing paste is similar to reactive dye painting recipe, with the difference of increased amount of
thickening agent.
•  Thickening agent is used to keep the texture of the paste thick and controllable, so that the color does not
spread and the outlines are sharp and precise.
•  The amount of full color of reactive dye for cellulose fibers is usually 40g/kg. For dark blue and black the
amount needs to be increased to 60-80 g/kg.
•  When the dye is added to the printing paste, the dye paste needs to be used within a week, with some blue
colors within 4 days.
•  The dye needs to be dissolved in water before adding it to the printing paste. Dissolution of the powdered
dyes takes 3-4 times hot water. The amount of the water used for the dissolution needs to be considered in
the total amount of water for the printing method.
•  Approximately half of the water used for the printing paste is measured warm, and the alkali, urea and
oxygenator (hapetin) are dissolved in it. The rest of the water is added cold to cool the paste down. The
thickening agent is added last with an electric mixer.
•  When printing, remember that the amount of of draws and the pressure you apply affect the printing result.
Direct printing with reactive dyes for
protein fibers
•  The printing paste for wool and silk differs from the printing paste for cellulose fibers in terms of
the acidity of the paste. The pH of the paste is adjusted to slightly acidic wit sodium acetate.

•  For very light silk fabrics the amount fo the urea might need to be reduced, if the dye spreads
during the steaming process.

•  The amount of the full color for wool fibers is usually 30g/kg, with dark blue and black 40g/kg.
Task 1
•  Divide into 2 groups.
•  Group 1 will make printing paste for cellulose fibers (5 kg) and Group
2 for protein fibers (5 kg). These pastes will remain in your use during
the course.
•  Don’t add any color to the paste yet.

Optional task:
•  Paint or print with open screen some grounds for discharge printing
for Monday.