Improvements in the Pigment-Based Inkjet Printing Performance of Poly(lactic acid) Nonwoven Fabric by Surface Coating Using Polyacrylamide

Polylactic acid (PLA) fiber is a biodegradable material, and can be used as an alternative to petrochemical-based fibers. Printed PLA nonwoven products have a wide market. The pigment inkjet printing of PLA nonwovens suffers from some defects such as poor outline sharpness of patterns, poor rub fastness, and degradation of PLA fiber in the process of heat curing. In this work, surface coating and modification using polyacrylamide (PAM) was employed to improve the pigment inkjet printing performance of PLA nonwovens. The effect of curing temperature on the direct ink jet printing performance was first discussed in terms of color depth, color fastness, penetration of pigment inks, and sharpness of printed pattern. Subsequently, the influence of the coating with different dosages of PAM on the physical properties, morphological structures, and printing features of the fabric was studied. The results showed that the coating with PAM obviously improved the apparent color depth and pattern sharpness of the printed fabric, and the curing at 135 degrees C after printing imparted good color fastness to the printed fabric.