Predictive Modelling of Colour Strength and Ink Penetration (%) of Inkjet-Printed Cotton

Recent times have seen a rising interest in inkjet printing of textiles due to potential benefits it offers over conventional printing methods such as lean set-up costs and enabling cost effective short runs. The growing interest has made pretreatment of fabric to be the subject of much recent research. The aim of the study was to develop a model which can predict the colour strength and ink penetration (%) of inkjet-printed cotton as a function of pre- and post- treatment process variables. The independent variables investigated were concentration of thickener, urea, and alkali and steaming time. The experimental plan was based on the full factorial design. Predictive models were constructed by modelling the values of the independent variables and their coefficient of regression. It can be concluded that most significant predictor affecting the colour strength was concentration of urea followed by concentration of thickener; whereas, for ink penetration (%), the most influential predictor was concentration of thickener followed by concentration of urea and steaming time. The adequacy of predictive models was evaluated by analysis of variance, coefficient of determination (R2) and residual analysis and found to be accurate at 95 % confidence level.