Pretreatment of textile for inkjet printing

Abstract

This invention pertains to inkjet printing on textile including using a pretreatment solution containing poly(acrylic) acid, hydrophilic copolymers of poly(acrylic) acid or mixtures thereof to control bleed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of digitally printing :textile comprising the steps of:
 (a) pretreating said textile with an aqueous pretreatment solution comprising a bleed control agent selected from the group consisting of poly(acrylic) acid, hydrophilic copolymers of poly(acrylic) acid and mixtures thereof;   (b) drying the pretreated textile; and   (c) digitally printing the dried, pretreated textile with a colored ink jet ink;   wherein said bleed control agent is present in an amount less than 5% by weight based on the weight of said pretreatment solution, and said ink jet ink comprises a pigment, a dispersant to disperse said pigment, and a polymeric binder, and said binder is cross-linked with a cross-linking agent or cross-linking groups present in said textile.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , optionally comprising an additional post printing step of curing with melamine at a temperature greater than 180° C. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein said bleed control agent has a pH of between 2 and 5. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein said textile is a synthetic material. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein said cross-linking agent is an epoxide. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein said pretreatment solution farther comprises a surfactant. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein said pretreatment solution has a viscosity of less than 4 cPs. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein said cross-linking agent is an epoxide. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein said pretreatment solution farther comprises a surfactant. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein pretreatment solution has a viscosity of less than 4 cPs. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said polymeric binder is a polyurethane. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein said bleed control agent has a pH of between 2 and 5. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein said textile is a synthetic material. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said cross-linking agent is an epoxide. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein said pretreatment solution further comprises a surfactant. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein said pretreatment solution has a viscosity of less than 4 cPs. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said cross-linking agent is a carbodiimide. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said pretreatment solution further comprises a surfactant. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein said pretreatment solution has a viscosity of less than 4 cPs.