Compositions – Durable finishes for textile materials – or processes of...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-27
2002-11-12
Cameron, Erma (Department: 1762)
Compositions
Durable finishes for textile materials, or processes of...
C252S008630, C252S008910
Reexamination Certificate
active
06478980
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention is directed to treatment of textiles, and more particularly relates to a method and composition for treating textiles to improve the quality of images printed thereon.
BACKGROUND
Current textile printing technologies are deficient in meeting modern, time-driven, demand-responsive manufacturing strategies. In general, the conventional method of printing on textiles involves crosslinking a colorant to the cellulosic fiber of the textile itself. This approach is limited in that it relies on processes that involve multiple, time-consuming steps. Furthermore, the types of substrates and colorants that can be used are limited.
One approach for increasing textile printing speed involves the use of inkjet printing. Inkjet printers are very popular, due at least in part to their reliability, relatively quiet operation, versatility, graphics capability, print quality, and low cost. Moreover, inkjet printers have made possible “on demand” color printing without the need for complicated devices. Because inkjet printing has become so popular in both home and commercial use, several water-soluble inks are available. The inks are typically composed of water and a colorant, usually a dye or pigment dispersion, and often contain a number of additives for imparting certain features to the ink, e.g., improved stability and flow, smear resistance, and the like.
Unfortunately, the use of inkjet printing techniques to print on textiles has met with several problems. First, and in spite of the large number of inkjet inks currently available, inkjet printed images on textiles are often of low quality. For example, the printed images often smear upon handling, exhibit bleed (the intrusion of one color into an adjacent color), are moisture sensitive, and are dull, i.e., colored inks when printed fail to accurately produce the expected hues. Moreover, the printed images are often neither water-fast nor detergent-resistant, resulting in fading of the printed image after washing. Printed textile images with these drawbacks are wholly unacceptable to the textile industry, which requires not only that the image be both water-resistant and detergent-resistant, but also that the colors and hues are those deemed acceptable in the textile field. In addition, the textile industry also demands that while the colorant of the ink must adhere tenaciously to the substrate, it also must not alter the desirable hand properties of the substrate. This combination of requirements is very difficult to accomplish.
Although there have been developments and improvements in the field of textile printing, the methods currently used still do not provide optimum results. Thus, there is a need in the art for a textile treatment that can overcome the above problems, is relatively inexpensive, and can generally provide a high quality inkjet printed image on a textile substrate, preferably using presently available dyes. The present invention is addressed to this need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention features a novel method and composition for coating textile substrates, wherein the composition is composed of a coating agent selected from one of (a) an azetidinium polymer, (b) a guanidine polymer, (c) a mixture of an azetidinium polymer and a guanidine polymer, and (d) a copolymer of an azetidinium monomer and a guanidine monomer. When applied to a textile substrate, the coating composition provides a coated textile substrate that yields high quality printed images when printed with an ink containing a reactive dye having ionizable and/or nucleophilic groups capable of reacting with the coating agent. Images printed on a textile substrate coated with the coating composition of the invention are bleed-resistant, water-resistant (e.g., water-fast), detergent-resistant (e.g., detergent-fast), and/or are characterized by an enhanced chroma and hue.
It is a primary object of the invention to address the above-mentioned need in the art by providing a coating composition that can be readily applied to a variety of textile substrates and that efficiently binds colorant upon printing, thus providing an economical, efficient means for processing textiles so as to facilitate production of a high quality printed image.
Another object of the invention is to provide a printed textile substrate that is of high quality (particularly with respect to optical density and brightness of the printed image), and that is bleed-resistant, water-resistant (e.g., water-fast), and detergent-resistant (e.g., detergent-fast).
Still another object of the invention is to provide a method for coating textiles using the coating compositions of the invention.
Still an additional object of the invention is to provide a method for printing on a coated textile substrate to provide water-resistant (e.g., water-fast) and/or detergent-resistant (e.g., detergent-fast) images thereon.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Definitions and Nomenclature:
It must be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a colorant-reactive component” in a composition means that more than one colorant-reactive component can be present in the composition, reference to “a colorant” in a composition means that more than one colorant can be present in the composition, reference to “a polymer” includes combinations of different polymers, and the like.
“Textile” or “textile substrate” as used herein refers to any cellulose-based or non-cellulose based textile material suitable for use as a printing substrate in connection with the coatings and/or methods of the invention. In general, where appropriate, the textile substrate has been sized, internally and/or externally, prior to application of the compositions of the invention.
The terms “treated textile substrate,” “coated textile substrate,” “treated textile substrate,” and “coated textile substrate” are generally used herein to refer to a textile substrate that is treated with, i.e., has applied to its surface and/or is partially or wholly saturated with, a coating of the present invention, to provide for improved printing performance, particularly with respect to water resistance (e.g., water-fastness), detergent resistance (e.g., detergent-fastness), brightness, and the like. The coating may be applied as a pretreatment, i.e., prior to printing, simultaneously with printing, or as an after-treatment. Preferably, the coating is applied to the substrate in a separate coating operation prior to printing, typically in amounts ranging from fifty (50) to five hundred (500) pounds per ton of substrate.
“Coating composition” as used herein is generally meant to refer to a composition of the invention comprised of a coating agent as described herein. The coating composition may contain components in addition to the coating agents described herein, such as binders, colorants, etc. The use of the term “coating” in the phrase “coating composition” is not limited to the presence of the composition on a surface of a textile substrate, but is also intended to encompass a textile substrate that has been infiltrated with the composition, such that the composition is present within the fibers of the treated substrate. Unless specifically indicated otherwise, “coating” in reference to the coating compositions and coating agents of the invention is used only as a term of convenience, and is not meant to be limiting as to the manner of application of the compositions of the invention, or their final location on and/or within a treated textile substrate.
“Aqueous based ink” refers to an ink composed of an aqueous carrier medium and a colorant, such as a dye or a pigment dispersion. A
Cameron Erma
Hartrum J. Elin
Reed Dianne E.
Reed & Associates
SRI - International
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