Jetting Performance of Polyethylene Glycol and Reactive Dye Solutions

Abstract

The jetting performance of dye inks determines the image quality, production efficiency, and lifetime of the print head. In the present study, we explored the jetting performance of mixed solutions of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and reactive dye by testing the visible absorption spectra, rheological properties, and surface tension, in addition to the observation of droplet formation. The results indicate that PEG macromolecules could change the aggregate groups of Red 218 molecules into smaller ones through hydrophobic interactions and separation effect. The addition of PEG into the dye solution increased the viscosity and decreased the surface tension. In the whole shear rate range tested, the 10% and 20% PEG400, as well as the 30% PEG200 dye solutions, showed good Newtonian fluid behavior. PEG macromolecules improved the droplet formation of the dye solutions. Increasing the PEG400 concentration to 30% and 40% resulted in elimination of the formation of satellites and the formation of ideal droplets at 10,000 Hz jetting frequency. A 30% PEG600-dye solution with the Z value of 4.6 formed the best spherical droplets at 10,000 Hz and produced perfect color images on cotton fabrics.

Systematically Exploring Molecular Aggregation and Its Impact on Surface Tension and Viscosity in High Concentration Solutions

“…The aggregation has crucial influences on properties of solutions, especially highly concentrated solutions, which are usually used as raw materials for the industrial production processes such as fiber dyeing and printing and photoelectric thin film preparation [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Meanwhile, the surface tension and viscosity of the solutions are also important factors determining the properties of dye solutions [16], which would be affected by the dye molecular aggregation structure [17]. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the aggregation structure and explore its relationship with surface tension and viscosity in high concentration dye solutions systematically using a simple model.…”

Effect of ethylene glycol and its derivatives on the aggregation properties of reactive Orange 13 dye aqueous solution

“…9,10 Reactive dyes are the colours of choice to print cotton fabrics due to their bright colour, excellent applicability and wide colour gamut. [11][12][13] However, reactive dyes are prone to aggregate in aqueous solution especially at high concentration, 14 which can affect the xation rate of the nished product. The surface tension and viscosity of the dye solutions are also two important parameters which can inuence on the dyeing and printing.…”

Interaction of Reactive-Dye Chromophores and DEG on Ink-Jet Printing Performance

“…More aggregation can be found in deep-color dyeing, while highly concentrated dye concentration is needed. Too much aggregation may result in dye crystallization and precipitation, which leads to nozzle blockage during the ink-jet printing process [18,19]. This phenomenon is a major obstacle for ink-jet printing uniform images.…”