Print pastes contain thickeners ''thickening agents'' that are often
natural or synthetic polymers. The role of thickeners is
thickening of print paste and making it more viscous to avoid
lateral diffusion and improve finesse of motifs. The aim of
this
paper is to study the effect of type and concentration of
thickeners in print paste (using vat dyes and Two-stage method)
on fastness properties and color yield. Thickeners used usually, in
this method, are sodium alginate, guar gum and starch ether.
Conventional print paste recipe applied in this method give low
fastness to dry and wet rubbing when we print in dark shade. We
used only two thickeners in various concentrations, and then the
fastness to rubbing is evaluated. The viscosity of print pastes is
measured because of its effect on the penetration of the print
paste across the fabric, thus its effect on color yield.