Digitally Printed Cotton Fabrics with Improved Visibility for Safety Apparel

This study discusses the possibility of applying fluorescence on cotton fabrics to improve safety features. Fluorescent dyes are added to the existing ink rheology and applied through ink jet printing technology to impart high-visibility characteristics to cotton fabrics. Two types of fluorescent dyes are selected based on their compatibility with current ink set.  Inks are prepared with appropriate physical and chemical properties, which are required to achieve problem-free flow through piezo-electric print heads of the ink jet printer. Fabrics are pre-treated, printed with existing and new ink sets, and steamed to fix dyes onto the fabric. Printed fabrics are tested for their spectrophotometric color measurements as well as permanence of dyes during wear such as wash, light, and crock fastness. Improvement in visibility property of fabric by applying fluorescence is discussed by defining new chromaticity coordinate system developed as per American National Standard for High-Visibility Safety Apparel (ANSI/ISEA)