Water and washing in printing on textiles

Consideration of the impact of washing and water within the life cycle of inkjet printed textiles might be complemented by steps in the supply chain that are upstream or downstream from the inkjet print process. Downstream are the uses for the printed cloth, usually as raw material for another industry, such as fashion, before it reaches the final consumer. Upstream, the process of inkjet printing on textiles, can be considered to begin with the preparation of the fabric for ink jet or digital printing. 

This additional step in the printing process, with the introduction of an object, either stamp or stencil in whatever form, has the most far-reaching consequences for the use of water, because this additional item will need to be washed. Water under pressure is often used to remove excess stencil film or material residue during the 

Postprint processing aims to fix the dye to the substrate, as the dye molecules are encouraged to form permanent bonds with the substrate. This step is generally required after aU forms of printing. More extensive information on fixing is available 

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