Login| Sign Up| Help| Contact|

Patent Searching and Data


Title:
PRE-TREATMENT SOLUTION FOR INKJET PRINTING ON TEXTILES
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2019/129660
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
The present application is directed to a pre-treatment solution for inkjet printing on textiles using a reactive dye. Said pre-treatment solution comprises from 0.1 to 30 weight-% of at least one surfactant, from 0.005 to 15 weight-% of at least one thickener, from 30 to 99.9 weight-% of water and from 0.0001 to 50 weight-% of at least one polyamine. The pH of the pre-treatment solution is set to a p H from 5 to 11, preferably to a p H from 8 to 10. The present application is further directed to a method for inkjet printing on textiles using reactive dyes. Said method comprises the steps of applying a pre-treatment composition to a textile, printing the textile with an inkjet printer using an aqueous ink composition comprising at least one reactive dye and curing the printed textile at a temperature of from 40°C to 140°C. The pre-treatment solution comprises from 30 to 99.9 weight-% of water, from 0.1 to 10 weight-% of at least one surfactant, from 0.005 to 15 weight-% of at least one thickener and from 0.0001 to 50 weight-% of at least one polyamine, the p H of the pre-treatment solution being set to a pH from 5 to 11, preferably to a p H from 8 to 10.

Inventors:
MOIGNO DAMIEN (CH)
Application Number:
PCT/EP2018/086356
Publication Date:
July 04, 2019
Filing Date:
December 20, 2018
Export Citation:
Click for automatic bibliography generation   Help
Assignee:
MOUVENT AG (CH)
International Classes:
C09D11/54; D06P1/38; D06P5/00; D06P5/30
Domestic Patent References:
WO2005088006A22005-09-22
WO2006055787A12006-05-26
Foreign References:
US20090191383A12009-07-30
KR20170022103A2017-03-02
EP0682147A11995-11-15
EP2762539A12014-08-06
US20120225803A12012-09-06
US4285841A1981-08-25
US4284532A1981-08-18
Other References:
A K. RAY CHOUDHURY: "Textile Preparation and Dyeing", SCIENCE PUBLISHERS
"Textile and Fashion, Material, design and Technology", article "Woodhead publishing series in textiles"
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
KELLER & PARTNER PATENTANWÄLTE AG (CH)
Download PDF:
Claims:
Claims

1 Pre-treatment solution for inkjet printing on textiles using a reactive dye, said pre treatment solution comprising: a) from 0.1 to 30 weight-% of at least one surfactant; b) from 0.005 to 15 weight-% of at least one thickener; c) from 30 to 99.9 weight-% of water; and d) from 0.0001 to 50 weight-% of at least one polyamine wherein the pH of the pre-treatment solution is set to a pH from 5 to 1 1, preferably to a pH from 8 to 10. 2 Pre-treatment solution according to claim 1, characterized in that the polyamine is present in a concentration from 5 to 50 weight-%, preferably from 10 to 20 weight-%.

3 Pre-treatment solution according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the at least one polyamine is a polyethyleneimine.

4 Pre-treatment solution according to claim 1, characterized in that the polyethyleneimine has an average molecular mass MW of up to 30Ό00 daltons, preferably from 2000 daltons to 20Ό00 daltons.

5 Pre-treatment solution according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said at least one surfactant is at least one non-ionic surfactant or at least one cationic surfactant or a mixture thereof. 6 Pre-treatment solution according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said thickener is at least one non-ionic thickener, preferably at least one non-ionic polyurethane dispersion or at least one polyacrylate dispersion.

7 Method for inkjet printing on textiles using reactive dyes, comprising the steps of applying a pre-treatment composition to a textile, printing the textile with an inkjet printer using an aqueous ink composition comprising at least one reactive dye and curing the printed textile at a temperature of from 40°C to 140°C, characterized in that said pre-treatment composition comprises from 30 to 99.9 weight-% of water, from 0.1 to 10 weight-% of at least one surfactant, from 0.005 to 15 weight-% of at least one thickener and from 0.0001 to 50 weight-% of at least one polyamine, the pH of the pre treatment solution being set to a pH from 5 to 1 1, preferably to a pH from 8 to 10. Method according to claim 7, characterized in that the polyamine is present in a concentration from 5 to 50 weight-%, preferably from 10 to 20 weight-%. Method according to any of claims 7 or 8, characterized in that the at least one polyamine is a polyethyleneimine.

10 Method according to claim 9, characterized in that the polyethyleneimine has an average molecular mass MW of up to 30Ό00 daltons, preferably from 2000 daltons to 20Ό00 daltons.

1 1 Method according to any of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that said at least one surfectant is at least one non-ionic surfactant or at least one cationic surfactant or a mixture thereof.

12 Method according to any of claims 7 to 1 1 characterized in that said thickener is at least one non-ionic thickener, preferably at least one non-ionic polyurethane dispersion or at least one acrylate polymer dispersion.

13 Method according to any of claims 7 to 12, characterized in that said aqueous ink composition comprises from 0.1 to 40 weight-% of at least one reactive dye, from 0.0001 to 30 weight-% of at least one surfactant, from 0.001 to 10 weight-% of at least one thickener, from 0.05 to 20 weight-% of at least one humectant, from 1 to 95 weight-% water, wherein the pH is set to from 4 to 9, preferably from 5 to 7.

14 Method according to any of claims 7 to 13, characterized in that the pre-treatment solution and the aqueous ink composition are both applied on the textile by means of inkjet printing, wherein the pre-treatment solution is applied on the textile by a first inkjet printing step and the aqueous ink composition is applied on the textile by a subsequent second inkjet printing step.

15 Method according to any of claims 7 to 14, characterized in that curing is performed using microwaves or using radio frequencies in the range of 10 - 40 MHz. 16 Use of a pre-treatment solution according to any of claims 1 to 6 in a method for inkjet printing on a textile with an aqueous ink composition comprising at least one reactive dye.

Description:
Pre-treatment solution for inkjet printing on textiles

Technical Field

The invention relates to a pre-treatment solution for inkjet printing on textiles with an aqueous ink composition comprising at least one reactive dye and a method for inkjet printing on textiles with a pre-treatment solution and an aqueous ink composition comprising at least one reactive dye. The pre-treatment solution as well as the method may be used for high-resolution, high definition multicolour direct inkjet printing on textile surfaces. Background Art

Inkjet technology has been expanded to high-speed, commercial and industrial printing. Digital textile printing started in the late 1980s as a possible replacement for analogue screen printing. With the development of a dye-sublimation printer in the early 1990s, it became possible to print with low energy sublimation inks and high energy disperse direct inks directly onto textile media, as opposed to print dye-sublimation inks on a transfer paper and, in a separate process using a heat press, transfer it to the fabric. Reactive dyes are the youngest and most important dye-class for cellulosic materials. Worldwide consumption of reactive dyes for cellulosic materials in mid-1980s was about 10-12%, whereas in Japan alone it represented about 40% of total dye consumption. The reactive dyes offer a wide range of dyes with varying shades, fatness, costs with high brilliancy, easy applicability and reproducibility. However, good preparation of the material is a prerequisite.

Unlike other dye-classes, as much as 50% of the total cost of a reactive dyeing process must be attributed to the washing off stages to remove unfixed or hydrolysed dye and treatment of the resulting effluent. This aspect of the process should be recognised as a major limitation that prevents reactive dyes from achieving the degree of success that was predicted for them at the time of discovery (Textile Preparation and Dyeing, A K. Ray Choudhury, Science Publishers). The awareness of the planet's ecology, and the energy flows of production and recycling associated with the textile industry, is changing consumers' attitudes to culture and technology, with new demands for environmentally friendly products (Woodhead publishing series in textiles, Textile and Fashion, Material, design and Technology, Edited by Rose Sinclair, ISBN 978-1-84569-931-4).

US 20 12/0225803A 1 describes polymeric shading dyes and their use in laundry applications. The polymers are polyethylene imines bound to reactive dyes. WO 2006/055787 discloses laundry formulations containing a cellulose ether polymer covalently bound to a reactive dye for whitening cellulosic fabric. Such polymers provide poor performance on polyester fabrics. The synthetized polymers are not jetable and cannot be applied selectively to the textile. They are used in laundry applications to colour full surfaces. The working solutions are then discharged into the effluents which has a huge impact on the environment.

Traditional dyeing is using large amount of urea and inorganic salts in order to pretreat the textiles before dying. After washing these chemicals are also released into the environment. Therefore, there is a real need for innovative systems that enable to reduce the amount of effluents released into the environment.

Summary of the invention

It is the object of the invention to create a pre-treatment solution which allows an increased fixation of reactive dyes onto textiles and thus the reduction of the amount of reactive dye washed off in the effluents. Further, it is also the object of the present invention to provide a pre-treatment solution which allows the use of ink compositions comprising a reactive dye for a larger type of textiles, especially on polyester fabrics.

The solution of the invention is specified by the features of claim 1. According to the invention, the pre-treatment solution for inkjet printing on textiles using a reactive dye comprises from 0.1 to 30 weight-% of at least one surfactant, from 0.005 to 15 weight-% of at least one thickener, from 30 to 99.9 weight-% water and from 0.0001 to 50 weight-% of at least one polyamine. The pH of the pre-treatment solution is set to from 5 to 1 1 , preferably to from 8 to 10.

The present application is further directed to a method for inkjet printing on textiles using reactive dyes. The method is specified by the features of claim 7. The method according to the present invention comprises the steps of applying a pre-treatment composition to a textile, printing the textile with an inkjet printer using an aqueous ink composition comprising at least one reactive dye and curing the printed textile at a temperature of from 40°C to 140°C. The pre-treatment solution comprises from 0.1 to 10 weight-% of at least one surfactant, from 0.005 to 15 weight-% of at least one thickener, from 30 to 99.9 weight-% water and from 0.0001 to 50 weight-% of at least one polyamine. The pH of the pre-treatment solution is set to a pH from 5 to 1 1, preferably to a pH from 8 to 10. Surprisingly, the use of a polyamine in the pre-treatment solution was found to increase the fixation rate of the reactive dye with different kinds of textiles. Specifically, the fixation rate could be increased with cellulose containing fabrics but also more unexpectedly with polyamide and polyester fabrics, for which only poor fixation rates are obtained with reactive dye printing processes as known in the art. It is believed that the amino function of the at least one polyamine may deprotonate hydroxyl groups of the textile, especially of cell ulosic textiles, said deprotonated hydroxyl groups then being available to form a covalent bond with the reactive dye. Further, the amine groups of the at least one polyamine is also believed to be protonated and to form ion bonds with the reactive groups of the reactive dye, thus shielding the reactive groups from being hydrolysed in the aqueous environment. As hydrolysed active groups are no longer able to bind to the textile material any dye molecule having a hydrolysed reactive group is no longer able to bind to the textile and is therefore lost.

Further, the polyamine will also react with the reactive groups of the reactive dyes thus leading to a cross-linking of several molecules of the reactive dyes into and around the fibres of the textile material. Additionally, the polyamine may also act as counterion to any sulfonic groups present in the reactive dyes as solubilizing groups.

There is still a washing process which is needed to remove unfixed or hydrolysed dye. Flowever the effluents are much less coloured compared to printing systems known in the prior art. Aqueous hydrolysis of reactive groups is in so far a problem as hydrolysed dyes do no longer react with the substrate and, thus, are rendered useless when their functional groups are too reactive. Finally, the stability of the dye-fibre linkage, which largely determines the washing-fastness of reactive dyes, depends on their thermal and, especially, chemical resistance to alkaline or acid hydrolysis. Flence, for a reactive dye to be useful, the rate of hydrolysis of the dye-fibre bonds must be negligible compared to the rate of fixation. It is believed that the addition of a polyamine on the textile with the pre treatment solution decreases the rate of hydrolysis and increases the rate of fixation of a reactive dye applied to said textile. Usually the use of reactive dyes is limited to cotton and polyamide printing. However, the use of the inventive pre-treatment solution prior to the inkjet printing with a reactive dye enables the printing of reactive dyes to a larger type of textiles.

Further, no steaming step is required. The fixation is achieved by a thermal curing, especially at temperatures from 40 to 140°C, preferably from 60 and 100°C.

In the present application, a reactive dye is understood as to consist of a chromophore moiety which is linked to a reactive group. Reactive dyes undergo addition or substitution reactions with -OH, -SH and -NH groups to form covalent bonds. The chromophore moiety may be linked directly to the reactive group or via a bridging group. The chromophore moiety serves to provide a colour and the reactive group covalently binds to a substrate, i.e. to a textile.

Reactive dyes are described in“Industrial Dyes” (K. Hunger ed, Wiley VCH 2003). Many reactive dyes are listed in the colour index of the Society of Dyers and Colourists and American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists.

Preferably, the reactive group of the at least one reactive dye is selected from dichlorotriazinyl, difluorochloropyrimidine, monochlorotriazyl, dichloroquinoxaline, vinylsulfone, difluorotriazine, monochlorotrizinyl, bromoacrlyamide and trichloropyrimidine.

Most preferably, the reactive group of the at least one reactive dye is selected from monochlorotriazinyl; dichlorotriazinyl; and vinylsulfonyl.

The chromophore moiety of the at least one reactive dye is preferably selected from an azo compound, anthraquinone, phthalocyanine, formazan and triphendioaxazine.

Examples of reactive red dyes are reactive red 2 1 , reactive red 23, reactive red 29, reactive red 45, reactive red 58, reactive red 65, reactive red 66, reactive red 84, reactive red 1 16, reactive red 136, reactive red 180, reactive red 194, reactive red 196, reactive red 198, reactive red 2 18, reactive red 223, reactive red 228, reactive red 238, reactive red 239, reactive red 245, reactive red 264, reactive red 267, reactive red 268, reactive red 269, reactive red 270, reactive red 271 , reactive red 272, reactive red 274, reactive red 275, reactive red 277, reactive red 278, reactive red 280, reactive red 281, reactive red 282.

Examples of reactive black dyes are reactive black 5, reactive black 31, reactive black 47, reactive black 49.

Examples of reactive blue dyes are reactive blue 59, reactive blue 140, reactive blue 160, reactive blue 238, reactive blue 260, reactive blue 265, reactive blue 267, reactive blue 270, reactive blue 271, reactive blue 275, reactive blue 266, reactive blue 268, reactive blue 269, reactive blue 220 and reactive blue 235, reactive blue 7, reactive blue 1 1 , reactive blue 14, reactive blue 15, reactive blue 17, reactive blue 18, reactive blue 21 , reactive blue 23, reactive blue 25, reactive blue 30, reactive blue 35, reactive blue 38, reactive blue 41, reactive blue 71, reactive blue 72.

Examples of reactive yellow and orange dyes are reactive yellow 17, reactive yellow 37, reactive yellow 42, reactive yellow 77, reactive yellow 86, reactive yellow 15, reactive yellow 2, reactive yellow 1, reactive yellow 145, reactive yellow 81, reactive yellow 84, reactive yellow 22, reactive yellow 145, reactive yellow 160, reactive yellow 135, reactive reactive orange 4, reactive orange 7, reactive orange 14, reactive orange 16, reactive orange 78, reactive orange 84, reactive orange 94, reactive orange 107, reactive orange 122.

Examples of reactive violet dyes are reactive violet 13, reactive violet 14, reactive violet 19, reactive violet 26.

Example of reactive green dye is reactive green 19.

Neutralizers and buffers may be used to reach the targeted pH of the pre-treatment composition. Sodium hydroxide, sodium acetate, potassium acetate, potassium hydroxide, lithium acetate and lithium hydroxide may be utilized as neutralizers.

Preferably, the polyamine is present in a concentration from 5 to 50 weight-%, preferably from 10 to 20 weight-%. It was found that the fixation rate of the reactive dye was especially increased when using said concentration of polyamine in the pre-treatment solution.

Preferably, the at least one polyamine is a polyethyleneimine. The polyethylenimine may be linear, branched, dendrimeric or a mixture thereof.

Examples of polyethyleneimine which may be used in the present invention are Lupasol ® FG, Lupasol ® G20, Lupasol ® PR8515, Lupasol ® WF, Lupasol ® G35, Lupasol ® G 100, Lupasol ® H F, Lupasol ® P, Lupasol ® PS, Lupasol ® PN50, Lupasol ® PN60, Lupasol ® PN70, Lupasol ® PN80 as manufactured and sold by BASF. Furhter alkoxylated polyetherimine as manufactured and sold by BASF as Sokalan ® HP20 or Lupasol ® PO 100 may be used. Further examples of polyethylenimine which may be used in the present invention are Epomin ® P-1050 , Epomin ® SP-012, Epomin ® SP-0 18 as manufactured and sold by Nippon Shokubai.

The polyethyleneimine preferably has an average molecular mass MW of up to 30Ό00 daltons, more preferably from 2000 daltons to 20Ό00 daltons.

The use of polyethyleneimine in this size range allows the pre-treatment solution to be applied on the textile by means of an inkjet printing head, which greatly facilitates the use of the pre-treatment solution according to the present invention.

Preferably, said at least one surfactant is at least one non-ionic surfactant or at least one cationic surfactant or a mixture thereof.

Any non-ionic surfactant known in the art for use in inkjet inks may be utilized. More preferably, the pre-treatment composition comprises from 0.5 to 15%, most preferably from 1 to 5 weight-% of the at least non-ionic surfactant, at least one cationic surfactant or a mixture thereof.

When a mixture of at least one non-ionic surfactant and at least one cationic surfactant is used, the ratio of cationic surfactant to non-ionic surfactant is preferably equal to or greater than 1. Examples of non-ionic surfactants useful herein include long-chain alkyl poly(ethoxylates), such as C 12 -C 16 (EO)xH, where EO represents ethylene oxide and x can range from 1 to 8.

Other examples of non-ionic surfactants useful herein include ethoxylated non-ionic surfactants. These materials are for example described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,841 (Barrat et al).

In one embodiment, the non-ionic surfactant is selected from the ethoxylated alcohols and ethoxylated alkyl phenols of the formula R(OC2 H4)nOH, where R is selected from the group consisting of aliphatic hydrocarbon radicals containing from about 8 to about 15 carbon atoms and alkyl phenyl radicals in which the alkyl groups contain from about 8 to about 12 carbon atoms, and where the average value of n is from 5 to 15. These surfactants are more fully described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,532 (Leikhim et al).

In one embodiment, the non-ionic surfactant is selected from ethoxylated alcohols having an average of from about 10 to about 15 carbon atoms and an average degree of ethoxylation of from 6 to 12 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of alcohol.

Example of cationic surfactants are Servamine ™ KAC 458, Servo ™ Q8010, Servo ™ Q8040, Servamine™ KW 100, Servamine™ KZB 402, Servosoft™ XW690 available from Elementis Specialities, Codaquat™ 1207, Edunine ® ECWS, Forestill ® available from Croda International PLC.

Preferably the cationic surfactant is a compound selected from the group of esterquat compositions. Esterquad compositions are ester- and amide based quaternary ammonium compounds having a polar and a non-polar moiety. Esterquads comply with the European detergent regulations and can be used in these applications.

Said thickener preferably is at least one non-ionic thickener. More preferably, said thickener is at least one non-ionic polyurethane dispersion or at least one polyacrylate dispersion.

Preferably, the aqueous ink composition comprises from 0.1 to 40 weight-% of at least one reactive dye, from 0.0001 to 30 weight-% of at least one surfactant, from 0.00 1 to 10 weight-% of at least one thickener, from 0.05 to 20 weight-% of at least one humectant, from 1 to 95 weight-% water, wherein the pH is set to from 4 to 7, preferably from 5 to 6.

A list of suitable reactive dyes may be found further above.

Preferably, the surfactant and thickener of the aqueous ink composition are selected from the same surfactants and thickeners used for the pre-treatment solution.

The at least one humectant is preferably selected from the group of 2-pyrrolidone, glycol ethers, glycol esters, including diethylene glycol ethers, diethylene glycol monoethyl ethers, butylethers, hexyl ethers, propylene glycol ether, dipropylene glycol ether, and triethylene glycol ether, acetylenic polyethylene oxides, polyethylene, polypropylene oxides and a glycol compound, such as ethylene glycol or propylene glycol.

Preferably, the pre-treatment solution and the aqueous ink composition are both applied on the textile by means of inkjet printing, wherein the pre-treatment solution is applied on the textile by a first inkjet printing step and the aqueous ink composition is applied on the textile by a subsequent second inkjet printing step.

Preferably, the application of the pre-treatment solution and of the aqueous ink composition is performed using two inkjet printing heads arranged one after the other above a means for moving a textile linearly beneath said inkjet printing heads. Preferably said means for moving the textile is a conveyor or the like. Such an arrangement allows to continuously printing onto the textile.

Preferably, the pre-treatment solution is only applied on a part of the textile onto which the aqueous ink composition is later printed on. This allows restricting the application of the pre-treatment solution only to parts of the textiles on which it will be needed to increase the fixation rate. Hence, the amount of pre-treatment solution may be kept to a minimum hence reducing costs and the impact on the environment due to the rinsing of the pre treatment solution off the textile into the effluent when washing said textile.

The curing is preferably performed using microwaves or radiofrequencies in the range of 10 - 40 MHz. This allows a short curing time as the needed curing temperature is quickly attained. Further, use of microwaves or radiofrequencies in the set range is believed to enhance the reaction rate, hence leading to an increased efficiency of the curing. In order to use microwaves, a microwave oven or the like may be used. For curing with radiofrequencies an appropriate radiofrequency generator is used. The present application is further concerned with the use of a pre-treatment solution as described above in a method for inkjet printing on a textile with an aqueous ink composition comprising at least one reactive dye. The method for inkjet printing preferably is a method as described above.

Other advantageous embodiments and combinations of features come out from the detailed description below and the entirety of the claims.

Brief description of the drawings

The drawings used to explain the embodiments show:

Fig. 1 UV-VIS absorption curves of effluent water of UMSCB 13NL soft cloth banner textile with the application of pre-treatment solution and without application of pre-treatement solution;

Fig. 2 UV-VIS absorption curves of effluent water of cotton ultra textile with the application of pre-treatment solution and without application of pre- treatement solution.

In the figures, the same components are given the same reference symbols. Examples

Example 1

100 g of pre-treatment solution were prepared by mixing the following ingredients:

79.15g Water

1.72g Surfynol® 465 0.40g Surfynol® 440

5.00g Dottisol®

10.20g Lupasol® HF

1 - 20g Acetic acid

0. 13g Agitan® 150

2.20g Tegoviscoplus® 3010

Further, 100g of a black aqueous ink composition were prepared by mixing the following ingredients:

80.00g of a 20% solution of Reactive Black 5 in water

1.60g Surfynol® 465

0.40g Surfynol® 440

3.00g Urea

3.50g 2-Pyrrolidone

0.1 1g Triethanolamine

2.65g Tegoviscoplus® 3060

8.74g Water

The pre-treatment solution and the aqueous ink composition were subsequently printed on different textiles using an inkjet piezo printer Epson® 3000. The textiles were:

• UMSCB 13NL soft cloth banner

· Cotton ultra

The pre-treatment solution was printed on the textiles using 12 g/m 2 of pre-treatment solution. Subsequently, the aqueous ink composition was printed on the pre-treated surfaces of the textiles using 12 g/m 2 of aqueous ink composition. As a comparison, an identical print using 12 g/m 2 was printed on surfaces of the textiles where no pre- treatment solution had been applied.

10 cm 2 of the printed textiles were cut out and soaked in a sample of 50 ml deionised water for 5 minutes at room temperature each. The water soaking test is used as a measure to quantify the amount of reactive dye which would be released into the effluent during a washing step. After removal of the textiles, the UV-VIS spectrum of each water sample was recorded using a 1 cm quartz cuvette and a UV-VIS spectrometer CARY 100 Bio from Varian®.

Table 1 shows the comparison of the absorption spectra of the samples of textiles with pre-treatment solution and without pre-treatment solution:

Table 1 : UV VIS measurement of water samples of example 1

Amax represents the wavelength at which the highest absorption value was measured for the sample. A higher absorption value indicates a higher concentration of the reactive dye released into the water and hence not fixed to the textile. As may be seen from the measurements, less of the reactive dye is released into the water when the textile has been pre-treated with the pre-treatment solution according to the present invention.

The corresponding UV-VIS spectra of the textile UMSCB 13NL may be found on Fig. 1 and those of the Cotton Ultra on Fig. 2. The spectrum A shows the absorption curve of the sample with pre-treatment while the spectrum B shows the absorption curve of the sample without the pre-treatment. As may be seen, the absorption values of the sample without pre-treatment (curve B) are considerably higher throughout the spectrum between the wavelengths of 350 nm to 750 nm compared to the absorption values of the sample with pre-treatment (curve A) for both textiles. This exemplifies that the binding efficiency is considerably increased when using a pre-treatment solution according to the present invention. Note the maximum absorption at the wavelengths of 597 nm and 597.5 nm for the UMSCB 13N L textile in Fig. 1 and at the wavelengths of 600 nm and 602 nm for the Cotton Ultra textile in Fig. 2. Example 2

100 g of pre-treatment solution were prepared by mixing the following ingredients:

80.50g Water

1.72g Surfynol® 465

0.40g Surfynol® 440

10.1 1g Lupasol® HF

4.25g 2-pyrrolidone

0. 19g Triethanolamine

0. 13g Agitan® 150

2.70g Tegoviscoplus® 3010

Further, 100g of a magenta aqueous ink composition were prepared by mixing the following ingredients:

58.00g of a 20% solution of Jettex R Red 4b from Dystar® in water

1.72g Surfynol® 465

1. 16g Rheolate 150

3.00g 2-Pyrrolidone

0.60g Triethanolamine

82.52g Water

Additionally, 100g of a cyan aqueous ink composition were prepared by mixing the following ingredients:

58.00g of a 20% solution of Reactive Base Blue 102 liq from Solunaris® in water

1 -72g Surfynol® 465

3.00g Urea

1.28g Rheolate 150

3.00g 2-Pyrrolidone

0.60g Triethanolamine

33.00g Water The pre-treatment solution and the aqueous ink composition were subsequently printed on a polyester textile using an inkjet piezo printer Epson® 3000. The textile was:

• Polyester Tertise 130 g/m 2

The pre-treatment solution was printed on the textile using 12 g/m 2 of pre-treatment solution. Subsequently, the aqueous ink compositions were printed on the pre-treated surfaces of the textile using 12 g/m 2 of aqueous ink composition. As a comparison, an identical print using 12 g/m 2 was printed on surfaces of the textile where no pre-treatment solution had been applied.

10 cm 2 of the printed textile were cut out and soaked in a sample of 50 ml deionised water for 5 minutes at room temperature each. The water soaking test is used as a measure to quantify the amount of reactive dye which would be released into the effluent during a washing step. After removal of the textile, the UV-VIS spectrum of each water sample was recorded using a 1 cm quartz cuvette and a UV-VIS spectrometer CARY 100 Bio from Varian®. Table 2 shows the comparison of the absorbtion spectra of the samples of textiles with pre-treatment solution and without pre-treatment solution:

• Table 2: UV VIS measurement of water samples of example 2

/max represents the wavelength at which the highest absorption value was measured for the sample. A higher absorption value indicates a higher concentration of the reactive dye released into the water and hence not fixed to the textile. As may be seen from the measurements, less of the reactive dye is released into the water when the textile has been pre-treated with the pre-treatment solution according to the present invention. Hence, this demonstrates that the use of the pre-treatment solution according to the present invention allows to increase the binding efficiency of reactive dyes on polyester fabrics.