Special Effects in Textile Printing, like Glitter Prints, Reflex Prints, etc.

Apart from our standard auxiliaries for textile printing, such as binders, crosslinking agents, thickeners and other printing additives and pigments, we offer specialty products for achieving exceptional effects in textile printing. Through the use of modern procedures, you can create extraordinary prints with 3D effects, fashionable or safety-relevant details, as well as fancy thermochromic, photochromic or phosphorescent design.
Picture of a birch tree forest print with glitter and reflex printing
In textile screen printing you can achieve extraordinary effects with special pigments, such as reflective, fluor- and phosphorescent prints.

Standard Processes in Textile Printing

In classical flat and rotary screen printing, printing pastes with different dyestuff classes, such as reactive, acid, disperse or vat dyes, are used on different fiber substrates. Depending on the printing process, the printing pastes contain not only dyestuffs and thickeners, but also processing chemicals for controlling pH values as well as additives, such as dispersants, dyestuff solvents, defoaming agents or deaerators. After printing, the dyes are fixed, for example by steaming. The excessive, not fixed dyestuff is then washed out on an open-width washing machine. In discharge printing the dyestuffs of the ground dyeing are destroyed by reducing agents. In pigment printing, the pigments are printed together using binder systems and then fixed on a stenter frame. In this manner, the process steps steaming and washing/soaping can be omitted.

Our “Special Effects“ for Textile Printing

In addition to printing auxiliaries for digital and conventional printing processes, we are continuously developing products for “special effects”. A few examples are our new polymer compounds for pigment and foil prints as well as binders and pigments for reflex and glitter printing.

The following list gives you an overview over the special visual effects, which can be created with our auxiliaries:

  • Reflex Prints
  • Glitter Prints
  • Color Change Effects 
  • Fluorescent Prints 
  • Phosphorescent „Glow in the Dark“ Effects 

We also offer auxiliaries for creating functional print effects, such as:

  • Hydrophobic Effects 
  • Cooling Effects 

Visual Special Effects developed by Textilchemie Dr. Petry

3D Effects with Reflex and Glitter Print

Reflective effects, so-called reflex prints, can be created with our PERICOAT REFLEX BASE and PERICOAT REFLEX PEARL. Use these specialty products to add fashionable highlights or safety-relevant details, for example, to children’s outdoor clothing so that they are more visible for moving traffic during low light situations. For glitter printing, we offer compounds with nacre or glitter pigments, as well as compounds for printing metallic effects in different colors, such as silver, aluminum, copper and gold.

By combining our various compounds for glitter printing with our specialty products for reflective printings in one single print design, you can create impressive three-dimensional effects. Depending on the design, the reflective and glittering details can be colored with pigments in all possible shades. There are no boundaries for the creativity of your colorists and designers.

Color Change Effects with Two-Colored Pigments

With our two-colored PERICOAT PEARL FLIP pigments, you can produce fascinating iridescent color variations, the so-called flip-flop effects. Depending on the direction of the incidental light and the angle of view, the printed details appear in different colors. For example, PERICOAT PEARL FLIP 4 changes in color between red to golden yellow; PERICOAT PEARL FLIP 5 varies between purple and blue.

Fluorescent and Phosphorescent Prints and UV effects

For fluorescent and phosphorescent printing effects, we offer both pigments as well as the optimal associated binder systems. You can use our fluorescent pigment PERICOLOR GREEN L/L to produce “glow in the dark” prints. The printed areas on the textiles are nearly invisible in the normal lighting, but after a certain time of exposure to daylight or UV radiation, they will glow in the dark. With PERICOAT PR/UV you can produce prints with UV effects, which shine under black light.

Functional Effects in Textile Printing

Functional Effects: Cooling Textiles and Hydrophobic Prints

With hydrophobic printing, you can create fascinating functional effects and interesting details on swimwear, bathing suits and other fabrics which are exposed to water. In a dry state, the printed design is invisible. When the material or garment comes in contact with water, the printed areas do not wet resulting in the design becoming visible.

Textiles with cooling effect can be created with our PERICOAT MICRO COOL 28 microcapsules. These microcapsules contain temperature regulating substances, so-called Phase Change Material (PCM), which are able to save thermal energy. The capsules accumulate ambient heat, thereby changing their aggregate condition from solid to liquid. This result is that the textile exhibits a cooling effect. As soon as the ambient temperature decreases, the phase of the microcapsules changes from a liquid to a solid state. The stored heat energy is released to the ambiance again. The cooling PCM microcapsules can be blended in the printing pastes and printed on the textile fabric.

Please Contact Us.
Iris Rösch, Application technology

Further information about our printing product range and print effects can be found in our detailed brochure. Please order it by e-mail.

Do you have questions on the subject of printing or do you need further information on our special effects? Our printing specialists are happy to assist you.

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