Companies that give substance to the Textile Ennobling industry are concerned with the coloristic and chemical-physical treatments necessary to transform raw textile products into products ready for further processing and end use.
In general, the ennobling operations are carried out in order to change one or more of the following characteristics, depending on customer requirements.
Appearance, color and design
That is, anything that is to refer to the visual effect produced by the textile surface such as, for example, in addition to the color or pattern, the luster or opacity of the textile.
Starch
When the dyeing is completed, the textile must be rehabilitated, having lost in the course of the various operations the softness and body typical of natural fiber. The dressing operations-usually carried out in stenteruse-not only restore some original properties to the textile, but even impart new characteristics, improving appearance, hand, stability, as well as other additional technical characteristics, such as might be, to give just one example, waterproofing.
Singeing
It is used to remove, by burning them, all the protruding fibers and fluff produced during previous processing (spinning and weaving) and surrounding the thread with which the fabric is made.
Bleaching
It is a destructive oxidation process of natural dyestuffs and other impurities remaining on the fiber even after scouring. The goal is to make the cotton fabric “white” before dyeing or printing.
Lawn bleaching
Rudimentary technique, used in the past, that exploited the degrading and bleaching action of sunlight. This was how the Tronconi family started its textile business.
Physiological comfort
It is the characteristic given to the fabric, and thus to the garment, to insulate the human body, thus clothed, from the thermal variations of the environment, while still ensuring proper perspiration of the skin.
Hand
It is the tactile sensation that a textile artifact leaves the hand that touches it. It is defined according to a rather subjective range from soft and saggy to craquant, or rough and harsh, from full-bodied and snappy to stiff.
Mercerizing
It is among the most important ennoblements of cotton. It serves to give the fabric a pleasant hand and silky luster, leaving the fiber with an increased capacity to absorb dyes. Basically, it consists of an impregnation in caustic soda followed by a mechanical action of ironing the fabric. Under the action of the soda, the cotton fiber tends to retract. If one mechanically opposes the reaction, as in the operation under consideration, one obtains, precisely, those typical effects mentioned above.
Rameuse
It is a general purpose machine for drying fabric and in sizing. For the application of sizing, it is usually preceded by a foulard. The fabric soaked in the sizing solution and squeezed from the scarf cylinders is grasped on the selvedges by a chain of tongs or pin holders that guide it wide and tightly stretched through a hot air chamber to dry it and fix the sizing.
Desizing
It is usually combined with scouring and aims to clean the fabric of weaving bumps. Along with scouring, aimed at cleaning the fabric of impurities of natural origin, it is usually carried out in aqueous medium with added detergents and desizing agents.
Dimensional stability
That is, the ability to ensure the inalterability of the fabric’s dimensional characteristics for a long time.
Technical standards
Sono i riferimenti prestazionali che bisogna raggiungere in relazione alle diverse destinazioni d’uso del manufatto tessile, definiti, prevalentemente, per mezzo di test di solidità e resistenza a particolari agenti atmosferici o chimici (es. solidità alla luce, solidità al lavaggio, solidità al sudore, ecc.).
Sanfor
It is a machine used to shorten (warp) the fabric by a certain defined percentage, prior to tailoring, anticipating the natural shrinkage behavior of fabrics following the first few washes.
Dyeing
Through dyeing operations, the ability of the textile fiber to reflect some of the light rays it receives and absorb others is modified.
The technologies of applying dye materials to the textile substrate differ from each other depending on the fiber to be treated, the fastnesses required, and the unity.
Relative to the methods of applying the dyeing matter to the textile, several techniques are distinguished, which also distinguish, the corresponding implantation structures. However, these procedures are divided into three categories:
(a) exhaustive procedures (e.g., jigger);
(b) semi-continuous processes (e.g. pad-batch);
(c) continuous processes (e.g. Pad-steam).
The distinction takes its cue, essentially, from how the various stages of dyeing (impregnation, fixation, washing, drying) are sequenced, on the same plant or otherwise. In so-called continuous processes, for example, all stages occur in linear sequence on the same plant.
This, however, is more advisable with some classes of dyes and less so with others; moreover, due to the structure of the plant itself, this process is suitable only for large batches, unlike so-called “semi-continuous” systems, such as Pad-batch.
The latter process, also known as “pad-batch,” is particularly effective for cotton fabrics, especially orthogonally woven (chain-weave), with the use of ‘reactive’ dyes that have the peculiarity of being able to fix themselves on the cellulosic fiber even at room temperature (or “cold,” as it is often said), depending on time (during the dwell or storage phase).
The other characteristics of this process are:
1) it is suitable for both short and long yardages;
2) both heavy and light fabrics can be treated;
3) has a high dyeing yield and high fixation values (with good dye penetration);
4) requires little chemical, energy and water input.
In view of all this, it can be counted among the most flexible and environmentally friendly dyeing technologies.