The M-Textile line of digital textile inks manufactured by Mt. Pleasant, S.C.-based Sawgrass
Technologies Inc. — a developer of digital printing technologies — have undergone testing at
Philadelphia University using American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) test
methods to evaluate colorfastness to ultraviolet light, laundering, wet and dry crocking, and
perspiration. The inks were found to meet three-year outdoor durability standards.
M-Textile inks are water-based, modified-pigment inks suitable for printing on both natural
and man-made fiber textiles. No wet post-processing is required. According to the company, the inks
are made using a binder-free formula that eliminates head-clogging, maintenance and downtime
associated with traditional water-based pigment inks. The dyes may replace acid, reactive and
disperse dyes, all of which require steaming, washing, drying and sometimes wastewater treatment.
In addition, M-Textile inks do not contain hazardous or toxic air pollutants; and offer time,
energy and cost savings, requiring only three minutes of inline heat fixation.
June 16, 2009
