How acid dyes work on nylon: ionic bonds, pH and level dyeing
Acid dyes hold to nylon, wool and silk mainly by an ionic bond with the fibre’s amine groups. Here is the mechanism,…
How disperse dyes work on polyester: 130°C, pH 4.5 and reduction clearing
Disperse dyes dissolve into polyester like sugar into hot water, with no chemical bond. Here is the fibre structure, the mechanism, why…
How reactive dyes work: salt, alkali, fixation and hydrolysis
Reactive dyes bond chemically with cotton and other cellulose. Here is how the molecule is built, why salt and alkali are added…
Dye classes explained: which dye for which fibre, and why
Reactive, direct, vat, sulphur, azoic, disperse, acid, cationic and pigment: which fibres each one colours, what holds it in the fibre, the…
How dyeing works: transport, adsorption, diffusion and fixation
Every dyeing is the same four-stage journey from the dyebath into the fibre. Here is the theory behind each stage, how dye…
Viscose-elastane knit dyeing process: heat setting, mild scour and 60°C reactive dyeing
Viscose-elastane is heat set first, then dyed exactly like 100% viscose: a mild scour, reactive dyeing at 60°C and no enzyme. Here…
Polyester-nylon knit dyeing process: disperse dyeing, reduction clearing and acid dyeing
Polyester-nylon is dyed in two baths, polyester first with disperse dye, then nylon with acid dye. Here is the process from our…
Nylon-elastane knit dyeing process: heat setting, scour and acid dyeing
Nylon-elastane is dyed like 100% nylon, with acid dye and a sliding pH, after heat setting to fix the elastane. Here is…
Cotton-viscose knit dyeing process: scour only, one reactive bath and no enzyme
Cotton-viscose is dyed in one reactive bath, with the viscose setting the limits: a scour without bleach, no enzyme, a hot wash…
Polyester-viscose (PV) knit dyeing process: disperse at 130°C, reduction clearing, then reactive at 60°C
Polyester-viscose is dyed in two baths: the polyester part with disperse dye at 130°C, then the viscose part with reactive dye at…