Dyeing and printing are the two major wet processing methods for coloration of knitted fabrics. Dyeing can produce only one color while printing can produce various types of colored design on the surface of knitted fabrics. Dyeing is done on grey fabric but printing can be done on both pre-treated fabric and colored fabric.
Difference between dyeing and printing: Dyeing process differ from printing process.
1.For dyeing, dyes are applied on the whole fabric equally. For printing, dyes are applied on the fabric localizedly to produce desired design.
2.Fabrics, yarn and fiber can be colored by dyeing while printing can only dye fabric.
3.Dyes are applied on the both sides of fabric while dyes are applied on only one side of the fabric during printing.
4.Dyeing requires precise design.
5.Only one dye is used for dyeing while one or more dyes are used for printing.
6.Precise temperature should be maintained during dyeing. But it is unnecessary to maintain precise temperature during printing.
7.The density of dye solution is less than the density of printing paste.
8.Dyeing needs a large amount of water while printing only needs small amount of water.
9.Dyeing does not need thickener.
10.Steaming or curing is not necessary for dyeing.
11.The cost of dyeing is less than printing.
12.Dyed fabrics are soft while printed fabrics are hard.
