Archroma is making bio-based pigment printing commercially possible for the first time with its new NTR Printing System.

Based on renewable raw materials and designed for safer chemistry, NTR will help apparel and textile brands reduce their environmental footprint while producing brilliant black shades on garments that deliver both comfort and durability.

Bio-based pigment printing is an emerging technology that is attracting major interest from brands who want to use pigments derived from natural sources such as plants in the production of environmentally conscious textiles. Until now however, they have not delivered colour fastness that is comparable to synthetic pigments, and colour quality and production performance have not been sufficient to support commercial-scale production.

Archroma’s NTR Printing System is the first to completely utilise renewable feedstocks across the pigment dispersion, the binder and the fixing agent. Crucially, it ensures good wet and dry rubbing fastness with outstanding softness on all kinds of fabrics. Furthermore, it is suitable for most popular application technologies, including printing, coating and continuous pigment dyeing.

“These properties make the new NTR Printing System ideal for the highly competitive denim market, where sustainability, comfort and durability are important,” said Joaquin Femat, market segment director for printing at Archroma. “It is also suitable for knits, where very soft handfeel is essential and for babywear, where both exceptional softness and safety are required,”

The result of more than two years of research and development, the NTR Printing System required Archroma to create customised binding and fixing agents to ensure fastness for the pigment black dispersion comparable to current petroleum-based printing systems. All three printing elements are partially based on renewable feedstock to reduce reliance on non-renewable petrochemicals. Archroma also developed the new system to avoid toxic input streams and impurities, including formaldehyde. Two successful bulk trials were conducted with Textprint and Jeanologia.

The NTR printing system comprises Printofix Black NTR-TF, a non-gelling pigment black with 79% renewable carbon content, the formaldehyde-free binder Helizarin NTR-SS and the Luprintol NTR-HF fixing agent designed for high wet fastness in rubbing and laundry.

All three elements are currently being evaluated for compliance with globally accepted standards like bluesign, the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC).

“With the launch of the bio-based NTR Printing System, Archroma can now draw on the industry’s most complete portfolio of printing solutions to tailor systems for individual customer needs,” said Femat. “We remain the global leader in pigment printing, with a history of innovation that includes the first formaldehyde-free pigment printing system introduced in 2012.”

www.archroma.com