CN111350080A

CN111350080A - Cloth material

Info

Publication number: CN111350080A
Application number: CN201811580644.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 蔡荣裕; 林嘉仪
Original assignee: Taiwan Textile Research Institute
Current assignee: Taiwan Textile Research Institute
Priority date: 2018-12-24
Filing date: 2018-12-24
Publication date: 2020-06-30

Abstract

The invention provides a fabric, which comprises a hydrophilic surface and a composite surface. The composite surface is arranged opposite to the hydrophilic surface, and the composite surface is provided with a hydrophilic area and a hydrophobic area through digital jet printing. The area ratio of the hydrophilic region to the hydrophobic region is between 1: 8 to 4: 5, or more. The cloth has a humidity adjusting function and reduced manufacturing cost.

Description

Cloth material

Technical Field

The invention relates to a cloth, in particular to a humidity adjusting cloth.

Background

In recent years, the fashion trend of clothes and fabrics has shifted from appearance to performance-oriented direction, and comfort has become a common requirement when people wear clothes, wherein the moisture-conducting and quick-drying performance of the fabric is one of the important indexes of comfort. Therefore, the development of functional cloth with humidity adjustment function has become one of the problems to be solved by those skilled in the art.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a cloth material having a humidity adjusting function and reduced manufacturing cost.

The fabric of the present invention includes a hydrophilic surface and a composite surface. The composite surface and the hydrophilic surface are arranged oppositely, and the composite surface is provided with a hydrophilic area and a hydrophobic area through digital jet printing, wherein the area ratio of the hydrophilic area to the hydrophobic area is 1: 8 to 4: 5, or more.

In an embodiment of the present invention, in the thickness direction of the fabric, the depth of the hydrophilic region is the same as the depth of the hydrophobic region.

In an embodiment of the invention, based on the composite surface, the depth of the hydrophilic region is between 0.2 mm and 0.3 mm.

In an embodiment of the invention, the hydrophilic region is a mesh pattern, and a line width of the mesh pattern is between 0.5 mm and 2 mm.

In an embodiment of the invention, the hydrophobic region is formed by a plurality of decagon patterns, and any two adjacent decagon patterns are separated by a mesh pattern.

In an embodiment of the invention, each side of each of the decagon patterns is equal, and the length of the side is 2 mm to 3 mm.

In an embodiment of the present invention, each of the internal angles of the decagon-shaped patterns has two major angles and eight minor angles.

In an embodiment of the invention, each of the decagonal patterns is formed by overlapping one side of each of two regular hexagons.

In an embodiment of the invention, a material of the fabric includes polyester.

In an embodiment of the invention, the thickness of the cloth is between 0.4 mm and 0.8 mm, and the cloth weight of the cloth is between 120 g/m and 200 g/m.

Based on the above, the fabric of the present invention has the hydrophilic surface and the composite surface which are oppositely disposed, wherein the composite surface is digitally jet-printed to have the hydrophilic area and the hydrophobic area, and the area ratio of the hydrophilic area to the hydrophobic area is between 1: 8 to 4: 5, the cloth of the present invention has a humidity adjusting function and a reduced manufacturing cost.

In order to make the aforementioned and other features and advantages of the invention more comprehensible, embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a fabric according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic top view of a fabric according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Description of reference numerals:

10: distributing;

102: a hydrophilic region;

104: a hydrophobic region;

a: side length;

d1, d 2: depth;

l: a length;

n: a thickness direction;

s1: a hydrophilic surface;

s2: a composite surface;

w: line width;

θ 1, θ 2, θ 3, θ 4, θ 5, θ 6, θ 7, θ 8, θ 9, θ 10: an inner angle.

Detailed Description

In this context, a range denoted by "a numerical value to another numerical value" is a general expression avoiding a recitation of all numerical values in the range in the specification. Thus, recitation of a range of values herein is intended to encompass any value within the range and any smaller range defined by any value within the range, as if the range and smaller range were explicitly recited in the specification.

As used herein, "about", "approximately", "essentially", or "substantially" includes the stated value and the average value within an acceptable range of deviation of the specified value as determined by one of ordinary skill in the art, taking into account the measurement in question and the specified amount of error associated with the measurement (i.e., the limitations of the measurement system). For example, "about" can mean within one or more standard deviations of the stated value, or within, for example, ± 30%, ± 20%, ± 15%, ± 10%, ± 5%. Further, as used herein, "about", "approximately", "essentially", or "substantially" may be selected with respect to measured properties, coating properties, or other properties, to more acceptable ranges of deviation or standard deviations, and not all properties may be applied with one standard deviation.

In order to produce a cloth having a good humidity control function and a reduced manufacturing cost, the present invention provides a cloth which can achieve the above advantages. Hereinafter, the cloth of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the embodiments, as an example by which the present invention can be actually implemented.

Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a fabric according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a schematic top view of a fabric according to an embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that the position of the cross-section in fig. 1 corresponds to the position of the cross-section line I-I' in fig. 2.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, the fabric 10 includes a hydrophilic surface S1 and a composite surface S2 opposite to each other. In this embodiment, the fabric 10 may be applied to make a garment such as a garment, a jacket, or pants. When fabric 10 is applied to make a garment, composite surface S2 of fabric 10 is the surface relatively adjacent to the skin of the user, and hydrophilic surface S1 of fabric 10 is the surface relatively away from the skin of the user.

In this embodiment, the fabric 10 may be any fabric known to those skilled in the art, such as a knitted fabric or a woven fabric. In the present embodiment, the material of the cloth 10 includes (but is not limited to): polyester and fabrics made of polyester and other materials.

In the present embodiment, the thickness of the cloth 10 is between about 0.4 mm and about 0.8 mm, and the cloth weight of the cloth 10 is between about 120 g/m and about 200 g/m, so that the cloth 10 is suitable for use as a base cloth of sports apparel. When the thickness and the cloth weight of the cloth 10 are within the above ranges, the cloth 10 can exhibit heat retaining properties and humidity control functions suitable for sports use. This is because the thickness and weight of the cloth are related to the heat retaining property and the moisture conductivity, and in general, the thicker the thickness or the heavier the weight, the higher the heat retaining property and the lower the moisture conductivity.

In the present embodiment, the hydrophilic surface S1 of the fabric 10 may be realized by surface modification of the fabric 10. For example, the hydrophilic surface S1 may be formed by hydrophilic modification treatment on the surface of the cloth 10, for example, by a single-sided coating process. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the hydrophilic surface S1 of the fabric 10 may be realized by jet printing hydrophilic ink through a digital jet printing process. For example, a digital jet printing hydrophilic ink is jet-printed on the surface of the fabric 10 to form the hydrophilic surface S1, wherein the digital jet printing hydrophilic ink comprises a moisture absorbent with a content of 5 wt% to 11 wt%, a surfactant with a content of 3 wt% to 10 wt%, an antifreeze with a content of 3 wt% to 5 wt%, and a solvent in balance, based on the total weight of the digital jet printing hydrophilic ink, the moisture absorbent comprises a block copolyether ester, the surfactant comprises an acrylic block copolymer, the antifreeze comprises ethylene glycol, the digital jet printing hydrophilic ink has a viscosity of 2cps to 12cps and a surface tension of 28dyne/cm to 40dyne/cm, and the pH of the digital jet printing hydrophilic ink is between 6 and 8.

In the present embodiment, the composite surface S2 is digitally printed to have hydrophilic regions 102 and hydrophobic regions 104, wherein the area ratio of the hydrophilic regions 102 to the hydrophobic regions 104 is between 1: 8 to 4: 5, or more. In this embodiment, the hydrophilic region 102 and the hydrophobic region 104 can be formed in the same digital jet printing process. For example, a digital jet printing hydrophilic ink and a digital jet printing hydrophobic ink are jet-printed on the composite surface S2 of the fabric 10 by using a digital jet printing method to form the hydrophilic region 102 and the hydrophobic region 104, wherein the digital jet printing hydrophilic ink includes a moisture absorbent with a content of 5 wt% to 11 wt%, a surfactant with a content of 3 wt% to 10 wt%, an anti-freezing agent with a content of 3 wt% to 5 wt% and a solvent in balance, the moisture absorbent includes a block copolyether ester, the surfactant includes an acrylic block copolymer, the anti-freezing agent includes ethylene glycol, the digital jet printing hydrophilic ink has a viscosity of 2cps to 12cps and a surface tension of 28dyne/cm to 40dyne/cm, and the pH of the digital jet printing hydrophilic ink is between 6 and 8; and the digital jet printing hydrophobic ink comprises a water drawing agent with the content of 0.5 wt% to 5 wt%, a dispersing agent with the content of 0.5 wt% to 2.0 wt% and the balance of a solvent, wherein the digital jet printing hydrophobic ink has the viscosity of 3cps to 8cps and the surface tension of 25dyne/cm to 28dyne/cm, and the pH value of the digital jet printing hydrophobic ink is between 6 and 7. It should be noted that the hydrophilic region 102 and the hydrophobic region 104 are formed by digital inkjet printing, so that the hydrophilic region 102 and the hydrophobic region 104 can be precisely formed at predetermined positions.

As described above, the hydrophilic region 102 and the hydrophobic region 104 can be formed by hydrophilic ink and hydrophobic ink, respectively, so that the hydrophilic region 102 and the hydrophobic region 104 have a depth d1 and a depth d2 in the thickness direction n of the cloth 10, respectively. In this embodiment, the depth d1 of the hydrophilic region 102 is between about 0.2 mm and about 0.3 mm, and the depth d2 of the hydrophobic region 104 is between about 0.2 mm and about 0.3 mm, based on the composite surface S2. From another point of view, in the present embodiment, the hydrophilic region 102 and the hydrophobic region 104 are disposed on the hydrophilic surface S1 without penetrating through the fabric 10.

In this embodiment, the depth d1 of the hydrophilic region 102 is substantially the same as the depth d2 of the hydrophobic region 104 based on the composite surface S2. For example, when the hydrophilic region 102 and the hydrophobic region 104 are both achieved by digitally printing the composite surface S2, the depth d1 of the hydrophilic region 102 is substantially the same as the depth d2 of the hydrophobic region 104. However, the present invention is not limited to the relationship between the depth d1 of the hydrophilic region 102 and the depth d2 of the hydrophobic region 104. In other embodiments, the depth d1 of hydrophilic region 102 and the depth d2 of hydrophobic region 104 may not be the same.

It is worth noting that, as described above, the fabric 10 includes the hydrophilic surface S1 and the composite surface S2 disposed opposite to each other, wherein the composite surface S2 is digitally printed to have an area ratio of 1: 8 to 4: 5, hydrophilic regions 102 and hydrophobic regions 104, whereby the cloth 10 can have a good humidity conditioning function. It is worth mentioning that the composite surface S2 may function like wicking or capillary action by having the area of hydrophilic region 120 smaller than the area of hydrophobic region 104. That is, when the composite surface S2 is exposed to a substance with humidity (e.g., water, sweat, or moisture), the substance is driven to move toward the hydrophilic region 102 by the hydrophobic region 104 with a larger area, and then the substance is absorbed by the hydrophilic region 102 and transported to the hydrophilic surface S1. In this way, when the cloth 10 is made into a garment for wearing by a user, sweat can be driven by the hydrophobic region 104 close to the skin of the user to be absorbed by the hydrophilic region 102 and transported to the hydrophilic surface S1 away from the skin of the user, and then carried away by air convection, so as to achieve the effect of one-way moisture guiding and quick drying.

On the other hand, as described above, the composite surface S2 is digitally jet printed with the hydrophilic regions 102 and the hydrophobic regions 104, whereby the fabric 10 can have a reduced manufacturing cost. This is because the digital jet printing allows the hydrophilic region 102 and the hydrophobic region 104 to be precisely formed at predetermined positions, which can save the amount of ink used and improve the processing efficiency.

As shown in fig. 2, in the present embodiment, the hydrophilic region 102 is a mesh pattern. Specifically, the line width w of the mesh pattern is between about 0.5 mm and about 2 mm.

As shown in fig. 2, in the present embodiment, the hydrophobic region 104 is formed by a plurality of decagonal patterns, and any two adjacent decagonal patterns are separated by a mesh pattern (i.e., the hydrophilic region 102). That is, in this embodiment, the hydrophobic region 104 is surrounded by the hydrophilic region 102.

As shown in fig. 2, in the present embodiment, each side length a of each decagon pattern is substantially equal. Specifically, the length l of each side a is about 2 mm to about 3 mm. As shown in fig. 2, in the present embodiment, each inner angle of the decagon pattern has two major angles and eight minor angles. That is, each ten-sided pattern includes ten interior angles, wherein the ten interior angles are two major angles and eight minor angles, respectively. More specifically, in each decagon pattern, the inner angle θ 3 and the inner angle θ 8 are good angles (greater than 180 degrees and less than 360 degrees), and the inner angle θ 1, the inner angle θ 2, the inner angle θ 4, the inner angle θ 5, the inner angle θ 6, the inner angle θ 7, the inner angle θ 9 and the inner angle θ 10 of each decagon pattern are bad angles (less than 180 degrees). Specifically, the inner angle θ 3 and the inner angle θ 8 are 240 degrees, respectively, and the inner angle θ 1, the inner angle θ 2, the inner angle θ 4, the inner angle θ 5, the inner angle θ 6, the inner angle θ 7, the inner angle θ 9, and the inner angle θ 10 are 120 degrees, respectively. From another perspective, each decagonal pattern is formed by folding one side of each of two regular hexagons, as shown in fig. 2.

It should be noted that the hydrophilic regions 102 and the hydrophobic regions 104 are configured to have a specific contour pattern (i.e., a net pattern and a decagonal pattern), so that the cloth 10 can have an improved humidity adjusting function.

Hereinafter, the features of the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to experimental example 1, example 1 to example 7, and comparative example 1 to comparative example 3. Although the following examples are described, the materials used, the amounts and ratios thereof, the details of the treatment, the flow of the treatment, and the like may be appropriately changed without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention should not be construed restrictively by the examples described below.

This experimental example 1 is specifically described below in order to demonstrate that the fabric 10 according to the present invention can adjust humidity by forming the hydrophilic region 102 by digital inkjet printing on the composite surface S2 disposed opposite to the hydrophilic surface S1.

Experimental example 1

After a polyester knitted fabric (thickness of 0.4 mm, fabric weight of 132 g/m) is subjected to bridging treatment, digital jet printing hydrophilic ink is sprayed on the whole single surface of the treated polyester knitted fabric by using digital jet printing equipment (model: Muth RJ-900X, manufactured by Mutoh America, Inc., and nozzle: EPSONDV5(1440 nozzle)), wherein the composition and properties of the digital jet printing hydrophilic ink are shown in Table 1, the moisture absorbent is polyether ester SRT, the humectant is glycerol, and the antifreeze agent is ethylene glycol. Then, the polyester knitted fabric after the jet printing was subjected to evaluation of water absorption time, water absorption rate, maximum diffusion radius, diffusion rate, unidirectional transport index, comprehensive moisture absorption performance, water absorption rate, and drying rate, and the evaluation results are shown in table 2.

TABLE 1

TABLE 2

As can be seen from table 2 above, the polyester fabric having the hydrophilic ink sprayed on the surface by digital spray printing has good one-way moisture-wicking properties.

Example 1

First, one surface of a polyester woven fabric (thickness of 0.5 mm, fabric weight of 233 g/m) was subjected to hydrophilic modification treatment as in experimental example 1. Next, the cloth of example 1 having a mesh pattern (i.e., hydrophilic regions) with a line width of about 1 mm and a depth of about 0.26 mm and a plurality of decagonal patterns (i.e., hydrophobic regions) with a length of about 2.5 mm per side and a depth of about 0.26 mm was formed by spraying a digital jet printing hydrophilic ink and a digital jet printing hydrophobic ink onto the other surface disposed opposite to the hydrophilic-modified surface using a digital jet printing apparatus (model: Muth RJ-900X, manufactured by motoh America, Inc., jet head: EPSON DV5(1440 jet orifice)). The dry cloth weight of the cloth of example 1 was 17.15 grams, the area ratio of hydrophilic to hydrophobic areas was 2: 7. the composition and properties of the digital jet printing hydrophilic ink are shown in table 1, wherein the moisture absorbent is polyether ester SRT, the humectant is glycerol, and the antifreeze agent is ethylene glycol. The composition and properties of the digital jet printing hydrophobic ink are shown in table 3, wherein the water-repellent agent is a fluorine-based water-repellent agent (FS-1518 manufactured by viming corporation), the dispersant is a DT-CS thickener (manufactured by chanterland corporation), the solvent is deionized water, and the viscosity is measured by a number 5 bar (rotation speed: 10rpm) of a rotary viscometer manufactured by BROOKFIELD (BROOKFIELD).

TABLE 3

Example 2

The fabric of example 2 was prepared following a similar procedure to that of example 1, with the main differences being: the line width of the mesh pattern (i.e., hydrophilic regions) was about 1.5 mm and the depth was about 0.28 mm, the depth of the plurality of decagonal patterns (i.e., hydrophobic regions) was about 0.28 mm, and the area ratio of hydrophilic regions to hydrophobic regions was 3: 6 and a dry cloth weight of 13.76 grams.

Comparative example 1

As the fabric of comparative example 1, a fabric similar to that of example 1 was used, the difference being mainly that: polyester woven fabric (thickness 0.5 mm, fabric weight 233 g/m) was not subjected to any processing treatment, and the dry fabric weight was 20.02 g.

Example 3

First, one surface of a polyester warp knit fabric (thickness of 0.4 mm, fabric weight of 132 g/m) was subjected to hydrophilic modification treatment as in experimental example 1. Next, the cloth of example 3 having a mesh pattern (i.e., hydrophilic regions) with a line width of about 1 mm and a depth of about 0.22 mm and a plurality of decagonal patterns (i.e., hydrophobic regions) with a length of about 2.5 mm per side and a depth of about 0.22 mm was formed by spraying a digital jet printing hydrophilic ink and a digital jet printing hydrophobic ink onto the other surface disposed opposite to the hydrophilic-modified surface using a digital jet printing apparatus (model: Muth RJ-900X, manufactured by motoh America, Inc., jet head: EPSON DV5(1440 jet orifice)). The dry cloth weight of the cloth of example 3 was 9.00 grams, the area ratio of hydrophilic to hydrophobic areas was 2: 7. the composition and properties of the digital jet printing hydrophilic ink are shown in table 1, wherein the moisture absorbent is polyether ester SRT, the humectant is glycerol, and the antifreeze agent is ethylene glycol. The composition and properties of the digital jet printing hydrophobic ink are shown in table 3, wherein the water-repellent agent is a fluorine-based water-repellent agent (FS-1518 manufactured by vimentin corporation), the dispersant is a DT-CS thickener (manufactured by chanterland corporation), the solvent is deionized water, and the viscosity is measured by a number 5 bar (rotation speed: 10rpm) of a rotary viscometer manufactured by BROOKFIELD (BROOKFIELD).

Example 4

The fabric of example 4 was prepared following a similar procedure to that of example 3, with the main differences being: the depth of the mesh pattern (i.e., hydrophilic areas) was about 0.24 mm, the depth of the plurality of decagonal patterns (i.e., hydrophobic areas) was about 0.24 mm, and the dry cloth weight was 9.07 grams.

Comparative example 2

As the fabric of comparative example 2, a fabric similar to that of example 3 was used, the difference being mainly that: the polyester warp knit fabric (thickness 0.4 mm, fabric weight 132 g/m) was not subjected to any processing treatment and the dry fabric weight was 11.56 g.

Example 5

First, one surface of a red polyester knitted fabric (thickness of 0.8 mm, fabric weight of 200 g/m) was subjected to hydrophilic modification treatment as in experimental example 1. Next, the cloth of example 5 having a mesh pattern (i.e., hydrophilic regions) with a line width of about 1 mm and a depth of about 0.25 mm and a plurality of decagonal patterns (i.e., hydrophobic regions) with a length of about 2.5 mm per side and a depth of about 0.25 mm was formed by spraying a digital jet printing hydrophilic ink and a digital jet printing hydrophobic ink onto the other surface disposed opposite to the hydrophilic-modified surface using a digital jet printing apparatus (model: Muth RJ-900X, manufactured by motoh America, Inc., jet head: EPSON DV5(1440 jet orifice)). The dry cloth weight of the cloth of example 5 was 17.42 grams, the area ratio of hydrophilic to hydrophobic areas was 2: 7. the composition and properties of the digital jet printing hydrophilic ink are shown in table 1, wherein the moisture absorbent is polyether ester SRT, the humectant is glycerol, and the antifreeze agent is ethylene glycol. The composition and properties of the digital jet printing hydrophobic ink are shown in table 3, wherein the water-repellent agent is a fluorine-based water-repellent agent (FS-1518 manufactured by viming corporation), the dispersant is a DT-CS thickener (manufactured by chanterland corporation), the solvent is deionized water, and the viscosity is measured by a number 5 bar (rotation speed: 10rpm) of a rotary viscometer manufactured by BROOKFIELD (BROOKFIELD).

Example 6

The fabric of example 6 was prepared following a similar procedure to that of example 5, with the main differences being: the line width of the mesh pattern (i.e., hydrophilic regions) was about 1.5 mm and the depth was about 0.22 mm, the depth of the plurality of decagonal patterns (i.e., hydrophobic regions) was about 0.22 mm, and the area ratio of hydrophilic regions to hydrophobic regions was 3: 6 and a dry cloth weight of 17.82 grams.

Example 7

The fabric of example 7 was prepared following a similar procedure to that of example 5, with the main differences being: the line width of the mesh pattern (i.e., hydrophilic regions) was about 1.5 mm and the depth was about 0.23 mm, the depth of the plurality of decagonal patterns (i.e., hydrophobic regions) was about 0.23 mm, and the area ratio of hydrophilic regions to hydrophobic regions was 3: 6 and a dry cloth weight of 18.15 grams.

Comparative example 3

As the fabric of comparative example 3, a fabric similar to that of example 5 was used, the difference being mainly that: the red polyester knitted fabric (thickness 0.8 mm, fabric weight 200 g/m) was not subjected to any processing treatment, and the dry fabric weight was 16.56 g.

Thereafter, the water absorption of the fabrics of examples 1 to 7 and comparative examples 1 to 3 was measured. The foregoing measurement manner is described below, and the measurement results are shown in table 4.

< measurement of Water content >

The fabrics of examples 1 to 7 and comparative examples 1 to 3 were each immersed in water to achieve a sufficiently water-absorbent state. Next, a press roll (pressure: 3.0 kg/cm) of a press-and-suction machine (model: Rapid DL028, manufactured by LABORTEX Co., Ltd.) was used²) The wet weight (g) of the fabrics was measured after pressure suction, and the water absorption rate was calculated by the following formula, water content (wet weight-dry weight)/dry weight × 100%.

TABLE 4

	Dry cloth weight (g)	Wet cloth weight (g)	Water content (%)
				Example 1	17.15	25.13	46.5
Example 2	13.76	20.12	46.2
				Comparative example 1	20.02	35.47	77.2
Example 3	9.00	16.00	77.8
				Example 4	9.07	15.70	73.1
Comparative example 2	11.56	27.25	135.6
				Example 5	17.42	31.92	83.2
Example 6	17.82	31.97	79.4
				Example 7	18.15	33.14	82.5
Comparative example 3	16.56	32.00	93.2

As can be seen from table 4 above, by forming a mesh pattern (i.e., hydrophilic region) and a plurality of decagonal patterns (i.e., hydrophobic regions) in one surface (i.e., composite surface) of the fabric, the moisture content is reduced as compared to the unprocessed fabric. This indicates that examples 1-7 configured with composite surfaces had better one-way moisture wicking and quick drying characteristics than comparative examples 1-3.

On the other hand, although the fabrics of examples 1 to 7 were not evaluated for the water absorption time, water absorption rate, maximum diffusion radius, diffusion rate, unidirectional transmission index, comprehensive moisture absorption performance, water absorption rate and drying rate, the fabrics of examples 1 to 7 were formed into hydrophilic surfaces by the same hydrophilic modification treatment as in example 1, and thus it can be understood from the evaluation results of example 1 that examples 1 to 7 would have good unidirectional moisture-wicking properties.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the above embodiments, it should be understood that various changes and modifications can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A fabric, comprising:

a hydrophilic surface; and

a composite surface disposed opposite the hydrophilic surface, wherein the composite surface is digitally jet printed with a hydrophilic region and a hydrophobic region, the area ratio of the hydrophilic region to the hydrophobic region being between 1: 8 to 4: 5, or more.

2. The cloth of claim 1, wherein the depth of the hydrophilic regions is the same as the depth of the hydrophobic regions in the thickness direction of the cloth.

3. A cloth according to claim 2 in which the hydrophilic regions are between 0.2 to 0.3 mm deep based on the composite surface.

4. The cloth of claim 1, wherein the hydrophilic region is a mesh pattern, and the mesh pattern has a line width between 0.5 mm and 2 mm.

5. A cloth according to claim 4 wherein the hydrophobic areas are formed by a plurality of decagonal patterns, and any two adjacent decagonal patterns are separated by the mesh pattern.

6. A cloth according to claim 5 wherein each side of each decagonal pattern is equal and the length of the side is from 2 to 3 millimetres.

7. A cloth according to claim 5 wherein each inner angle of the decagon pattern has two major angles and eight minor angles.

8. A cloth according to claim 5, wherein each decagonal pattern is formed by folding one of the respective edges of two regular hexagons.

9. The fabric of claim 1, wherein the fabric comprises polyester.

10. A cloth according to claim 1, wherein the cloth has a thickness of between 0.4 mm and 0.8 mm and a cloth weight of between 120 grams per square metre and 200 grams per square metre.