US20020138920A1

US20020138920A1 - Process for printing textile material

Info

Publication number: US20020138920A1
Application number: US09/824,498
Authority: US
Inventors: Anthony Pepitone
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-04-02
Filing date: 2001-04-02
Publication date: 2002-10-03

Abstract

A process for printing a textile material which has been dyed with a dischargeable dye is provided. The process includes the steps of applying to a first selected portion of the textile material a discharge composition comprising a discharge agent in an amount sufficient to at least partially discharge the dye from the first selected portion of the textile material where the discharge composition is applied, applying to a second selected portion of the textile material a coloring composition comprising a pigment in an amount sufficient to color the dye in the second selected potion of the textile material where the coloring composition is applied, and heating the textile material to a drying temperature for a time sufficient to discharge the dye from the material and fix the pigment. A textile material having a multi-toned colored design or pattern is also provided by the process of the present invention.

Description

The present invention relates to a process for printing colored textile material and, more particularly, to a process for selectively discharge printing colored textile material to produce a multi-tonal design or pattern on the material.

Discharge printing of colored textile material which has been prepared with a ground dyestuff dischargeable to white is known. Discharge printing comprises the application of a discharge composition to the material, usually in a desired design or pattern. The discharge composition includes a base or binder and a discharge agent. With the application of heat, a chemical reaction occurs in which the discharge agent destroys the ground dye at the areas which have been printed with the discharge composition. The printed area of the textile material is left white on the ground color. Pigment concentrates dispersed into the binder and which are stable to the discharge agent may be added to the discharge composition so that a different color replaces the ground color effected by the discharge agent wherein dyeing of the textile material occurs in the printed area simultaneously with the destruction of the ground dye. The discharge agent destroys the ground dyes to reflect color, thereby allowing a transparent water-based ink deposit to reflect its color in place of the dye. Colored prints on the ground color can also be obtained if the ground color is produced by means of a mixture of a dischargeable dyestuff and a non-dischargeable dyestuff of another color.

Discharge printing may be done directly onto the textile material using traditional screen printing processes and methods. Because of the nature of conventional screen printing compositions, screen prints are generally opaque and rubbery to the touch. The prints are not very durable especially when washed. Even compositions including plastisols result in prints which, though generally soft, are still a surface coating which can be felt. However, discharge inks are immediately absorbed into the fabric, exhibiting excellent edge definition with little or no dot gain. Discharge printing produces textile materials having a soft hand since the discharge print literally becomes a part of the material. Discharge prints are also wash-fast. Moreover, discharge printing using water-based discharge inks is environmentally friendly.

It is sometimes desirable to produce tone-on-tone designs and patterns on textile material. To achieve this visual effect, the printer typically tries to match the darker and lighter colors of the dyed goods to be produced. This is a trial and error process. Also, this exercise must be repeated with each new garment color. Conventional discharge printing methods requires that the inks be continually changed. This slows down production since the process must be stopped and the equipment cleaned and reinked.

A recently developed method involves selectively printing undyed textile material with a dye blocking print paste or a dye enhancing print paste and then dyeing the material. A problem with this method is that only very simple types of graphics are possible. Another problem is that printing occurs prior to dyeing. This is inefficient and batch size will necessarily be limited. The ability to make adjustments to the print process is inhibited since results are not realized until the dye process is completed. If the results are unsatisfactory, the entire batch will likely be considered off-quality merchandise. Further, the graphic capabilities are restricted with regard to image detail, color strength, and the amount or number of colors of the image.

For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a new process for printing textile material for producing multi-toned designs and patterns on the material. The new process should utilize discharge printing techniques so that the resulting printed product is durable and wash-fast. For efficiency, the printing should be done on previously dyed shirts. When screen printing methods are used, the new process should not require changing of screens and inks when the ground color of the textile material changes. Ideally, the new process should allow printing of complicated graphics, even photographic prints.

SUMMARY

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a process for printing multi-toned designs and patterns on colored textile material using discharge printing techniques.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for printing multi-toned designs and patterns on colored textile material using screen printing techniques wherein the same set of screens and inks may be used to print the design or pattern on different colored materials.

Yet another object of the present invention is provide a process for printing colored textile material which produces tonal colorways of a single image on different colored materials.

According to the present invention, there is provided a process for printing a textile material which has been dyed with a dischargeable dye. The process includes the steps of applying to a first selected portion of the textile material a discharge composition comprising a discharge agent in an amount sufficient to at least partially discharge the dye from the first selected portion of the textile material where the discharge composition is applied, applying to a second selected portion of the textile material a coloring composition comprising a pigment in an amount sufficient to color the dye in the second selected potion of the textile material where the coloring composition is applied, and heating the textile material to a drying temperature for a time sufficient to discharge the dye from the material and fix the pigment.

Further according to the present invention there is provided a process for producing a multi-toned design or pattern on a textile material. The process comprises the steps of providing textile material, impregnating the material with a dischargeable ground dye, applying to a first selected portion of the textile material corresponding to the design or pattern to be produced a discharge composition comprising a discharge agent in an amount sufficient to at least partially discharge the dye from the first selected portion of the textile material where the discharge composition is applied, applying to a second selected portion of the textile material corresponding to the design or pattern to be produced a coloring composition comprising a pigment in an amount sufficient to color the dye in the second selected portion of the textile material where the coloring composition is applied, and heating the material to a drying temperature for a time sufficient to discharge the dye from the first selected portion of the material and fix the pigment.

Also according to the present invention a method for printing a multi-toned design or pattern on textile material which has been dyed with a dischargeable dye is provided. The method includes the steps of preparing at least two print screens, each screen corresponding to a different portion of the design or pattern, contacting a predetermined first screen with the textile material, applying to the textile material through the screen a discharge composition comprising a discharge agent in an amount sufficient to at least partially discharge the dye from the area of the textile material where the discharge composition is applied, separating the first screen from the fabric, contacting a predetermined second screen with the textile material, applying to the textile material through the second screen a coloring composition comprising a pigment in an amount sufficient to color the dye in the area where the coloring composition is applied, and heating the textile material to a drying temperature for a time sufficient to discharge the dye from the material where the discharge composition has been applied and fix the pigment.

A textile material having a multi-toned colored design or pattern is also provided by the processes and method of the present invention.

A feature of the present invention is the concentration of discharge agent in the discharge composition, which is between about 0.4 and about 1.0 weight percent of the total weight of the discharge composition. The discharge agent concentration is only enough to lighten the effected area. Similarly, the concentration of pigment in the coloring composition is between about 0.09 and about 5 weight percent of the total weight of the coloring composition, which is only enough to darken the effected area. Thus, the process according to the present invention provides a method of printing textile materials which selectively decreases or increases the shade of an already dyed material. Different tonal variations of the ground dye color of the material being printed are exhibited. The effect is a multi-toned rendering of an image in tonal shades of the ground color of the printed textile material.

A single set of screens and inks can be used in the process to print multi-tonal designs and patterns on variations of the dyed textile material. For example, from the same set of inks, pastel pink appears on hot pink, lime green on forest green, sky blue on navy blue, and the like. This allows a graphic to be printed on a different color textile materials in a single colorway.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description thereof and appended claims.

DESCRIPTION

According to the present invention, colored textile material is provided. Printing compositions are prepared according to the present invention for creating different tones of the color of the dischargeable dye in the material. Lighter, or “highlight”, versions of the dye color are created using discharge chemistry. Darker, or “shadow”, versions of the ground color are also created using pigmented inks. The shadow inks are weakly pigmented standard inks that are not activated with discharge agent. Finally, a graphic design or pattern is prepared based on the art work to be printed. The design or pattern is then applied according to the process of the present invention using, in the preferred embodiment, conventional direct textile screen print techniques with industry standard materials and equipment.

The textile material to be printed may be cellulose or cellulose-containing fabrics, such as fabrics made of cotton, rayon, jute or ramie, or blends with synthetics, such as polyesters or acrylics. Discharge effects can also be produced on textile materials which comprise synthetic fibers, such as hydrophobic fibers including polyester, or materials which contain hydrophobic fibers mixed with, for example, cellulose or wool. The textile material may be in the form of cut and sewn finished products like pants, shirts, sweaters, jackets, or other articles of apparel or garments made from such fabrics. The fabrics may be woven or knitted.

An important feature is that the textile material must be at least partially dyed in the area to be printed with a dischargeable dye. Reactive and disperse dyestuffs for the preparation of color ground dyes for discharge according to the process of the present invention are all compounds which are known under that term and are suitable for being applied to the textile material. The dyestuffs are applied to the textile material in a known manner. The dye may contain the usual dyeing auxiliaries as long as the ultimate result is a dischargeably-dyed textile material. For best results, the garment should be bleached white before dyeing. It is understood by those skilled in the art that not all textile dyes lend themselves to the discharge process. For example, many sulfur-based dyes used on cotton fabrics do not discharge well. The present invention is particularly effective when directed to printing 100 percent cotton material which has been bleached white and non-sulfur dyed.

As described above, standard discharge inks typically comprise a base or binder, pigments, and a discharge agent, or activator. The discharge print composition for producing highlights according to the present invention comprises base or binder and a discharge agent. There is no pigment. Suitable discharge agents include alkaline metal hydroxides which are salts of alkaline metals with weak acids, such as, for example, alkaline metal carbonates, bicarbonates, phosphates or borates. Other discharge agents can be used such as formaldehyde sulphoxilate, acetaldehyde sulphoxilate or tin salts. When sulphoxilates are used the effect is improved by formaldehyde, urea or melamine ether. A preferred alkaline discharging agent for the process according to the present invention is zinc-formaldehyde-sulfoxilate (ZFS). It is understood that other customary additives may be used in the discharge composition, such as anti-odorants, thickener and softeners.

Application of the discharge composition leaves the printed area of the textile material a lighter tone of the color of the dyed material. The higher the concentration of discharge agent in the discharge composition, the lighter the ground dye color will appear in the printed image. The lower the concentration of discharge agent in the discharge composition, the more of the ground dye color will show through. The concentration of discharge agent in the highlight composition is from about 0.4% to about 1% by weight of the discharge composition, and preferably from about 0.6% to about 0.8% by weight. At discharge agent concentrations less than about 0.4% by weight, the highlighted portion of the image becomes too weak to be visible to the naked eye under normal viewing conditions. At discharge agent concentrations higher than about 1.0% by weight, the highlighted portion of the image appears white or near white rather the tinted color of the fabric ground. It should be noted that, for mid-tones, the amount of discharge agent is reduced and that a mid-tone can be created by allowing the unprinted textile material ground color to show through. Thus, the textile material dye itself is a tone.

A highlight in a printed design or pattern can be created using a single discharge composition. A more sophisticated print requires a range of highlight-producing compositions with varying concentrations of discharge agents.

The coloring composition for producing shadows comprises a base or binder, a pigment, and the balance water. The coloring composition does not include a discharge agent. The pigment may be an organic or an inorganic pigment. Fiber reactive dyes may be used with cellulose materials or disperse dyestuffs when synthetic fibers are present in the material to be printed. Pigment concentrates suitable for use in the present invention may be the same as those used in transparent inks, which are liquid based pigments with the exception of certain fluorescents which are sometimes available in powdered form. Application of the coloring composition enhances or tints the ground color of the textile material in the effected areas and, in effect, shades the printed area. The pigment shade is controlled by varying the concentration of the pigment in the shadow print paste. The higher the concentration of pigment used, the darker the shadow produced in the printed image.

In most applications according to the present invention, the coloring composition pigment can be black. The concentration of black pigment in the coloring composition is from about 0.09% to about 0.3% by weight of the coloring composition, and preferably from about 0.1% to about 0.2% by weight. At pigment concentrations less than about 0.09% by weight, the “shadow tone” becomes too weak and is barely visible on most textile grounds. At pigment concentrations higher than about 0.3% by weight, the shadow becomes black or too intense to exhibit shade characteristics. The coloring composition pigment can alternatively be a color other than black primarily based on the dye color. Using a colored pigment gives a better shadow tonal when working with certain ground colors, such as pink in which case the shadow would be created with a red pigment. Similarly, a range of blue shadows and green shadows could be created, for example. When using pigment colors other than black to create shadow tones, it is important to note that pigment concentrations may vary over a broad range depending on color and the manufacturer of the pigment. The range will fall between about 0.5% and about 5% by weight of the coloring composition.

As with the highlight-producing discharge composition, a shadow can be created using a single coloring composition. A more sophisticated printed image requires a range of shadow-producing coloring compositions with varying concentrations of the tint color. Again, the textile material ground color itself can be used as a tone.

Preferably, the discharge and coloring compositions are based on water-based discharge compositions which are easy to use, washfast and environmentally friendly.

Various methods of applying desired designs and patterns to the textile material can be employed and are within the scope of the present invention. Preferably, the printing process is done on a using conventional textile, garment or fabric screen printing processes, methods, and techniques. In screen printing, for example, one screen is used for each color. Since discharge ink prints directly on the garment, standard butt-to-butt registration from color to color is all that is necessary. Screen mesh counts preferably range from about 110 threads per inch (tpi) to about 305 tpi depending on the detail of the image to be printed. Photographic halftone patterns or images may be achieved with meshes at the upper end of the tpi range. Thread tensions within the range of 20-30 N/cm ²are appropriate for discharge printing.

Conventional film separation is used to prepare the screens. The film separations may be prepared using a variety of techniques depending on, but not limited to, the image or graphic to be printed and the color of the textile material to be printed. Preferably, the separation is computer-generated and each separation is sent to a thermal printer for outputting film. One film is separately printed for each tone and a screen is generated from each film. As the images to be printed become more complicated, the more highlights and shadow tones will be necessary and thus more films. For complicated designs, the image is converted to gray scale using any of a variety of known means and a level of gray is designated for each tone.

In the simplest embodiment of the present invention, textile material which has been appropriately (dischargeably) dyed is printed with the discharge composition including discharge agent through a first screen. The material is then printed with the coloring composition through a second screen. The order of printing is usually a smallest image area to largest or highlights followed by shadow. Preferably, the highlighted portion of the image is printed first since the discharge composition is a more chemically active composition and the subsequent screens help to drive this ink through the material. Each composition is applied while the material is being held in place until the print is completed. Sixty-five or 70 single durometer squeegees using standard print angles are suitable. Squeegee pressure should be normal.

The printing of the design or pattern may incorporate other aspects comprising traditional screen printing materials. For example, a thin black outline may be added using plastisol without adversely effecting the hand of the print thereby incorporating both the discharge and plastisol inks within the same graphic. Colored prints on the ground color can also be obtained if the ground color is produced by means of a mixture of a dischargeable dye and a non-dischargeable dyestuff of another color. Other pigment colors can also be added to create a multi-colored final product.

After the screen printing steps, the printed material is subjected to heat treatment for curing the inks. This can be accomplished on a conveyor drying belt at temperatures between about 375 degrees and about 425 degrees Fahrenheit using consistent belt speed for about 1.5 to about 2.5 minutes. It is understood that variations on time and temperature will depend on the efficiency of the dryer. Heat treatment results in the ground dye being destroyed on the areas which have been printed with the discharge agent and the areas printed with pigment being fixed.

Thereafter, the textile material is subjected to after treatment in a manner customary for the fabric or garment.

The result of the process according to the present invention is a design or pattern which reflects the ground color of the textile material. In its simplest form, a monochromatic, multi-toned image is created including a highlight, a mid-tone which is the ground color of the material, and a shadow. The visual effect is similar to a watermark. When more than two print compositions comprising a range of concentrations of discharge agent or pigment are used, the highlights, mid-tones and shadows makes possible a more complex image. Photographic half tones are possible. The most successful graphics are two or three dimensional renderings such as drop shadow prints, embossing, branded or burnished images that are monochromatic and multi-tonal by design.

The present invention can be further understood by a review of the following non-limiting examples:

EXAMPLE A

Collegiate block typeface lettering with a highlight, shadow, and mid tone in combination is applied to different colored garments. The lettering art is prepared on a personal computer using Adobe Photoshop 6. Film is generated on a thermal printer for each tone to be printed. In this example, the mid-tone color appears as the untreated fabric ground. Therefore, although three tones will be visible, only two sets of films, print screens and inks are prepared. The print screens are prepared from the films in a manner known to a person of ordinary skill in the art on 110 tpi mesh and a tension level of approximately 20 newtons. [0035]
The discharge ink composition is prepared with base or binder (Pavonine DC-B) which is activated with 0.7% by weight of zfs. The coloring composition is prepared with the same base and is pigmented with 0.15% by weight of black pigment concentrate. Suitable ink products including base, pigments and zfs are available from Pavonine Products in Lynchburg, Ohio. [0036]
All screens are printed with a 70 durometer squeegee with standard pressure, speed, and angles using a single stroke. The highlight screen image is printed first followed by the shadow screen image. The highlight image is printed with the discharge ink composition and appears as an inner border. Inside the highlight color, the midtone will be exhibited by the ground of the untreated fabric color. The shadow screen image is printed with the coloring composition and appears as a drop shadow of the entire image. [0037]
Antique white, a standard discharge ink, is used in this type of image as an additional spot color to create an outer border outlining the image. The antique white is prepared with a base or binder, a 6% by weight pigment load, and activated with a 7% by weight of zinc formaldehyde sulfoxilate. [0038]
Textile materials of various ground colors are printed. The highlight, midtone, and shadow portions are unique to each garment printed. The antique white portion of the image remains the same color on all garments regardless of the ground color. Only one set of films, screens, inks and print parameters are used to create individual colorways of a design for each ground color of textile material printed. [0039]

EXAMPLE B

A photographic tonal rendering of a magenta rose is provided. In this application, a highlight base, the midtone of the fabric color, and two different strengths (tones) of shadow color are produced. The art is prepared by scanning a full color image of the rose into a computer database and transporting the data into Adobe Photoshop. The image is then converted to gray scale and four levels of gray are selected for photographic halftone film separation, one for each tone to be printed. The film separations are output to a thermal printer and printed at 55 dots per inch using an elliptically shaped dot. The film containing the lightest level of gray is imaged to a 305 tpi mesh screen at 20 newtons and will be printed with the discharge ink composition as described in Example A above. The film containing the second lightest level of gray will be discarded as the portions of the image corresponding to this level of gray will remain the color of the fabric to be printed. The film containing the third level of gray will be imaged to a 305 tpi mesh screen at 20 newtons and will be printed with a light coloring ink composition. The film containing the fourth, or darkest, level of gray will be printed with a deep coloring ink composition. [0040]
The light shadow ink is prepared with a standard discharge base (Pavonine DC-B) and incorporating 1% Pavonine rhodomine liquid pigment by weight. The dark shadow ink is prepared with a the same base and incorporating 3.7% Pavonine rhodomine pigment by weight. [0041]
The screens are printed in sequence from light to dark using standard print parameters described in Example A above. When the screens are printed on different color material grounds, each color of material will exhibit a different color rose. The rhodomine shadow inks are so weakly pigmented that the ground dye color of the fabric tints these components of the image. The midtone again remains the ground color of the fabric. The highlight becomes a lighter value of the ground color. [0042]

EXAMPLE C

A reproduction of an engraving is provided. In this application, a black and white engraved print on paper is scanned into a computer database and transported into Adobe Photoshop. The image is separated into a negative image and a positive image. The positive portion of the image consists of all of the black engraved lines and the negative portion of the image consists of the white areas in between the black lines. The negative and positive images are individually sent to a thermal printer and two films are output in the manner described above. Screens are prepared in the known manner using two 180 tpi mesh screens tensioned to 20 newtons. The negative portion of the image is printed first with the discharge ink composition is prepared as described Example A above. The positive portion of the image is printed next with the coloring ink composition prepared as described in Example A above. Each fabric color printed in this manner will render the engraving in a unique monochromatic, multi-toned color palette. [0043]
The process according to the present invention has many advantages, including economic advantages since different tonal colorways can be generated regardless of the ground dye color of the material or garment. Thus, a wide variety of color combinations are possible. The ground dye color, printing composition chemistry and printing process are all linked. A full color palate of numerous different ground colors can be printed with a single set of inks and screens without regard to the changing color of the material. The process is simple, using standard printing techniques. Where water-based inks are used, the process is also environmentally friendly. [0044]
Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with respect to particular exemplary embodiments thereof, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that I do not intend to limit the invention to the embodiments since various modifications, omissions and additions may be made to the disclosed embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the invention, particularly in light of the foregoing teachings. For example, the process according to the present invention is applicable to all textile materials as well as other substrates. Accordingly, I intend to cover all such modifications, omissions, additions and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims. [0045]

Claims

I claim:

1. A process for printing a textile material which has been dyed with a dischargeable dye, the textile material printing process comprising the steps of:

applying to a first selected portion of the textile material a discharge composition comprising a discharge agent in an amount sufficient to at least partially discharge the dye from the first selected portion of the textile material where the discharge composition is applied;

applying to a second selected portion of the textile material a coloring composition comprising a pigment in an amount sufficient to color the dye in the second selected portion of the textile material where the coloring composition is applied; and

heating the textile material to a drying temperature for a time sufficient to discharge the dye from the first selected portion of the material and fix the pigment.

2. A process of printing a dyed textile material as recited in claim 1, wherein the discharge agent is ZFS.

3. A process of printing a dyed textile material as recited in claim 1, wherein the concentration of discharge agent in the discharge composition is between about 0.4 and about 1.0 weight percent of the total weight of the discharge composition.

4. A process of printing a dyed textile material as recited in claim 1, wherein the concentration of discharge agent in the discharge composition is between about 0.6 and about 0.8 weight percent of the total weight of the discharge composition.

5. A process of printing a dyed textile material as recited in claim 1, wherein the coloring composition pigment is a black pigment.

6. A process of printing a dyed textile material as recited in claim 5, wherein the concentration of black pigment in the coloring composition is between about 0.09 and about 0.3 weight percent of the total weight of the coloring composition.

7. A process of printing a dyed textile material as recited in claim 5, wherein the concentration of black pigment in the coloring composition is between about 0.1 and about 0.2 weight percent of the total weight of the coloring composition.

8. A process of printing a dyed textile material as recited in claim 1, wherein the concentration of pigment in the coloring composition is between about 0.5 and about 5.0 weight percent of the total weight of the coloring composition.

9. A process for producing a multi-toned design or pattern on a textile material, the process comprising the steps of:

providing a textile material;

impregnating the material with a dye dischargeable to white;

applying to a first selected portion of the textile material corresponding to the design or pattern to be produced a discharge composition comprising a discharge agent in an amount sufficient to at least partially discharge the dye from the first selected portion of the textile material where the discharge composition is applied;

applying to a second selected portion of the textile material corresponding to the design or pattern to be produced a coloring composition comprising a pigment in an amount sufficient to color the dye in the second selected portion of the textile material where the coloring composition is applied; and

heating the material to a drying temperature for a time sufficient to discharge the dye from the first selected portion of the material and fix the pigment.

10. A process for producing a colored design or pattern on a dyed textile material as recited in claim 9, wherein the textile material comprises cellulose.

11. A process for producing a colored design or pattern on a dyed textile material as recited in claim 9, wherein the textile material comprises cotton fiber.

12. A process for producing a colored design or pattern on a dyed textile material as recited in claim 9, wherein the textile material comprises non-cellulosic fibers.

13. A process for producing a colored design or pattern on a dyed textile material as recited in claim 9, wherein the textile material comprises synthetic fibers.

14. A process for producing a colored design or pattern on a dyed textile material as recited in claim 13, wherein the synthetic fibers are hydrophobic.

15. A process for producing a colored design or pattern on a dyed textile material as recited in claim 9, wherein the discharge agent is ZFS.

16. A process for producing a colored design or pattern on a dyed textile material as recited in claim 9, wherein the concentration of discharge agent in the discharge composition is between about 0.4 and about 1.0 weight percent of the total weight of the discharge composition.

17. A process for producing a colored design or pattern on a dyed textile material as recited in claim 9, wherein the concentration of discharge agent in the discharge composition is between about 0.6 and about 0.8 weight percent of the total weight of the discharge composition.

18. A process for producing a colored design or pattern on a dyed textile material as recited in claim 9, wherein the coloring composition pigment is a black pigment.

19. A process for producing a colored design or pattern on a dyed textile material as recited in claim 18, wherein the concentration of black pigment in the coloring composition is between about 0.09 and about 0.3 weight percent of the total weight of the coloring composition.

20. A process for producing a colored design or pattern on a dyed textile material as recited in claim 18, wherein the concentration of black pigment in the coloring composition is between about 0.1 and about 0.2 weight percent of the total weight of the coloring composition.

21. A process for producing a colored design or pattern on a dyed textile material as recited in claim 9, wherein the concentration of pigment in the coloring composition is between about 0.5 and about 5.0 weight percent of the total weight of the coloring composition.

22. A method for printing a multi-toned design or pattern on textile material which has been dyed with a dischargeable dye, the printing method comprising the steps of:

preparing at least two print screens, each print screen corresponding to a different portion of the design or pattern;

contacting a predetermined first screen with the textile material;

applying to the textile material through the screen a discharge composition comprising a discharge agent in an amount sufficient to at least partially discharge the dye from the area of the textile material where the discharge composition is applied;

separating the first screen from the fabric;

contacting a predetermined second screen with the textile material;

applying to the textile material through the second screen a coloring composition comprising a pigment in an amount sufficient to color the dye in the area of the textile material where the coloring composition is applied; and

heating the textile material to a drying temperature for a time sufficient to discharge the dye from the material where the discharge composition has been applied and fix the pigment.

23. A method for printing a multi-toned design or pattern on dyed textile material as recited in claim 22, wherein the discharge agent is ZFS.

24. A method for printing a multi-toned design or pattern on dyed textile material as recited in claim 22, wherein the concentration of discharge agent in the discharge composition is between about 0.4 and about 1.0 weight percent of the total weight of the discharge composition.

25. A method for printing a multi-toned design or pattern on dyed textile material as recited in claim 22, wherein the concentration of discharge agent in the discharge composition is between about 0.6 and about 0.8 weight percent of the total weight of the discharge composition.

26. A method for printing a multi-toned design or pattern on dyed textile material as recited in claim 22, wherein the coloring composition pigment is a black pigment.

27. A method for printing a multi-toned design or pattern on dyed textile material as recited in claim 26, wherein the concentration of black pigment in the coloring composition is between about 0.09 and about 0.3 weight percent of the total weight of the coloring composition.

28. A method for printing a multi-toned design or pattern on dyed textile material as recited in claim 26, wherein the concentration of black pigment in the coloring composition is between about 0.1 and about 0.2 weight percent of the total weight of the coloring composition.

29. A process of printing a dyed textile material as recited in claim 22, wherein the concentration of pigment in the coloring composition is between about 0.5 and about 5.0 weight percent of the total weight of the coloring composition.

30. A textile having a multi-toned design or pattern prepared by the process of claim 1.