240

CALICO-PRINTING.

padded with mordants of various kinds. Some manufacturers run the goods beforeprinting them through a weak solution of the perchloride of tin, with the view of bright-ening all the colors subsequently applied or raised upon them. I shall now illustratesteam calico-printing by some examples, kindly furnished me by a practical printer nearManchester, who conducts a great business with remarkable success.

Steam blue. —Prussiate of potash, tartaric acid, and a little sulphuric acid, are dis-solved in water, and thickened with starch; then applied by the cylinder, dried at amoderate heat, and steamed for 25 minutes. They are rinsed and dried after thesteaming. The tartaric acid, at a high temperature, decomposes here a portion of theferrocyanic acid, and fixes the remaining ferrocyanate of iron (Prussian blue ) in the fibreof the cloth. The ground may have been previously padded and dyed ; the acids willremove the mordant from the points to which the above paste has been applied, andbring out a bright blue upon them.

Steam purple. —This topical color is made by digesting acetate of alumina upon groundlogwood with heat; straining, thickening with gum Senegal , and applying the paste bythe cylinder machine.

Steam pink. —A decoction of Brazil-wood with a small quantity of the solution ofmuriate of tin, called, at Manchester, new tin crystals,* and a little nitrate of copper toassist in fixing the color; properly thickened, dried, and steamed for not more than 20minutes, on account of the corrosive action of muriate of tin when the heat is too strong.

Cochineal pink. —Acetate of alumina is mixed with decoction of cochineal, a little tar-taric acid and solution of tin; then thickened with starch, dried, and steamed.

Steam brown. —A mixed infusion of logwood, cochineal, and Persian berries, withcream of tartar, alum (or acetate of alumina), and a little tartaric acid, thickened, dried,and steamed.

Green , blue, chocolate, with white ground, by steam. —Prussiate of potash and tartaricacid, thickened, for the blue; the same mixture with berry-liquor and acetate of alumina,thickened, for the green; extract of logwood with acetate of alumina and cream oftartar, thickened, for the chocolate. These three topical colors are applied at once bythe three-color cylinder machine; dried and steamed. Though greens are fixed by thesteam, their color is much improved by passing the cloth through solution of bichromateof potash.

In France , solution of tin is much used for steam colors.

VIII. Spirit or fancy colors. —These all owe their vivacity, as well as the moderatedegree of permanency they possess, to their tin mordant. After printing-on the topicalcolor, the goods must be dried at a gentle heat, and passed merely through the rinsingmachine. Purple, brown, or chocolate, red, green, yellow, blue, and white discharge;any five of these are printed on at once by the five-color cylinder machine. See RinsingMachine.

Chocolate is given by extract of Brazil-wood, extract of logwood, nitro-muriate of tffl>with a little nitrate of copper: all mixed, thickened, and merely printed-on.

Red, by extract of Brazil-wood and tin, with a little nitrate of copper.

Green , by prussiate of potash, with muriate of tin and acetate of lead, dissolved,thickened, and printed-on..

The goods after rinsing must be passed through solution of bichromate of potash, >convert the Prussian blue color into green, by the formation of chrome yellow upon it-Blue. —Prussian blue ground up with solution (nitromuriate) of tin; thickened, & c -Yellow. —Nitrate of lead dissolved in solution of tartaric acid, thickened, tender ydried, passed through the bichromate vat or padding machine, washed and dried.

This yellow is pretty fast; though topical, it can hardly, therefore, be called a fan -

color. . tin •

When purple is to be inserted instead of the above blue, extract of logwood withis used in the place of the Prussian blue. Tartaric acid is a useful addition to tinbrightening fancy colors. _ , te

Chocolate. —A good topical chocolate is made by digesting logwood with liquid aceof alumina, adding a little cream of tartar to the infusion; thickening, applying W . ^cylinder, drying, washing, then passing through solution of bichromate of potash, wserves to darken and fix the color. , neons

I shall conclude my account of the printing of cotton goods with some miscellanformula:, which were given me by skilful calico-printers in Lancashire . . p 0 r

Prussian blue is prepared for topical printing by grinding it in a handmill, like*’,grinding pepper or coffee, and triturating the powder with solution of muriate of 1 ' aI1( jGreen . —The deoxydized indigo vat liquor is mixed with a little pearlas > ^

thickened with gum. This is applied by the cylinder or block to goods pee

* This preparation is made by adding 3 lbs. of sal ammoniac to 1 gallon of solution of tin ^ c jL ara tionDye, ami TIN ), evaporating, and crystallizing. The sal ammoniac seems to counteiact the 1the tin by peroxydizement.