Abstract: The impacts of the new thickening paste EcopO-2 and other common synthetic thickening pastes on the hand-feel of pigment printing were compared, and the mechanism for the significant hand-feeling improvement of the new thickening system in pigment printing was explored. The results showed that: the application of new thickening paste EcopO-2 with the high-quality adhesive, can significantly improve hand-feeling of pigment printing, the stiffness test and PhabrOmeter determination indicated that the printed cotton fabric as well as silk fabric showed a hand-feeling with corresponding level of the dye printing. The weight change test of the printing paste film, EDS elemental analysis and TG analysis showed that EcopO-2 plays an important role in the hand–feel improvement of the pigment printing. The basic reason could be that not only the EcopO-2 thickening system has very low solid content, but also the small molecules of its inner phase material could get into the adhesive film to plasticize and soften the film.

Key words: pigment printing, fabric hand feeling, thickening system