CARPET PRINTING

The print head of the Stalwart machine consists of up to four print rollers, which run in troughs containing a thin print paste, with the carpet pile to be printed being pressed against the upper surface of the print roller from behind. The print rollers are arranged at 45° to the vertical, one above the other (Figures 4.1 and 4.2). Maximum running speed is about 6 m min–1. The individual print rollers consist of a steel-centred wooden bowl on the surface of which is mounted the design. The design is cut from thick rubber sheet covered with a nylon or polyester fibre pile. The relative simplicity of this machine ensured its success at a time when two- or three-colour blotch designs on plain ground shades were popular. Fitting patterns with 100% coverage cannot be printed, so the ground shades are obtained either by printing on predyed carpet or by wet-on-wet printing on to a prepadded or cover-printed ground. There is also limitation in line definition, as the narrowest rubber strip that can be mounted on the roller is about 4 mm wide. The machine has, however, proved ideal for the production of the so-called shadow-printed effects on long-pile carpets, which have remained in fashion for many years.