Visibility of graphic elements on textiles

The aim of the research was to ascertain what factors need to be taken into consideration to be able to give recommendations on ensuring the visibility of symbols and typographic elements on logos and textile care labels. From being sewn-in, these are nowadays more frequently printed directly on the final product. For the research purpose, the prints were made on a natural material in one, two and three layers of ink with the inkjet printing technology. Three different typefaces were tested in four sizes, complemented by 16 different textile care symbols in 11 different sizes, and by 100% and 40% intensity fields of black colour. The prints were exposed to a different number of wash and tumble drying cycles (1–5). The fastness of prints was better when the ink was printed in two or even three layers. The most substantial difference in the fastness of printed text was measured at smaller type sizes (6 and 8 pt). The smallest acceptable size of simple textile care symbols is 4.50 ⋅ 4.50 mm, while more complex symbols have to be larger in size.