Articles

The purpose of this study was to assess the structural attributes of black and white Printed Printex Textile Fabrics in Ghana. The study adopted a factorial experimental research design. The three fabrics with black prints and white as base colours were purchased from the market. These three fabrics had the same designs but two had different fabric finishes and the third one had no finish (plain, embossed and plisse). Key soap purchased from the Ghanaian market and standard soap from Ghana Standard Authority were used for the study. A purposive sampling procedure was used in choosing the fabrics and soap for the study. Specimens totalling 219 were cut randomly from along the warp and weft directions of the Printex black and white cotton fabric with finishes (plain, embossed and plisse). The use of laboratory experiments and the apparatus used to experiment. The data obtained were presented using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviation) were used as summary statistics of variables of the study. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test for significant differences among three variables (three washing cycles), whereas the independent samples t-test was used to test for statistically significant differences between the performance of the fabric finishes under Key soap and the standard soap. The study indicated that differences in the attributes of the finishes caused differences in the structural attributes of the fabrics. This was because some of the finishes required certain structural attributes to bond well with the fabrics. The implication is that continuous washing weakens the structural attributes of fabrics which causes them to fail or weakens their resistance to stress tests. The study, however, found that differences in the structural attributes of the fabric finishes caused differences in the effects of washing on the selected fabric finishes. It is recommended that Printex Textile Limited should place critical emphasis on the weight of the fibres used in the construction of the fabrics. This was necessary since the study found that the fabric finish with the greatest weight performed better in tensile strength than those with the lowest weight. As a result, the use of fibres with high weight is expected to improve the use and care of the fabric finishes in terms of their ability to resist stress or tension during washing.

The tensile strength is an imperative properties and essential indications consumers’ look out for in purchasing a quality fabric. The objective of this study was to examine key soap on tensile strength in three washing cycles of selected Printex fabrics in Ghana. Quantitatively, the study adopted both experimental and factorial research designs. Materials for the study consisted of three fabrics with black prints and white as base colour were purchased from the market. These three fabrics had the same designs but two had different fabric finishes and the third one had no finish (plain, embossed and plisse). Six yards each of the Printex black and white fabrics with embossed, plisse and a third one which did not have any special fabric finish were used for the study. Key soap purchased from the Ghanaian market, and standard soap from Ghana Standard Authority was used for the study. Purposive and simple random techniques were used to select materials for the study. The main research instrument for the testing tensile strength was Universal tensile testing machine. Data were analysed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the hypothesis formulated to guide the study. The study revealed that continuous washing had degrading effects on the tensile strength. The implication is that continuous washing weakens the internal strengths of fabrics which cause them to fail or weakens their resistance to stress test. The study also found that continuous washing had degrading effects on the tensile strength of the selected fabrics. It is recommended that the Ghana Standards Authority should encourage soap producers to get their chemical compositions as close to those of the standardised soap as possible.