Effect of Fixatives on Color Performance of Bark Extract from Three Tropical Wetland Species for Dyeing the Fabrics

Fixation is a stage in coloring the fabrics (including batik fabrics) with natural dyes (e.g. bark extracts) to obtain the desired color and bind the color so that the dyed fabric does not fade quickly due to sweat, washing, sunray, and rubbing/ironing. Fixation in this research that used alum (Al2[SO4]3), lime (CaCO3), and tunjung (FeSO4) individually, or any combination of the two fixatives altered the color performance of batik or other woven fabrics, previously dyed with bark extracts from tropical wetland species. Color performance of the dyed fabrics depended on, besides intrinsically/logically the species origins of bark extracts, also on mainly and manipulatively the kinds of fixatives. Performance of bark extracts with fixatives produced darker and sharper fabric colors than without the fixative use. The application of lime on Rhizophora apiculata Bl. bark extract produced dark moderate orange color; while the combination of lime and tunjung imparted very dark orange (Brown tone). On the barks of Terminalia catappa L. and Acacia mangium Willd, the combination of lime and tunjung produced a dark moderate orange color with varying intensities. On the other hand, Terminalia atappa L. bark extract treated with alum and tunjung turned a very dark grayish orange color.