THIS RESEARCH aims to utilize microwave energy and nanotechnology to improve the printability and performance of cotton prints via screen printing technique. Each cotton sample was individually pre-treated by microwave power ranged from 300 to 700 watts and for a period ranged from 1 to 9 min. Afterwards the optimum sample was printed by printing paste containing Remazol (TM) reactive dye and silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) with different concentrations. The printed samples were fixed using microwave energy then were subjected to steaming or themio-fixation. The obtained results clarified that, the prints obtained using microwave and Ag-NPs were found to have better color strength, fastness properties, antibacterial behavior and surface morphology when they were compared to the conventional techniques using thermo-fixation and steaming.
