Vacuum assisted tuft dye printing process

A process for dyeing a pile fabric having a backing web, comprising the steps of:

• moving said fabric in a repetitive stepwise manner in a longitudinal direction along a path having a horizontal portion and an upwardly oriented portion, said backing web being disposed above the pile portion of said fabric along said horizontal portion of said path;
• displacing said horizontal portion of said fabric path downward to immerse the pile portion of said fabric in a print form comprising a plurality of open compartments separated by thin vertical walls and containing dyes of varying colors defining a print pattern, to dye said fabric in accordance with said pattern;
• thereafter displacing said horizontal portion of said fabric path upward to withdraw said fabric from said print form;
• thereafter moving said fabric a predetermined distance along said path and then temporarily halting the movement thereof;
• intermittently applying suction to the backing of said fabric in a zone of predetermined width along said path, said zone being disposed along the upwardly oriented portion of said path adjacent the horizontal portion thereof, said suction being applied only during said fabric moving step, to draw dye toward said backing and remove excess dye from said fabric;
• and
• thereafter causing said dye to set in said fabric.