This book is another in the series on colour and coloration technology initiated by the Textbooks Committee of the Society of Dyers and Colourists under the aegis of the Dyers' Company Publications Trust Management Committee, which administers the trust fund generously provided by the Worshipful Company of Dyers. It has been written to replace the previous work in this series entitled The dyeing of cellulosic fibres, which is now out of print. Assembled mainly about fifteen years ago under the editorship of Cliff Preston and eventually published in 1986, that multi-author book had become somewhat outdated. Rather than prepare a formal second edition, Textbooks Committee decided to go for a modified approach. A smaller team of authors was appointed with a view to completing the update more quickly and achieving a more coherent presentation of the contents.