Acrylic fabrics were pretreated with metal salts (aluminum sulfate, copper sulfate, ferrous sulfate, and potassium dichromate) in different concentrations. The tensile strength, elongation, and moisture regain of pretreated and untreated samples were examined. The effects of various concentrations of the metal salts, the pH of the printing paste, and the thickening agent on the color strength and fastness properties of the printed fabrics were studied to determine the optimum printing conditions. The pretreatment improved the printability of acrylic modified with a cationic dye and the fastness properties. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.