How Much do You Know About Outdoorwear Color Fastness?

In daily life, fastness is the most frequently asked question among all dyeing questions.

Color fastness has very high requirements on the quality of dyed and printed fabrics. The nature or degree of variation in the dyeing state can be expressed by color fastness. It is related to the yarn structure, fabric organization, printing and dyeing method, dye type and external force. Different color fastness requirements will cause great cost differences and quality differences.

Below is key features for 6 main textile fastness!

1. Light fastness

Light fastness refers to the degree of discoloration of colored fabrics under the action of sunlight. The test method can be sunlight exposure or sunlight machine exposure. The fading degree of the sample after exposure is compared with the standard color sample, which is divided into 8 levels, with 8 being the best and 1 being the worst. Fabrics with poor light fastness should not be exposed to the sun for a long time, and should be placed in a ventilated place to dry in the shade.

2. Rubbing fastness

Rubbing fastness refers to the degree of color loss of dyed fabrics after friction, which can be divided into dry friction and wet friction. Rubbing fastness is based on the degree of staining of white cloth as the evaluation principle, and is divided into 5 levels (1~5). The larger the value, the better the rubbing fastness. Fabrics with poor rubbing fastness have a limited service life.

3. Washing fastness

Washing or soaping fastness refers to the degree of color change of dyed fabrics after washing with detergent. Usually, a gray grading sample card is used as the evaluation standard, that is, the color difference between the original sample and the sample after fading is used for evaluation. Washing fastness is divided into 5 levels, with 5 being the best and 1 being the worst. Fabrics with poor washing fastness should be dry-cleaned. If wet-cleaning is performed, special attention should be paid to the washing conditions, such as the washing temperature should not be too high and the washing time should not be too long.

4. Ironing fastness

Ironing fastness refers to the degree of discoloration or fading of dyed fabrics when ironed. The degree of discoloration and fading is assessed by the staining of other fabrics by the iron. Ironing fastness is divided into 1 to 5 levels, with 5 being the best and 1 being the worst. When testing the ironing fastness of different fabrics, the temperature of the test iron should be selected properly.

5. Perspiration fastness

Sweat fastness refers to the degree of color fading of dyed fabrics after being soaked in sweat. Since the composition of artificially prepared sweat is different, sweat fastness is generally tested in combination with other color fastness in addition to being tested alone. Sweat fastness is divided into 1 to 5 levels, and the larger the value, the better.

6. Sublimation fastness

Sublimation fastness refers to the degree of sublimation that occurs when dyed fabrics are stored. Sublimation fastness uses a gray grading scale to assess the discoloration, fading, and staining of white fabrics after dry heat pressing. There are 5 levels, with 1 being the worst and 5 being the best. Normal fabrics are generally required to have a color fastness of 3 to 4 to meet wearing needs.