What Are the Standards for Color Fastness to Rubbing?

Color fastness is a crucial factor for textile materials, including towels, bedding, clothing, and apparel. The color of any dyed or printed item must be sufficiently vibrant to prevent transfer from the fabric surface to another material. To achieve optimal color fastness, dyes or pigments must be carefully selected. This ensures that the color remains vibrant and does not fade or bleed, thereby maintaining the quality and durability of the textile product. Proper testing and material selection are crucial to meeting the textile industry's high color fastness standards. Rubbing or abrasion is a common problem with textiles.

 

GB/T 3920-2008 specifies the test method for the color fastness of textiles to dry and wet rubbing. It is applicable to all types of textiles, including dyed, printed, and other colored textiles. This standard is equivalent to the international standard ISO 105-X12:2001. ensuring international comparability of test results.

 

The test uses a standard abrading head to rub the sample back and forth under a specific pressure. The color fastness to rubbing grade of the sample is determined by assessing the degree of color staining on a standard white cloth after rubbing. The test involves both dry and wet rubbing, with wet rubbing better simulating colorfastness performance under humid conditions in actual use.

 

 

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) maintains a series of standards for testing various colorfastness properties, such as colorfastness to washing, colorfastness to water, colorfastness to perspiration, colorfastness to light, and more. ISO 105-X12. the colorfastness to rubbing test, includes the type of rubbing action, the pressure applied, and an assessment of the color transferred to a standard fabric.

 

International test method ISO 105-X12 is used to evaluate the degree of color transfer from dyed or printed textiles to other surfaces (whether colored, printed, or white). This method provides guidance for reviewing our processes and making necessary adjustments to dye formulations or auxiliaries used. By following ISO 105-X12. we can ensure better colorfastness and improve the quality and durability of our textiles, reduce the risk of color transfer, and maintain customer satisfaction. ISO 105-X12 is a wet and dry test method using a DaRong crockmeter and an adjacent reference white fabric. Colorfastness is assessed using a gray scale. This method helps determine the resistance of a fabric color to friction with other materials, thereby ensuring the quality and durability of textiles. ISO 105-X12 covers the type of rubbing action, the pressure applied, and the assessment of color transfer to the reference fabric.

 

 

A standard developed by the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists, also covers the test method for colorfastness of textiles to rubbing.

 

The principle is to rub a white rubbing cloth back and forth over a colored test specimen under specified conditions. The degree of color transfer to the white rubbing cloth is determined by comparing it to a gray scale or a 9-grade gray scale for colored transfer.

 

 

1. Use a color transfer chart or gray scale to assess the degree of color transfer from the test specimen to the white rubbing cloth after the test.

 

2. Place three layers of unused white rubbing cloth behind the rubbing cloth to be assessed during the evaluation.

 

3. Rating of colorfastness to dry and wet rubbing using the Gray Scale for Staining or the 9-Step AATCC Chromatic Transference Scale (the use of these scales is discussed in AATCC Evaluation Procedures 2. 3. and 8. respectively).

 

Grade 5 - Negligible or no staining.

 

Grade 4.5 - Staining equivalent to Grades 4-5 on the Gray Scale for Staining or Grade 4.5 on the 9-Step AATCC Chromatic Transference Scale.

 

Grade 4 - Staining equivalent to Grade 4 on the Gray Scale for Staining or Grade 4 on the 9-Step AATCC Chromatic Transference Scale.

 

Grade 3.5 - Staining equivalent to Grades 3-4 on the Gray Scale for Staining or Grade 3.5 on the 9-Step AATCC Chromatic Transference Scale.

 

Grade 3 - Staining equivalent to Grade 3 on the Gray Scale for Staining or Grade 3 on the 9-Step AATCC Chromatic Transference Scale.

 

Grade 2.5 - Staining equivalent to Grades 2-3 on the Gray Scale for Staining. or 2.5 on the 9-Step AATCC Color Transference Scale.

 

Grade 2 - Staining equivalent to Step 2 on the Gray Scale for Staining or Step 2 on the 9-Step AATCC Color Transference Scale.

 

Grade 1.5 - Staining equivalent to Steps 1-2 on the Gray Scale for Staining or Step 1.5 on the 9-Step AATCC Color Transference Scale.

 

Grade 1 - Staining equivalent to Step 1 on the Gray Scale for Staining or Step 1 on the 9-Step AATCC Color Transference Scale.

 

10.4 When testing multiple specimens or when a group of assessors assesses staining, take the average of the results, accurate to the nearest 0.1 step.

 

Domestic Standards

1. GB/T 5711-1997: This is a Chinese national standard that specifies the test method for color fastness to rubbing of textiles, including both dry and wet rubbing tests.

 

2. GB/T 3920-2008: This is the general standard for color fastness testing of textiles in China, which also includes the test requirements for color fastness to rubbing.

 

1. Fiber Type: Different fibers have different color fastness to rubbing. For example, natural fibers generally have lower color fastness than synthetic fibers.

 

2. Dyeing Process: The quality of the dyeing process directly affects the color fastness of textiles.

 

3. Environmental Conditions: Environmental factors such as temperature and humidity can also affect the color fastness to rubbing of textiles.

 

Application of the Standard

1. Quality Control: During the textile production process, color fastness to rubbing testing is a key quality control step.

 

2. Trade Requirements: In international trade, color fastness to rubbing of textiles is a key quality indicator, and compliance with relevant standards is a prerequisite for export.

 

3. Consumer Protection: Testing color fastness to rubbing helps protect consumer rights and prevents consumers from purchasing textiles that easily fade or stain.

 

With advances in textile technology and rising consumer demands, the importance of color fastness to rubbing testing in textile quality control is becoming increasingly prominent. Manufacturers should strictly follow the standard requirements to conduct testing to ensure that product quality meets national standards and market demands. Testing agencies should also standardize their operations to ensure the accuracy and reliability of test results.

 

 

Color fastness to rubbing refers to the test of color fastness to rubbing. It is also known as color fastness to rubbing.

 

There are two rubbing methods: the American (AATCC 8) method and the ISO method. The ISO standard for the rubbing method

 

described in this article is ISO 105 X12.

 

 

There are several methods to improve color fastness to rubbing:

 

1. Fixative application: After the dyeing or printing process, we use a fixative to improve the color fastness of the fabric.

 

2. Dye selection: This is also a very important technique that helps us save time and maintain quality for our customers.

 

3. Washing and finishing: Using good washing and finishing techniques removes excess dye and fixes the color.

 

4. Heat treatment: Using heat fixes the dye to the fabric, improving fastness.

 

 

1. Rubbing Direction: The AATCC method rubs the fabric diagonally, while the ISO method uses straight warp and weft directions, not diagonal directions.

 

2. AATCC recommends a wet rubbing method; the absorbency should be 65% ± 5%. ISO recommends an absorbency of 95% to 100%.