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Description
Fastness of a colour refers to its performance or its ability to remain unchanged throughout the use full life of the article to which it has been applied. Beauty of colour in any fabric is of no value unless the dye may be considered fast under the conditions in which the fabric will be used. Colour must meet such tests as washing, ironing, steaming, perspiration, strong light and dry cleaning to meet the fastness requirements for the end use of the material.
The u.s govt tests fabric for colur fastness to enforce and maintain trade standards.
A material that experiences little colour alteration when exposed to a fading force is said to have good colour fastness. Colour fastness is generally more of a problem with deeper colours, brighter colours and red, because any colour change here is more obvious than with pastels or light shades. The light shades are not frequently tested.
After each of the colour fastness tests has been completed, a comparison is made between the colour or shade of the tested sample and that of the original fabric. The specimens are usually evaluated on a 5-4-3-2-1 scale, where class 5 means no shade change and class1 is very great shade change.
When a sample is examined under sunlight and then under a fluorescent light, the colour seen is not necessarily the same, therefore the source of light is a factor which must be considered in the assessment of the colorfastness tests.
- Colorfastness to Washing
- Fastness to light
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Participants