COATED FABRIC: HOW TO SPECIFY USABLE WIDTH AND FACE SIDE

Start with the panel, not the roll

A 150 cm-wide roll may look sufficient until a finished panel needs seam allowance, selvage exclusion, print registration, reinforcement placement or a directional layout. Start by listing each panel’s finished dimensions, cutting orientation and allowance; then state the minimum usable width needed for the chosen marker. If a panel must run across the width, say so explicitly. If multiple components share one marker, include their spacing and direction. This is a purchasing-control step, not a claim that all fabric lots have identical usable width. The offered article, production tolerance and cutting process still need confirmation before bulk planning.

• Finished panel dimensions and orientation
• Edge, seam and reinforcement allowances
• Directional print, emboss or grain requirements
• Minimum usable width needed by the converter

Use the published width as a starting fact, then check the project allowance

Published Brilliant-Tex references illustrate why the width must travel with the construction record. PT1/BUDO6E is listed as 190T polyester taffeta with a 58-inch cuttable width, face-side embossing and a clear PU-coating route. PTA2/RXOO6L lists polyester FD taslan with a 147 cm cuttable width and PU milky-coating route. SX1/OEOO6O lists solution-dyed 600D polyester Oxford at 58-inch cuttable width with a PU flame-retardant-coating route. These are different starting points for a buyer’s review; do not silently transfer one article’s stated width, face description or coating route to another fabric, colour or lot.

Identify the face side in the same line as the finish

Write the desired face-side appearance and the construction route in one controlled line: base fabric, colour or print, face-side treatment, reverse-side treatment and any barrier layer. PT1/BUDO6E, for example, publicly describes embossing on the face side alongside its finish route. That is a useful prompt to ask which side must face outward in the sample and finished product; it is not a universal rule that every PU-coated fabric must be used in the same orientation. A swatch photo can help an initial conversation, but it cannot replace a labelled physical sample, finish description and approved construction record.

• Name face and reverse side in the brief.
• Describe coating, laminate, emboss, print and finish by side where relevant.
• Keep the approved sample and bulk construction under the same identification.

Separate appearance choice from water-resistance approval

An embossed, clear, milky or coloured coated surface may change appearance and handling, but those words do not define the project’s water-resistance requirement. If a tent floor, flysheet, rainwear shell or cover needs water protection, specify the exact method, acceptance threshold, specimen state and the responsible evidence route separately. The prior Brilliant-Tex guide on water repellency and waterproofness explains why surface wetting and water penetration are different questions. Face-side approval should therefore sit beside, not replace, the controlled barrier, flex, ageing and finished-product checks.

Make the assembly route visible before converting the sample

The fabric decision does not end at cutting. State whether the material will be sewn, seam sealed, heat bonded or otherwise assembled, and identify which side is exposed at joins, hems, reinforcements and component interfaces. Needle holes, tape selection, adhesive conditions, folding direction and seam geometry can affect the result of a tent, rain garment or equipment cover. A fabric record alone cannot prove that a finished shelter will not leak or that a converter’s chosen assembly route is compatible. Confirm a representative construction trial and retain the approval decision with the party responsible for the finished product.

Use a short quotation checklist

Send the end product and fabric position first: flysheet, floor, wall, rainwear shell, cover, sleeping-bag shell or lining. Add finished panel dimensions, required usable width, intended cutting direction, outward face, finish or coating route, colour or print, required barrier and mechanical checks, assembly method, quantity, destination and schedule. Ask Brilliant-Tex to return the published construction facts, proposed sample route and items requiring project-specific confirmation separately. Request the tent and rainwear catalogue when you need broader starting points; use the product directory to compare the existing references before opening a custom route.

• End product and exact fabric position
• Minimum usable width and panel orientation
• Face/reverse finish description and approved sample
• Assembly, testing, quantity and approval schedule