DRY AND WET RUB FASTNESS FOR PRINTED TACTICAL FABRIC: A BUYER’S CHECKLIST

Start with the colour-transfer question

A printed tactical material may contact a pale lining, webbing, a user's clothing or an adjacent component during handling and service. The buyer's immediate question is whether colour transfers under the intended acceptance procedure, not whether the print looks correct on screen. Separate this question from visible shade matching, near-infrared reflectance, laundering and abrasion resistance. Those properties can each require their own evidence. Decide which garment or equipment face can rub against another component, then ask for evidence on that face. For a multi-colour print, identify the relevant dark and contrasting areas rather than assuming that one sampled location represents the whole pattern. If the customer owns the pattern, confirm authorisation before printing a trial.

Write dry and wet conditions as distinct requirements

ISO's catalogue describes ISO 105-X12:2016 as a method for determining colour resistance to rubbing off and staining other materials. It includes dry and wet rubbing conditions for dyed or printed textiles. AATCC lists TM8 as its colourfastness-to-crocking Crockmeter method. The laboratory should follow the licensed current procedure selected by the buyer, including equipment, cloth preparation, conditioning, stroke and grading details. Do not mix numbers from different methods into a single pass statement. Ask for the dry and wet observations as separate entries, with the method and edition named in the report. A buyer's required grade is a project decision; neither a product photograph nor a generic method title supplies an automatic universal pass threshold.

Test the actual colour, construction and finish

The report should identify the product reference and lot or development sample, fibre and construction, print version, colour position, tested face and finishing route. A post-print PU coating, water-repellent finish or lamination can change the offered material compared with an earlier print trial. If the finish or recipe changes, ask the approval owner whether the rubbing result must be repeated. Do not rely on a base fabric report for a new finished article without establishing equivalence. Similarly, a sample cut from a convenient light-colour patch may miss the print position that matters to the end product. Record how specimens were selected, and keep an approved physical reference and colour map with the purchase specification.

• Identify each tested print position and face.
• Link the report to the finished article and sample or lot.
• Reopen approval when print, substrate or finish changes.

Review staining evidence without inventing a pass grade

The laboratory's result should state the observed staining grade and grading procedure, not just 'passed'. ISO 105-A03:2019 specifies a grey scale for assessing staining; it is an assessment tool rather than a buyer-specific acceptance limit. Ask who supplied the requirement, which specimen was tested and whether the stated grade is dry or wet. Check whether a report records repeated tests, any uncertainty or variation relevant to the project, and the exact date and laboratory identity. If a tender specifies a different procedure or grade, follow that controlled document. Do not claim military suitability or a certification from a standalone rubbing result: a complete tender may call for additional colour, care, strength, weathering and signature-management checks.

Shortlist relevant printed fabric starting points

Brilliant-Tex publishes several distinct printed constructions. K1/PU6O6O PC001-W is a printed 500D nylon Rockdura Oxford route with C6 water-repellent finishing and a two-pass PU coating; its listed weight is 230gsm+5% and cuttable width 147cm. NR13/PTAF6I is a 100% nylon 210T taffeta with 70D/24F yarns, a 5mm × 5mm ripstop, IRR print and PU breathable-coating route; its listed weight is 100gsm±5% and cuttable width 147cm. CVW2/POOOSA is a printed T40/C60, 3/1 twill direction at 250gsm. These records are useful for choosing a substrate and application direction, but they do not publish a dry or wet rubbing grade. A tactical bag panel, lightweight shell and uniform textile should not be treated as interchangeable solely because each can be printed.

Connect sampling to production release

At sampling, request a report on a representative finished swatch and compare it with the approved shade and construction. At bulk stage, define how the supplier identifies lots, where samples are taken and who can release an exception. Discuss whether an initial report remains representative after a dye, pigment, binder, coating or processing change. If the project needs laundering or exposure before rubbing assessment, describe that pre-treatment explicitly and have the laboratory confirm a suitable procedure; do not infer service-life durability from a new, unwashed swatch. Keep sample identity, report, physical reference, approved finish and change history together so a later shipment can be checked against the same decision.

Send a testable enquiry

Tell the supplier the end product, destination market, authorised print or approved physical reference, substrate preference, finished weight and usable width, and the component that might receive transferred colour. Include the selected method and edition if your technical team has specified them; otherwise ask the laboratory to propose the correct route for approval. State separate dry and wet acceptance grades only when the customer has authorised them. Add sample quantity, likely order volume, care conditions and decision date. Ask Brilliant-Tex to distinguish existing evidence, new testing and development work in its reply. Search the public product directory for a comparable construction, use the tactical application route to frame the requirement, or request a curated catalogue if several systems need screening.

• End use, contact surface and exact print positions
• Finished construction, sample state and nominated method
• Separate dry and wet targets, report owner and release rule
• Sampling timeline, quantity and destination