Have you ever wondered how the fabrics for your luxury hotel towels and sheets are made? As a leading supplier of high quality hotel fabrics, I’m here to unravel the intricate world of fabric production.
In the textile industry, two main types of looms play a vital role: the jet loom and the rapier loom. Fabric loom models can be categorized as air-jet or rapier; each brings unique advantages to the fabric production process, affecting everything from texture to productivity. Let’s take an in-depth look at how they affect the final product.
In this blog, we’ll explore the differences between these fabrics to help you make an informed decision based on your hotel’s textile needs.
What is air-jet fabric?
Air-jet fabrics are fabrics made using a special spinning method that twists the drafted fiber strips by a jet of air, causing the head end free fibers on the fiber strips to wrap around the periphery of the fiber strips to form a yarn.
What is rapier fabric?
Rapier fabrics are woven on rapier looms with reciprocating sword shaped bar forks to draw the weft into the bobbin opening. Rapier looms are less productive and have the advantage that they can be used to weave extra wide fabrics, multi-colored or coarse weft fabrics.
Is there any difference in fabric quality and characteristics?
In terms of fabric quality, both looms excel, but in different ways. Air jet looms typically produce lighter, smoother fabrics, making them ideal for items such as bed linens and underwear. However, rapier looms are better suited to heavier, more textured fabrics, perfect for towels and curtains.
Fabric Styles
Air-jet fabrics: flat fabric surface, good fabric fullness, clear grain, especially plain anti-feather and high density products have advantages, less fabric defects, except for broken defects, wrong threading, oil yarns, foreign fibers, etc., other mechanical defects are almost non-existent.
Rapier fabrics: satin grain is slightly rough, in addition to the coarse branch segment bar style and jet similar to the style of other products can not be compared with the jet. The fabric is more prone to side defects, flex hook (hundred feet, off the weft), broken defects, wearing the wrong, oil yarn, foreign fiber, aurora, star jumping, jumping yarn, jumping flowers and other defects.
Product Characteristics
They can be used as flat fabric, feather proof, satin stripe, satin pattern, jacquard, except that air-jet fabrics can be used for higher yarn count products.
Air-jet fabrics are usually lighter and more breathable.
Rapier fabrics may be more structurally sound and are suitable for applications requiring some strength and abrasion resistance.
Yarn Quality
Air-jet fabrics are made with higher grade yarns than rapier, and require higher strength and uniformity.
Price
For the same yarn density, air-jet fabrics are more expensive than rapier.
Finished product shrinkage
Air-jet fabrics have higher on-machine tension, so the elongation of the same product and rapier is 1%-1.5% less than that of the finished product.
Overall, the choice of fabric to use depends on the specific needs. Each fabric has its own unique manufacturing process and characteristics.
