Colourfastness

Crocking (Rubbing) Colourfastness Assessment

Dry passes and wet fails is not a dye problem — it is a washing-off problem. The gap between the two grades says which one you have.

Dry Crocking Three specimens
grade
grade
grade
Wet Crocking Three specimens
grade
grade
grade
Specification Buyer minimum
grade
grade

Binding Margin

— grades

The tighter of the dry and wet margins

Grades & Margins

Mean Dry Grade
— grade
Mean Wet Grade
— grade
Dry to Wet Gap
— grades
Dry Margin to Spec
— grades
Wet Margin to Spec
— grades
Lowest Single Grade
— grade

A negative margin is a failure against the buyer specification. Grey scale grading is visual and observer-dependent, so a mean sitting within half a grade of the minimum should be re-read by a second assessor under standard illumination before the lot is dispositioned. A dry-to-wet gap beyond about one grade points at soaping and washing-off rather than at the dye.

Crocking (Rubbing) Colourfastness Assessment — free, with the formula and a worked example, at Textile School.