Calendering of

textiles Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

is a finishing process used to smooth, coat, or thin a material. With textiles, fabric is passed between

calender A calender is a series of hard pressure rollers used to finish or smooth a sheet of material such as paper, textiles, rubber, or plastics. Calender rolls are also used to form some types of plastic films and to apply coatings. Some calende ...

rollers at high temperatures and pressures. Calendering is used on fabrics such as moire to produce its watered effect and also on

cambric Cambric or batiste, is a fine dense cloth. It is a lightweight plain-weave fabric, originally from the commune of Cambrai (in present-day northern France), woven greige (neither bleached nor dyed), then bleached, piece-dyed, and often gl ...

and some types of

sateen Sateen is a fabric made using a satin weave structure, but made with spun yarns instead of filament. The sheen and softer feel of sateen is produced through the satin weave structure. Warp yarns are floated over weft yarns, for example four ove ...

s. In preparation for calendering, the fabric is folded lengthwise with the front side, or face, inside, and stitched together along the edges. The fabric can be folded together at full width, however this is not done as often as it is more difficult. The fabric is then run through rollers at high temperatures and pressure that polish the surface and make the fabric smoother and more lustrous. Fabrics that go through the calendering process feel thin, glossy and papery. The wash durability of a calendered finish on thermoplastic fibers like polyester is higher than on cellulose fibers such as cotton, though each depends on the amount and type of finishing additives used and the machinery and process conditions employed. Durability of blended fabrics reflects the above, and the proportion of synthetic fiber component.

Variations

Various finishes can be achieved through the calendering process by varying different aspects of the process. The main types are ''beetling'', ''watered'', ''embossing'', and ''Schreiner''.

Beetled

Beetling Beetling is the pounding of linen or cotton fabric to give a flat, lustrous effect. Process Beetling was a textile finishing method of obtaining an aesthetic finish i.e. lustre in cotton or linen based fabrics, the cloth was exposed under the ha ...

is a finish given to

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

and

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

cloth, and makes it look like

satin A satin weave is a type of fabric weave that produces a characteristically glossy, smooth or lustrous material, typically with a glossy top surface and a dull back. It is one of three fundamental types of textile weaves alongside plain weave ...

. In the beetling process the fabric goes over wooden rollers and is beaten with wooden hammers.

Watered

The watered finish, also known as moire, is produced by using ribbed rollers. These rollers compress the cloth and the ribs produce the characteristic watermark effect by differentially moving and compressing threads. In the process some threads are left round while others get flattened some.

Embossed

The embossing process uses rollers with engraved patterns, which become stamped onto the fabric, which gives the fabric a raised and sunken look. This works best with soft fabrics.

Schreiner

Similar to the watered process, the Schreiner process used ribbed rollers, though very fine, with as many as six hundred ribs per inch. Pressed flat under extremely high pressure, the threads receive little lines, which causes the fabric to reflect light better than a flat surface. The high luster of cloth finished with the Schreiner method can be made more lasting by heating the rollers.

History

Historically calendering was done by hand with a huge pressing stone. For example in China huge rocks were brought from the north of the Yangtze River. The pressing stone was cut into a bowl shape, and the surface of the curved bottom made perfectly smooth. After a piece of cloth was placed underneath the stone the worker would stand on the stone and rock it with his feet to press the cloth.

References

{{Textile Textiles Paper Textile techniques