Fabrics identification information

The machine CAN identify:

• Identify cotton, poly, viscose, silk, polyamide, acrylic, wool, elastane

• Identify most 2-component blends of the above (in 1% increments, usually ±10%)

• works for all weaves and colours including black (except carbon black)

The machine CANNOT identify:

• Samples containing carbon black. This pigment causes all the infrared light to be absorbed and as a result, we don't get any useful information from the sample.  This is a problem shared with other NIR identification machine and there isn't much we can do. Thankfully, most black samples do not have this problem and are identifiable.

• Materials at low % (< 5%, e.g. elastane) as the NIR spectrum of the sample would look the same as the same or when hidden inside weave.

• Distinguish CO and VI at low % (< 30%) as they are both cellulose and very chemically similar (the chain length being the primary difference).

• Reliably identify non-uniform samples - NIR is very much surface-based and it can only detect what is present on the surface of the sample, not inside it. For instance, hoodies are often poly-cottons and whilst the label could e.g. say 65% cotton and 35% polyester, the fluffy inside of the hoodie would be mostly polyester while the smooth outside would be mostly cotton.

• Distinguish chemically identical samples – e.g. wool vs. cashmere or cotton vs. linen. NIR can only differentiate samples which are actually chemically different where different wool or plant fibre types only differ in their microscopic shape (structure).

• 3- and more-component blends - it is already highly challenging to recognise 2 component blends. The machine will most likely the two major components in case of the multi-component blends. 

Please note the identification comments for other fibres: