What is Fibrillation?
Technical definition, shop floor implications, and pricing strategies for commercial apparel decorators.
A defect where unprinted cotton fiber hairs break through the cured ink film after washing or mechanical abrasion, giving the graphic a faded, fuzzy, weathered appearance.
Deep Dive & Practical Application
Fibrillation occurs most commonly with water-based and thin DTG inks printed on loose carded cotton shirts.
During laundering, mechanical agitation lifts the microscopic cotton fibers upward through the ink film. The white or uncolored cotton fibers scatter light, making a bold black or red print look faded and washed out, even though the ink pigment is still fully bonded.
Prevention involves using heavy underbases, smoothing garments with a roller prior to printing, and printing on 100% combed ring-spun cotton.
Shop Floor & Profitability Impact
Educating customers on blank garment quality prevents misunderstandings between fabric fibrillation and actual ink wash-out.
The Print Life DTG & Sublimation Operating System
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