Fabric inspection system

1. Fabric inspection system
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2. Introduction
 Inspection in reference to the apparel industry can be defined as the visual examination
or review of raw materials partially finished components of the garments. It also
examines completely finished garments by measuring the garments to check if they
meet the required measurements, in relation to some requirements, standards or
specifications.
 The main objective of inspection is the detection of the defects and nonconformance's
as early as possible in the manufacturing process so that time and money are not wasted
later on in either correcting the defect or writing off defective garments.

3. Inspection Loop
Inspection
Fault detection
Overcome defect
Inform appropriate
person
Cause of defect

4. Types of inspection system
The various fabric inspection systems used in the garments industry are given
here:
 Four-point system
 Ten-point system
 Graniteville “78” system
 Dallas system.

5. 4 point system
In this system fabric faults are identified with defect points in the scale of 4. i.e. maximum
defect points is 4.
According to this system, if the total defect parts per 100 yards of fabric are 40 or more, the
fabric will be rejected.
Criteria for giving penalty points:
Length of Defect Penalty point
Up to 3 inch 1
Over 3 inch - up to 6 inch 2
Over 6 inch - up to 9 inch 3
Over 9 inch 4
1 inch or less (Holes) 2
Over 1 inch 1

6. Some general rules for 4 point system
 Not one meter of cloth is penalized more than 4 point.
 Any defect occurring repeatedly through out the entire piece is marked second. [Second
is a cloth quality which implies that the cloth contains minor defects. A trade discount
of 8-15 is allowed in this category.]
 Cloth is inspected on face side only unless specified.

7. Fabric inspection grades
Basic principle: Defect point values should be counted in 100yds fabric. If defect point
values are 40 or less then it indicates first quality fabric. The grading range is given below:
Point Grade
≤ 40 A
Above 40 - 60 B
Above 60 - 80 C
Above 80 REJECTED

8. Calculation:

9. 10 point system
In this system, the fabric fault are identified with points on the basis of the scale of 10, i.e.
the maximum defect point is 10.
According to this system, If the total defect points per 100 yards of fabric are 100 or more
the fabric will be rejected.
In this system warp & weft direction faults are separately inspected and assigned defect
points.

10. Defect point Chart
Warp defect Penalty points
Up to 1” 1 points
From 1” to 5” 3 points
From 5” to 10” 5 points
From 10” to 36” 10 points
Weft defect Penalty points
Up to 1” 1 points
From 1” to 5” 3 points
From 5” to full width 5 points
Full width 10 points

11. Some general rules for 10 points
 Not one meter of cloth is penalized more than 10 points.
 Any defect occurring repeatedly throughout the entire piece is marked second.
 Combination of warp and weft defect running is one meter should not be penalized
more than 10 points in the meter.
 Cloth is inspected on face side only unless specified.

12. Advantages of 10 point system:
 Oldest and most used in woven finished fabric.
 In it length of fabric is used and along the length of warp and weft defects are
identified.
Disadvantages of 10 point system:
 It has width limitation.
 It is difficult in practical use

13. Graniteville “78” system
This system was basically established for garment cutting components, in which the short
length faults less than 9″ would normally be removed. The system aims to balance the
significance of longer defects (over 9″) and place less weight on 1–10″ faults such as slubs.
The system recommends the viewing distance of 9′ instead of the normal 3′ distance.
Assignment of Points in Graniteville “78” System:
Defect Length Penalty Points
9″ 1
9–18″ 2
18–27″ 3
27–36″ 4

14. Dallas system
The Dallas system was introduced in the 1970s and it was developed particularly for
knitted fabrics. According to this inspection method, if any fault was observed on a finished
garment, then the garment would be called ‘seconds’. It describes the seconds as ‘more
than one defect per ten linear yards, determined to the nearest ten yards’. For example, one
piece 60 yards long would be allowed to have six defects.
Disadvantage of Dallas system:
 It increases the cost of production as defect is located after the garment is finished.

15. Types of defects found in fabric
Some fabric defects are given below:
Major woven fabric defects Slubs, hole, missing yarn, conspicuous yarn
variation, end out, soiled yarn, wrong yarn.
Major knitted fabric defects Mixed yarn, yarn variation, runner, needle line,
barre, slub, hole, and press off.
Major dye or printing defects Out of register, dye spots, machine stop, color out,
color smear, or Shading.

16. Types of products inspection:
1. Pre-production / Initial production inspection.
2. During Production inspection.
3. Final random inspections / Pre-shipment inspection.
4. Container loading inspection.

17. Conclusion
It is the responsibility of both the textile supplier and garment manufacturer to inspect all
textiles to ensure their compliance with the buyer standard. Textile which are being
exported to another country for use in the assembly of a finished product are required to be
inspected by the buyer’s designed inspection service prior to shipment.