Colorfastness is a printed garment’s ability to keep its color through washing, light, rubbing and sweat. You get it by matching the right fabric, dye and print method to how the garment will be worn and washed, then confirming the result against standard test ratings. A shirt can be “washable” and still fade or bleed. Colorfastness is the measurable part of that promise. At Tekton LA we print in Downtown Los Angeles with DTG, DTF, screen printing, embroidery and sublimation, plus our own TEKTON GARMENT DYE™ process, so the method can be matched to the job before a single shirt is made.
TL;DR
- Colorfastness means resisting fading and color transfer from washing, light, rubbing, perspiration and dry cleaning. “Washable” only says the garment can go in a machine.
- Four ratings matter most: wash, light, rub (crocking) and perspiration. For sportswear, a rating of 4 or higher is usually the minimum.
- Fabric, dye, print method and cure each move the result. Reactive dyes bond with cotton, and sublimation embeds color in polyester.
- Labs use AATCC methods: TM61 for laundering, TM8 for crocking and TM16.3 for light. Ask for results on the rating scale, not adjectives.
- Match the method to the garment’s end use before production, not after the first wash complaints.
Table of Contents
- What colorfastness actually means on a printed garment
- The four fastness types that matter for printed apparel
- What decides colorfastness: fabric, color, print method and cure
- How professional labs test colorfastness
- How to read the results
- A practical plan for your next run
- Where Tekton LA fits
- Our perspective on colorfastness
- FAQ
- Sources
What colorfastness actually means on a printed garment
The textile testing industry defines colorfastness as a fabric’s ability to resist fading or color transfer when exposed to outside factors: washing, light, rubbing, perspiration and dry cleaning. Two failures sit inside that definition, and they look different to your customer.
- Fading is color leaving the garment or the print. The black tee turns charcoal, the red logo turns pink.
- Transfer (bleeding or staining) is color moving onto something else: a white sock in the same wash, a bag strap, a couch cushion, another part of the same shirt.
“Washable” describes construction and care instructions. It says nothing about how many cycles the color survives, what happens when a wet shirt sits in a gym bag, or how a printed logo behaves after a summer outdoors. For a brand, that gap is where returns, bad reviews and reorders lost to a competitor come from.
There is one more wrinkle. Cotton Incorporated’s research on knits notes that surface abrasion creates fuzz, and fuzz can read as apparent color loss even when the dye is intact. Some of what customers call fading is a surface problem, which is why fabric finishing belongs in the colorfastness conversation, not just ink.
The four fastness types that matter for printed apparel
Most printed-textile standards break fastness into wash, light, rub (crock) and perspiration. Each tests a different real-life moment.
| Fastness type | What it simulates | Where it shows up | Typical weak spot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wash | Home or commercial laundering | Faded body color, cracked or dull prints | Hot water, harsh detergent, big loads |
| Rub (crocking) | Friction, dry and wet | Color on skin, bag straps, other garments | Dark, saturated colors; surface-sitting pigments |
| Light | Sun and indoor light exposure | Team shirts, banners, outdoor event merch | Prolonged direct sun |
| Perspiration | Sweat on the fabric | Activewear, uniforms, underarm areas | Sportswear worn hard |
Which of the four matters most depends on the product. A cotton lifestyle tee lives and dies on wash fastness. A running singlet adds perspiration and rub. A custom banner hung outdoors is a light-fastness question. A sports team’s jerseys are all four.
What decides colorfastness: fabric, color, print method and cure
Cotton Incorporated’s technical bulletin lists the factors that shape colorfastness: fiber quality, yarn formation, fabric construction, wet processing, dye selection, finishing and even how the consumer launders the piece. Several of those are decided before a print touches the shirt.
The garment’s own dye
Before you print anything, the blank has a color, and that color was set by a dye. Reactive dyes form covalent bonds with cotton, and in research on cotton knits they outperform vat, direct and sulfur dyes in home laundering. Pigments behave differently: they sit on the fabric surface and can have limits in wash and rub fastness.
This is the reason the dye route is a design decision, not a footnote. If you are choosing between a reactive or pigment-dyed look for a collection, our write-up on reactive versus pigment dye for apparel that survives 40+ washes walks through the trade-offs. If you are deciding where in the process the color goes in, garment dye versus piece dye covers that choice for brands.
Surface finishing
Finishing changes how color looks after wear. Cellulase enzyme treatment removes protruding surface fibers, which improves the appearance and color retention of cotton knits. A smoother surface scatters less light, so the color looks truer for longer.
The print method
Each method puts color on the garment in a different way, so each has its own strengths.
- Screen printing with plastisol. Plastisol inks cure between 135°C and 160°C (275°F and 320°F). Cure is the step that turns wet ink into a durable film, so it matters as much as the ink itself. On dark garments, an underbase is gelled rather than fully cured before the top colors go on. Screen tension and flood and stroke technique also affect ink application, which in turn affects brightness and hand feel. Our guide on underbase and dye fixes for dark shirt prints goes deeper. If you are weighing ink systems, water-based versus plastisol is the comparison to read.
- DTG and DTF. Both suit detailed, multi-color artwork and short runs. Wash life depends on the garment, the ink and the cure, and our article on how many washes DTF prints really last gives the practical picture.
- Dye sublimation. Heat transfer embeds color into polyester, giving excellent wash fastness and vibrancy, though those prints can be prone to fading in direct sunlight. That makes it a strong fit for polyester activewear and team kits, with sun exposure in mind for outdoor use. For cotton, see our note on sublimation on cotton for small brands.
- Embroidery. Thread is colored before it ever meets the garment, so the design does not depend on an ink cure. It is a natural choice for logos on polos, caps and uniforms that get washed constantly.
If you want one overview of how these methods compare for a brand, start with our garment printing techniques guide.
How the customer washes it
The same bulletin points out that detergent choice and wash procedure influence color retention. For cotton, the practical guidance is to wash garments inside out, reduce load size and shorten tumble-dry time, and to choose dyes and finishes carefully, with enzyme or resin finishing as options. A care label is the cheapest colorfastness upgrade a brand can make. Our woven and printed label options cover that too, and you can see them on the woven labels page.
How professional labs test colorfastness
When a retailer, team or corporate buyer asks for colorfastness data, they usually mean results from standardized lab methods. The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) lists the core ones in its colorfastness training module:
- AATCC TM61 for accelerated laundering. It compresses several home washes into a short lab cycle.
- AATCC TM8 for crocking, meaning color transferred by rubbing. The standard covers all fibers in yarn or fabric, but it is not recommended for carpets or very small print areas.
- AATCC TM16.3 for light exposure using a xenon-arc lamp.
A detail worth knowing if a dispute ever comes up: AATCC technical supplements offer provisional guidance where a method has not been fully developed, but standardized methods supersede them in legal disputes. If your buyer writes a requirement into a contract, write the method number in too.
How to read the results
Fastness results are reported on rating scales where higher numbers mean better performance. A 5 is the best grade, a 1 the worst, and the scale allows half steps. The target changes with the end use. Published guidance gives wash ratings of 4 to 5 for tea towels and bedding and rub ratings of 4 or higher dry and 3 to 4 or higher wet for upholstery and outerwear. For sportswear and athleisure, 4 or above is the usual floor.
A few rules for reading a report:
- Check the method. “Passed wash test” means little. “TM61, rating 4” means something.
- Read both numbers on a wash test. Color change and staining are scored separately. A shirt can hold its own color and still stain a white garment in the load.
- Compare wet and dry rubbing. Wet crocking is almost always the lower number, and it is the one that matters when a customer sweats or carries a damp bag.
- Match the target to the product. Do not demand a bedding-grade number for a limited-run festival tee, and do not accept a casual-wear number for team uniforms.
- Remember the fabric. A result on one blank does not carry over to a different fiber, weight or dye.
A practical plan for your next run
Here is a sequence we recommend to brands, teams and marketing departments before they commit to production.
- Define the life of the garment. Weekly machine wash for years, a single event, sun on a sideline? The answer sets which fastness types you care about.
- Choose the blank and its dye first. Fiber and dye are the base layer of colorfastness. Reactive-dyed cotton, polyester for sublimation and garment-dyed pieces each behave differently.
- Pick the print method for the artwork and the use. Few colors and big volume point to screen printing. Photographic detail and small runs point to DTG or DTF. All-over color on polyester points to sublimation. Logos that must outlast the garment point to embroidery.
- Set a target rating. Use the ranges above and name the AATCC method.
- Run a sample or a small first batch. Real garments, real art, real washing, before you scale up.
- Write the care instructions. Inside out, smaller loads, shorter tumble time.
For most of these steps we handle the production side in house in Los Angeles. We offer no minimum order quantities on blanks, so a small first batch is a normal way to start rather than a special request, and same-day or next-day options exist for urgent jobs.
Where Tekton LA fits
If you are a clothing brand, designer, event organizer, team or marketing group, we can print the job with the method that suits the garment: DTG, DTF, screen printing and embroidery, alongside sublimation and embossing. Our TEKTON GARMENT DYE™ service and the Garment Dye Shirt give you a dyed blank option for collections where color depth matters, and our production is entirely in Los Angeles with eco-friendly practices, including locally sourced materials and garment dyeing.
Tell us the fabric, the artwork and how the garment will be used, and we will recommend the method. Start from our main page to request a quote.
Our perspective on colorfastness
Most colorfastness problems we hear about are decided before the print. A brand picks a blank because of price or a color swatch, then picks a print method because of a quote, and nobody asks how the shirt will be washed in a year.
We think about it in the opposite order. Start with the use, then the fiber and dye, then the method. That is why we keep screen printing, DTG, DTF, embroidery, sublimation and our own garment dye under one roof in Los Angeles: the right answer for a team jersey is not the right answer for a boutique tee, and we would rather match the method than push one.
Our garment dye and printing options are designed to help small brands and larger teams get color that holds. If you tell us how the piece will live, we can tell you which route fits it.
Christian
FAQ
What is the difference between colorfast and non-colorfast?
A colorfast garment keeps its color and does not stain other items when exposed to washing, light, rubbing or sweat. A non-colorfast one fades, bleeds or transfers color under those same conditions. The difference is measured on rating scales, where higher numbers mean better performance.
What is the AATCC test method for colorfastness?
There are several, one per type of exposure. AATCC lists TM61 for accelerated laundering, TM8 for crocking and TM16.3 for xenon-arc light exposure. Specify the method number whenever you set a requirement with a buyer.
How do you improve colorfastness in printed cotton?
Start with a well-dyed, well-finished blank, since reactive dyes bond with cotton and enzyme finishing reduces surface fuzz. Then match the print method to the use. On the care side, wash inside out, use smaller loads and shorten tumble-dry time.
Does “washable” mean a print is colorfast?
No. Washable describes whether the garment can be laundered, while colorfastness describes how well color survives it, along with light, rubbing and perspiration. Ask for the rating and the test method, not just the care label.
Sources
- Colorfastness Testing, Intertek
- Understanding the Five Basic Fastness Standards for Printed Textile Fabrics, Texintel
- Technical Bulletin: Colorfastness of Cotton Textiles, Cotton Incorporated
- Producing Colorfast Cotton Knits, Cotton Incorporated
- Digital Textile, Printing United Alliance
- Underbases: Why, When and How, Printing United Alliance
- America’s ink market diversifies, Printing United Alliance
- Colorfastness Module, AATCC
- AATCC TM8 Colorfastness to Crocking, AATCC
- AATCC Technical Supplement Table of Contents, AATCC