How to classify webbing/ribbon/tapes
2025.01.17
Webbing/Ribbon/Tape is omnipresent in our lives. Whether it is in apparel, shoemaking materials, luggage, or various safety devices and other items for special purposes, its existence can be noticed.
But do you know how ribbons/webbings/tapes are classified?
- Classified by material: nylon/Teflon/PP polypropylene/acrylic/cotton/polyester/scallion/spandex/silk/synthetic silk, etc.
Nylon and PP webbing are clearly different. Nylon is woven then dyed, so cut nylon may show white yarn. PP is dyed before weaving. Nylon is glossier, softer and pricier, and they can be distinguished by combustion reactions.
Tedroson webbing (or tie down abroad) has unique characteristics, like a relatively soft texture and no surface gloss.
Acrylic ribbon/webbing /tape is rather distinctive, it is made up of two materials: polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and cotton.
Cotton tape, in view of its own properties or production and processing costs, is generally priced relatively high
- According to the weaving technique: woven tapes can be classified into several types: plain weave, twill weave, satin weave, and complex weave.
Plain weave/small ripple/diagonal weave/safety webbing/pit weave/bead weave/jacquard and other polypropylene (PP) webbings can be classified into 900D/1200D/1600D in accordance with their yarn fineness; Meanwhile, attention should be paid to the thickness of the ribbon, which also determines its unit price and tenacity.
- Ribbons can also be categorized in accordance with width specifications, with common width specifications such as 10MM, 12MM, 15MM, 20MM, 25MM, 30MM, 32MM, 38MM, 50MM, etc.
Different widths of webbing are suitable for different products. For example, some small decorations may use narrower webbing, while larger items such as luggage may require wider webbing to meet their usage needs
- Classified according to usage nature: Bungee rope, shoe - material rope, luggage rope, safety rope, other special ropes, etc.
In the apparel industry, webbing can be utilized as decoration, for example, adding some aesthetic webbing elements to the collar, cuffs, or hem of garments; Shoe - material woven straps are more focused on factors like abrasion resistance and flexibility; Luggage straps are required to possess a certain strength to bear the weight of the luggage.
- According to the characteristics of the webbing itself, it can be divided into two categories: elastic webbing and rigid webbing (non elastic webbing).
Elastic webbing is of great significance in products demanding stretchability, for instance, certain parts of sportswear need elastic webbing to accommodate stretching during human movement; non elastic webbing is more frequently utilized in areas requiring fixed shapes or able to bear high tensile forces.
- Finally, in terms of handicraft, there are mainly two types: woven webbing/ribbon/tape and knitted webbing/ribbon/tape.
Ribbon, especially jacquard ribbon (cargo net), is somewhat analogous to the labeling process. However, for the label, the warp yarn is fixed and the pattern is presented by the weft yarn; for the ribbon, the basic weft yarn is fixed and the pattern is presented by the warp yarn.
Small - scale machines are utilized. Each time a pattern is printed, yarn is produced and the machine is adjusted, which may consume a substantial amount of time and the efficiency is relatively low. Nevertheless, it can yield a wide variety of eye - catching products, unlike cloth labels which are always of a few types. The primary function of tow ropes is decorative, yet there are also functional ones, such as the popular mobile phone straps. After the tape is woven, various texts/patterns can also be silk - screened, which is generally more cost - effective than directly weaving the texts/patterns.