Overview
EN ISO 105-X16:2016 - Textiles - Tests for colour fastness - Part X16: Colour fastness to rubbing - Small areas - is an ISO method adopted by CEN for measuring the tendency of textile colour to rub off and stain adjacent materials when only small coloured areas can be tested. The standard describes a laboratory procedure for both dry and wet rubbing to assess colour transfer from printed motifs, trims or other limited-area colourings.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Scope: Designed for small areas of printed or coloured textiles where standard rubbing devices (ISO 105‑X12) are unsuitable.
- Test principle: Rubbing a textile specimen with a conditioned cotton rubbing cloth using an alternating rotary motion and a single test finger.
- Apparatus:
- Rotary vertical machine with a single test finger (25 ± 0.1 mm diameter or alternative 16 ± 0.1 mm) mounted on a weighted rod that rotates ~405° and applies a downward force of 11.1 ± 0.5 N.
- Cotton rubbing cloths (desized, bleached) cut to 50 mm squares (ISO 105‑F09).
- Support grating or soft-back abrasive paper to hold specimens.
- Specimens and conditioning:
- Minimum specimen size: 25 mm × 25 mm.
- Condition specimens and rubbing cloths for at least 4 h in the standard atmosphere (ISO 139).
- Procedure:
- Perform dry rubbing and/or wet rubbing. For dry: 20 crank turns (40 reciprocal turns) at ~1 rev/s.
- For wet rubbing: establish soak level (documented). ISO gives an example soak of 95–100% uptake and notes a commonly used level of 65 ± 5%.
- Air-dry test cloth before evaluation.
- Evaluation and reporting:
- Assess staining of rubbing cloth using the grey scale for staining (ISO 105‑A03).
- Report: reference to ISO 105‑X16:2016, test type (dry/wet) and soak %, numerical staining ratings, conditioning time and atmosphere.
Applications and users
- Practical for textile quality control, R&D and compliance testing where colour transfer from small printed areas, embroideries, trims, labels or yarns must be evaluated.
- Typical users: textile manufacturers, printers, dye houses, third‑party testing laboratories, product compliance teams, and textile designers assessing wash/wear performance.
Related standards
- ISO 105‑A01 (general principles)
- ISO 105‑A03 (grey scale for staining)
- ISO 105‑F09 (specification for cotton rubbing cloth)
- ISO 139 (standard atmospheres for conditioning)
- ISO 105‑X12 (colour fastness to rubbing - standard devices) - ISO 105‑X16 is intended where X12 devices are not suitable.
Keywords: EN ISO 105-X16:2016, colour fastness to rubbing, textile testing, small areas, dry rubbing, wet rubbing, ISO 105, grey scale for staining.