Key takeaways
- Faults score 1, 2, 3 or 4 points by length; holes score 2 or 4 points by size; one linear yard never scores more than 4.
- Points per 100 square yards = total points × 3,600 ÷ (yards inspected × width in inches). It lets rolls of any size be compared.
- ASTM D5430 sets the method, not the pass mark. The limit, and whether it applies per roll or per shipment, must be in your contract.
- The score covers appearance only. Shade, width, weight, bow and skew are checked and reported separately.
What the four-point system is
ASTM D5430, Standard Test Methods for Visually Inspecting and Grading Fabrics, describes how to examine and grade fabric by eye. ASTM's own scope says the methods may be used to accept individual rolls and whole shipments when the buyer and seller agree to it. The current edition is D5430-26; earlier editions such as D5430-13 (reapproved 2017) are still named in many contracts, so state the edition you buy to.
The standard offers more than one way of assigning penalty points. The four-point system is the one most buyers mean when they say "fabric inspection". ASTM warns that different point options can give quite different scores for the same rolls, so if there is a dispute, both sides must grade with the same option.
The system is used on woven and knitted piece goods: greige, dyed, printed and denim fabric, and the fabric that goes into bed linen, curtains, cushion covers and upholstery. For the product pages, see yarn and fabric inspection, greige fabric, finished and printed fabric and denim fabric.
How points are given
The inspector unrolls the fabric over a lit inspection frame at a steady speed, marks each fault, measures it and scores it on this scale:
| Fault size | Penalty points |
|---|---|
| Up to 3 inches (about 7.5 cm) in any direction | 1 |
| Over 3 and up to 6 inches | 2 |
| Over 6 and up to 9 inches | 3 |
| Over 9 inches | 4 |
| Hole or opening, 1 inch or less | 2 |
| Hole or opening, over 1 inch | 4 |
Three rules control the total:
- 4 points per fault at most. A 30-inch crease scores 4, not more.
- 4 points per linear yard at most. However many faults sit in one yard, that yard scores no more than 4.
- Continuous faults score every yard. A selvedge fault, shade bar or crease that runs for 5 yards scores 4 points in each of those yards, so 20 points.
Typical faults on Indian-woven fabric include slubs, thick and thin places, missing ends and picks, reed marks, oil and dye stains, crease marks, stenter pin holes, and print faults such as misregistration and smudges. Your defect list should say which faults are scored and which reject a roll outright, for example a hole within a set distance of the selvedge or a fault that repeats along the roll.
From points to points per 100 square yards
Raw points depend on the size of the roll, so they are converted to a rate per 100 square yards:
Points per 100 sq yd = total points × 3,600 ÷ (yards inspected × width in inches)
The 3,600 is 36 inches in a yard × 100. Agree in the contract which width is used: full width or cuttable width. Cuttable width is narrower, so it gives a slightly higher score for the same faults.
Mills that measure in metres often use the metric form: points per 100 m² = total points × 100 ÷ (metres inspected × width in metres). The two rates are not the same number, so the contract must say which unit the limit is in.
Worked example: two rolls of 58-inch fabric
A buyer orders a cotton furnishing fabric with a cuttable width of 58 inches and a contract limit of 40 points per 100 square yards for each roll. The inspector grades two sampled rolls.
Roll A, 120 yards
| Fault | Size | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Slub | 2 in | 1 |
| Thick place | 2.5 in | 1 |
| Oil stain | 5 in | 2 |
| Crease mark | 8 in | 3 |
| Missing end | 14 in | 4 |
| Hole | 0.5 in | 2 |
| Hole | 1.5 in | 4 |
| Selvedge damage, continuous | 3 yards | 12 (4 per yard) |
| Missing end 12 in plus a 0.5 in hole in the same yard | 1 yard | 4 (6 capped at 4) |
| Total | 33 |
33 × 3,600 ÷ (120 × 58) = 118,800 ÷ 6,960 = 17.1 points per 100 sq yd. Roll A passes.
Roll B, 80 yards, with 52 points: 52 × 3,600 ÷ (80 × 58) = 187,200 ÷ 4,640 = 40.3 points per 100 sq yd. Roll B fails the per-roll limit.
Both rolls together: 85 points over 200 yards gives 85 × 3,600 ÷ (200 × 58) = 26.4 points per 100 sq yd. As an average, the lot looks well inside 40. This is why the contract must say whether the limit applies to each roll, to the shipment average, or to both. Without that line, Roll B can be argued either way.
What the score does not cover
A roll can score 10 points and still be unusable. The four-point score measures visible faults only. A full fabric inspection also records, roll by roll:
- Shade: side to centre to side, end to end and roll to roll, against the approved lab dip or shade band.
- Width: full and cuttable, at several points along the roll.
- Weight: GSM from a cut swatch.
- Bow and skew: weft distortion that makes stripes and checks run off line after cutting.
- Length: actual yards against the ticket.
- Hand feel and smell: against the approved sample.
Colour fastness, shrinkage and strength are lab tests. Sealed samples can go to an accredited lab through lab testing coordination.
What to write into the contract
- The standard and edition (for example ASTM D5430-26) and that the four-point option is used.
- The limit, its unit (per 100 square yards or per 100 m²), and whether it applies per roll, per shipment, or both.
- The width used in the formula: full or cuttable.
- How many rolls are inspected, and that rolls come from every dye lot.
- Faults that reject a roll whatever its score: holes near the selvedge, repeating faults, shade bars.
- Limits for shade, width, GSM, bow and skew.
- Maximum number of pieces (joins) per roll and the minimum piece length.
Clear To Load inspects fabric and home textiles at mills and factories anywhere in India, priced by the man-day. See home textile inspection, or book an inspection.