Many members of the British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA) have over the years established leading positions in the areas of testing, instrumentation and machine control. A number of new developments in these fields will be showcased at this year’s ITMA Asia + CITME exhibition, which takes place in Singapore from October 28-31.
BTMA members will showcase advanced innovations in testing, colour, and machine control at ITMA Asia + CITME in Singapore (28–31 October).
Highlights include new colour research, LED colour booths, UV testing lamps, digital fabric handle testing, automated patterned fabric inspection, and a next-gen Martindale Motion tester, all enhancing textile quality and efficiency.
“Many of our members are currently developing new technologies, either in-house or increasingly through joint projects, and there will be much to reveal by the time of ITMA Asia in Singapore,” says BTMA CEO Jason Kent. “Some of the most recent developments are really going beyond what has previously been possible.”
New colour
Verivide, for example, as a leader in colour measurement and management solutions, has been fascinated by the recent news that scientists appear to have discovered a completely new colour named OLO – not a variant or pigment, but a hue never before perceived by the human eye.
“We had to take a closer look, because OLO marks a fascinating step forward in the science of colour perception,” says VeriVide Sales Director Adam Dakin. “It’s not just a breakthrough for vision research but may change the way we think about colour in design, technology and quality control.”
The newly perceived colour does not exist on the traditional visible spectrum which means it’s not created by mixing wavelengths of light like red, green or blue. Instead, scientists achieved it by using precise laser stimulation directly on the retina, effectively bypassing the usual pathways the human visual system uses to interpret colour.
“Currently, OLO can only be experienced under lab conditions but its discovery hints at a future where our understanding of vision – and our ability to manipulate it –expands dramatically,” says Adam. “Could this pave the way for broader applications in VR design, colour-critical manufacturing, or even new forms of digital colour communication? Only time will tell.”
Eliminating mercury
In a major change for colour assessment this February, the sale of all fluorescent lighting officially came to an end in the EU and UK, with potentially significant implications for everyone along the supply chain – from designers and fabric manufacturers through to merchandisers and window display artists.
“The phase-out of fluorescent lamps has been in progress for some years because they contain mercury which can be damaging to health,” explains Adam. “Lamps containing mercury were banned for general use in August 2023, impacting lighting in homes, factories and retail environments, but an exemption was granted for specialist applications such as visual and digital colour assessment until this month.
VeriVide has spent the last decade developing and optimising its industry-leading all-LED light booths as part of its ecosystem of products specifically designed for instantly communicating colour decisions, colour fastness gradings, test reports and more, incorporating the DigiEye and DigiView digital colour measurement systems.
“What the ban means is we’ll no longer be able to manufacture fluorescent light booths,” says Adam. “Since its launch in 2023, Ultra-View all-LED technology has already been successfully adopted by leading retail brands including H&M, George by Asda, Marks & Spencer, NEXT, River Island and Tesco.”
Broader spectrum
Q-Lab Corporation is meanwhile a global leader in lightfastness and weathering test equipment and services and has just launched a new breakthrough in UV testing – TUV-421 lamps.
This new light source, exclusive to Q-Lab, enables testing for colour changes and fade in materials whose colorants are susceptible to longer-wavelength UV and shorter-wavelength visible light. This includes pigments and dyes found in textiles, as well as plastics, paints and printing inks.
TUV-421 lamps help distribute a much broader spectrum of light, compared with typical UVA-340 lamps, while continuing to provide the same excellent spectral match for shortwave light.
Lightfastness and weathering durability can meanwhile be accurately determined in the compact, affordable, versatile and accurate Q-SUN xenon test chamber.
Using full-spectrum xenon arc lamps and optical filter systems, Q-SUN testers can reproduce direct daylight or sunlight-through-window-glass conditions and feature optional humidity control and water spray.
The tactility challenge
Just as elusive as the new colour OLO, is the concept of ‘fabric handle’ – the tactile sensation experienced when touching and manipulating fabric.
Although very subjective, it is, however, a critical aspect of textile evaluation, but to date it’s been very subjective and one of the biggest challenges faced by designers and manufacturers is in describing and sharing information about fabric aesthetics before manufacturing, or without the costly and time-consuming process of transporting physical samples.
These limitations are being overcome with the new Sentire fabric handle tester which has just been launched by Roaches International.
“No two people will describe how a fabric feels in the same way and the lack of a common language to describe fabric tactility poses communication challenges across the complex global fashion and textile supply chain,” says Roaches International MD Sean O’Neill. “How do you objectively measure qualities like softness, smoothness, drape, and stiffness?”
The answer is with the new Sentire.
Haptic spatial system
Roaches worked with specialists at the University of Leeds to develop the new finished fabric evaluation system which defines the tactile properties of fabrics via a haptic spatial system – similar, for example, to the way colour charts are digitally defined for colour palettes, or Tog values rate warmth.
Fabric samples are placed into the Sentire to run a series of tests which generate quantitative fabric tactile property data akin to a fingerprint for the fabric, which can then be compared against other samples and communicated digitally to partners in different locations.
“This technology has the potential to impact the supply chain in a similar way to the spectrophotometer for the communication of colour,” says O’Neill. “We have had a fantastic initial response to the Sentire and its possibilities are huge. Not only can it be used to compare textile tactility globally, but we are also seeing interest from online retailers who want to accurately display the way a particular fabric drapes on the body.”
Patterned fabric inspection
The precise detection of defects during the production of fabrics has meanwhile recently been significantly advanced with the introduction of the latest WebSpector automated fabric inspection system by Shelton Vision.
Building on its market leading vision system for plain, single colour textiles, Shelton’s patent-pending image processing techniques now recognise and adapt to complex patterns such as camouflage and even on fabrics with significant distortion and deformation.
Fabrics are not rigid and can be sheared or stretched while also being subject to local distortion, but the WebSpector system now successfully deals with such anomalies in real time to provide a reliable inspection process at the same levels as plain fabric.
The unique and advanced software techniques ensure a totally clean image, allowing the full detection of faults on fabrics running at high speeds.
WebSpector systems have already been supplied to manufacturers of performance wear and high-end fashion, automotive interiors, denim, outdoor upholstery, sunscreen, mattress ticking, window dressings and even carbon fibre composites.
The latest Webspector was introduced at ITMA 2023 in Milan to great acclaim and will be demonstrated for the first time in Asia at the Singapore exhibition.
Abrasion and pilling testing
Martindale testing needs little introduction to textile manufacturers, being well established as the industry standard for abrasion and pilling testing since its initial development and introduction by James Heal back in the 1940s.
For 2025, however, James Heal’s development team have taken a fresh look at this classic instrument and the result is the new Martindale Motion.
This redesigned nine-station Martindale instrument with individual lifting heads now offers the flexibility to run each station independently for carrying out different textile tests simultaneously.
Multiple textiles can be tested at the same time through to conclusion without intervention. Once set up, the Martindale Motion can be left running with the sample holders automatically lifting at the required evaluation points, freeing up the operator’s time to do other work without the need to return until the abrasion or pilling test is fully completed, including overnight.
Each sample is kept in-tact at the end point for evaluation and checking, reducing queries on grading and the potential need for re-testing. Further refinements include a new hinged access to change the self-aligning drive pins, allowing quick and safe switching between tests.
Designed and manufactured in the UK, the James Heal Martindale range has seen numerous updates, models and innovations over the years, such as touchscreen and user-friendly software, best-in-class safety features combined with the signature near silent running of this staple lab instrument. Added to this have been the introduction of the DurAbrasion multi-function testing machine, later followed by the market-leading evolution, the AquAbrasion wet abrasion tester launched in 2019.
The Martindale Motion, however, is now taking productivity and efficiency to a higher level than ever before.
Pushing the boundaries
“These BTMA companies continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in the area of textile testing,” says Jason Kent in conclusion. “They are each making solid contributions to the quality and performance properties of today’s textile products, and just as importantly, enabling manufacturers to prove their claims. We look forward to meeting customers old and new in Singapore.”
Founded in 1940, the British Textile Machinery Association actively promotes British textile machinery manufacturers and their products to the world. The non-profit organisation acts as a bridge between its members and the increasingly diverse industries within the textile manufacturing sector.
Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HU)