Lightfastness of advertising parasols & tents
The word “lightfastness” is used to describe the light resistance of a colour or material.
- Lightfastness of parasols: The UV radiation contained in sunlight has a decomposing effect on many materials, causing colours to fade or change. It goes without saying that this is undesirable for parasols and other products (e.g. clothing).
- Lightfastness as material protection: Lightfastness as a measured value does not refer to the protection of people. Rather, it is exclusively about the protection of the textiles. A higher lightfastness offers protection against rapid fading and colour changes. It also ensures that materials do not become brittle and fragile too quickly in the sun.
- Quality and lightfastness: Generally speaking, every fabric will eventually fade when exposed to direct and indirect light. However, the quality of the fabric influences how quickly the fading process becomes noticeable. For example, the lightfastness of chemical fibres is higher than that of natural fibres.
The Wool Scale
The degree of lightfastness is defined by the Wool Scale (Blue Wool Scale). The wool scale according to DIN 53952 corresponds to the sun exposure time in days, based on European weather conditions. As can be seen from the chart, the printing techniques used for parasols have an influence on their lightfastness.
Lightfastness - overview
| lightfastness | rating | exposure time |
| 8 | outstanding | 700 days |
| 7 | excellent | 350 days |
| 6 | very good | 160 days |
| 5 | good | 80 days |
| 4 | quite good | 40 days |
| 3 | moderate | 20 days |
| 2 | low | 10 days |
| 1 | very low | 5 days |
Lightfastness in our products
| printing technology | lightfastness |
| unprinted parasols | 7-8 |
| digital printing | 4-5 |
| flat printing | 6-7 |
| manual screen printing | 6-7 |
More infos about printing techniques for parasols