Q: What is Timeless Uniforms Enhanced Twill & Poplin?

A: Timeless Uniforms Enhanced Twill is made from finer Ring-Spun yarns. Ring spinning creates a superior yarn than results in a softer, more durable fabric than open-end yarn. The time-honored process of ring spinning requires two more processing steps than open-end yarn production and ring-spun takes five times longer to produce. The additional steps involve continuously twisting and narrowing the rope of cotton and polyester fibers. This continuous fiber "helix" or twist gives ring-spun yarn extra softness and strength. The resulting garments feel softer wash after wash. Timeless Uniforms makes 65/35 Poly/Cotton Chef Coats and related products using Enhanced Twill, 7 ounce/square yard and 65/35 Cook Shirts using Enhanced Poplin which is 4.5 oz/square yard.

Q: What is MJS Spun Polyester and MJS Poly/Cotton Blends?

A: MJS stands for Murata Air Jet Spinning. Murata is a brand of Japanese spinning equipment developed in the 1980's. Air Jet technology creates a yarn from short staple polyester or for blends, a combination of polyester and cotton (rather than extruded, continuous filament polyester) that is naturally hairy and soft. This technology yields a fabric that has comparatively low pilling and higher absorption rate due to the low twist yarn structure. The loose yarn structure allows the fabric to dry fast as well as accept starch, this also adds to its breath ability when sewn into uniforms. For colors, MJS yarns and fabrics accept dye at lower temperatures yet its color retention is higher than most other fabrics.

Q: Is all "SPUN" made from similar yarn construction?

A: The answer is No!
When Murata Air Jet spun or MJS was introduced to our industry, the term quickly was shortened to "SPUN"…mills and manufacturers have since blurred the lines and stretched the meaning of "spun" to cover everything from Open End Spun, Ring Spun, Blends, Filament hybrids and more. Technically yes, most are produced with some form of "spun" yarn, but not what the industry originally migrated to in the 1990's.

The term spun merely means the yarn is formed from smaller yarns (staple) and has a wrapper yarn that holds the small bundles together…the varying technologies to accomplish this are generally referred to as Open End (OE) which is the fastest and cheapest way to spin, Ring (RS) which is softer and has twice the tensile strength as OE but takes up to 5x longer. Each type has its advantages and disadvantages depending on the application.

Timeless Uniforms offers these choices for Polyester products:
6.4 oz MJS/Filament Hybrid-Domestic Fabric
6.4 oz MJS/Filament Hybrid-Imported Fabric
7.2 oz all Ring Spun Polyester-Imported Fabric
7.2 oz MJS Aprons and Uniforms
 

Q: How about the finishing? White is White, right?

A: The finishing of fabrics can vary greatly from one type of spun to another and from one vendor to another. These are important factors when finishing polyester fabric for use in linen and uniforms.

Q: Is your linen fabric spun from dull white or optical bright fibers?

A: Optical bright yarns allow the fabric to maintain its whiteness from new to used. Timeless Uniforms uses only fabrics spun from optical white polyester fiber.

Q: Is your fabric dyed white in slow feed jets, or simply scoured and bleached
in a series of "baths"?

A: Adding white dye in the slow feed jets is a bit more costly, but the advantages are white fabrics or linen that tends to stay white for its entire life rather than “graying” down. This is the normal process for colors, but it is optional with white since the fibers are already white. Timeless Uniforms offers dyed white products and products that are merely bleached.
 

Q: Is the soil release treatment embedded in the fibers with heat and pressure,
or simply "padded" on top of the fabric without heat or pressure (HP)?

A: Without question, adding soil release with high heat and pressure, normally achieved in a slow feed jet process, is the best way to lock in the long term soil release. Those that are added topically, tend to wash out over time. Timeless Uniforms does not add soil release to its cotton or poly/cotton blends. Timeless Uniforms all polyester products have a soil release treatment which is applied in the slow feed jet process.

Q: Is the fabric treated for anti-static control?

A: All Polyester fabrics naturally create ample amounts of static. In the absence of anti-static treatments, they tend to pick up lint on flat work ironers and elsewhere. Timeless Uniforms polyester products are treated with anti-stat.

Q: Is the fabric naturally soft or does it need to be peached/brushed/sueded?

A: MJS fabrics do not need to be sueded…the yarns are created to be naturally "hairy" which also adds to the breath ability factor in uniforms. Fabrics with filament filling yarns require some softening, especially if used for napkins. There are various ways of achieving the desired hand; however, most processes do take life from the product and increase the likelihood of some pilling and/or linting especially when new.

Timeless Uniforms believes the sueding of spun/filament fabrics is important on napkins given that they are the items that contact the skin. Further it is Timeless Uniforms belief that sueding the table tops is an unnecessary expense that only decreases the life expectancy and increases the likeliness of pilling. Timeless Uniforms' Apex napkins are sueded two passes, the table tops are not sueded.