Artificial leather is The concept, types, differences from natural, manufacturing features and practical application

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Faux leather is the most popular material that allows you to imitate natural fabric at a lower cost. Whoever cannot afford an expensive purchase knows everything about leatherette: properties, features, where and when you can or should not use it. And we will further find out how practical the fabric is, what distinguishes it from the purpose and capabilities of natural material.

What is fake leather, or how to understand that you have a substitute?

Faux leather fabric is a material obtained by a manufacturing method. If natural fabric is someone's skin, then the alternative is made in factories. It can be used in industry, mechanical engineering, in a textile factory when sewing clothes, shoes, hats. There are a lot of varieties, but each type of even non-natural fiber is designed for a specific product.

There are technical fabrics - leather substitutes are made from natural raw materials,to mimic the surface of the skin. Many people have a contradiction: fake leather is always an artificial product that cannot last for a long time. However, natural products still allow manufacturers to create high-quality material that is not inferior to expensive textiles.

Should I be reminded of the Green Peace campaigns that fight for the lives of animals? First of all, they are ready to prove that:

• Leatherette has unique properties.
• Substitutes will always be cheaper and more accessible.
• Natural component substitutes are not necessarily taken from the process environment. There are natural proportions of ingredients that mimic the skin.

Polymer composite fabrics have a multilayer structure. This allows you to use artificial leather for furniture and upholstery, sewing decorative covers and more. Technologically, scientists are already using the possibilities of virtual intelligence to print leather on a 3D printer.

The structure of artificial material: what is it made of?

Faux leather is primarily several layers of different textures. The basis is:

• knitted fibers that serve as the basis for "applying" materials;
• non-woven type fabrics;
• impregnating agents to ensure the resistance and durability of some individual structures;
• polymer components that serve as a finish due to the absence of a porous coating.

A feature of the fabric is that its various typesmay differ from each other. This allows the manufacturer to create an imitation of any skin. In addition, non-natural materials are resistant to moisture and frost, but are not strong enough with frequent and strong bending.

Classification of leatherette: what is the difference between structures?

Some foundations outperform natural fabric ingredients. According to consumer and operational properties, leatherette is divided into types of bases:

• porous or monolithic;
• solid monolithic;
• single-layer or multi-layer;
• reinforced;
• baseless or fiber based.

This is the main difference between substitutes. Also pay attention to the individual features of the materials.

Tactile properties: we distinguish the type of leatherette to the touch

If you do not know how to distinguish artificial leather from genuine, we recommend that you learn a few features:

• According to the intended purpose, the fabric can be oilcloth when it is required to maintain its moisture-resistant qualities.
• Shoe fabric will have the same properties, but outwardly imitate natural leather.
• Substitute haberdashery is no different from leather products, only with a brighter sheen that is not characteristic of natural fibers.
• Upholstery and clothing fabrics made of leatherette are endowed with special properties that make products strong and durable.
• Decorative and household fabrics are intended only for interior decoration, so the physical properties are weak.
• The weave type is used for upholstery on some textiles.
• Technical materials are made for industrial use.

By the way, faux leather is not only a multi-purpose material, but also a good affordable option for those who like inexpensive imitations of natural items. If it takes $ 10 to buy a meter of natural fabric, then ten times less to choose leatherette. We are talking about the cheapest analogue, which may not exceed the properties of expensive components of similar textile samples.

However, if you need to find a good bag for 3-4 years, it is better to pay 30-35% less than to take a natural one for a high price. The service life is one, but the "consequences" of socks may be different.

Synthetic soft and hard fabrics

Soft imitation leather is most often used in the field of cutting and sewing when creating sketches for seamless products. A dense solid base is used in shoe production. There are also:

• synthetic fabrics;
• hard, like cardboard;
• synthetic type materials for shoe bottoms.

In this case, artificial leather is an opportunity to technologically correctly design the cut of the future base. Soft fabrics do not always hold their shape, and impregnation requires natural ingredients, which is quite expensive. For leatherette, this is not a problem, since tanning occurs at the manufacturing stage.

What is differentgenuine leather from a substitute? Physical properties and features of artificial material

There are almost no visible significant differences between the two categories of materials, but leatherette will never smell and feel like genuine leather. This is not an advantage, but an essential point of difference. Also, artificial leather for furniture or sewing bags, shoes has some individual characteristics:

1. Natural base never cracks from the cold, practically does not burn.
2. Gluing parts of non-natural leather clothing is easier, despite the fact that it takes more time. This process is neither expensive nor laborious.
3. Faux black leather is more breathable than natural leather of the same color. It's all about the method of getting the color palette and hue.
4. Some people are unfortunate enough to wear genuine leather clothing as they have an allergic reaction to it. The hypoallergenicity of artificial products is higher, the safety is guaranteed.

Also, natural textiles will never be able to offer as many product variations as leatherette. You can make everything from it, from shoes to children's goods. Feedback on artificial leather has long been positive, and buyers are only happy that the desired product can be purchased in the range of analog textiles, paying less, getting more (in terms of the properties and capabilities of the material).

Physical properties of natural leather: what gives it out on a par with artificialanalogues?

Natural fabric will always have its "native" qualities that are unique to it. It is impossible to give them to other textiles, hence the need to start when checking the material for naturalness:

1. Heat transfer. The skin is always heated by the warmth of human hands. If you touch it, it remains dry, but the artificial fabric becomes slightly damp.
2. Product thickness. The edges of the artificial material are always thin compared to genuine leather. The border is round, slightly roughened. The smooth type edge is found only in artificial fabrics.
3. Elasticity is the main difference between natural textiles. If you bend a piece of leather, it will manifest itself in the form of small wrinkles, but after straightening it will become even, which cannot be said about the substitute.
4. The color scheme when bent, pressed or compressed does not change on a natural basis. The artificial material will change hue the moment it is touched.
5. The smell will be sharp only with artificial material. Now you can find good quality substitutes in Moscow. Artificial leather is often treated with sprays, fragrances, so it is very difficult to distinguish a fake. This does not mean that manufacturers are trying to deceive the client, on the contrary. The maximum similarity of the substitute is deliberately created so that the thing meets the basic requirements of the properties of natural fabric as much as possible.
6. The pores of non-natural fiber will be even, the same in size and depth. Arbitrary arrangement is inherent in genuine leather.
7. Basis. Are intertwined fibers visible on the cut? So, before you "natural product". The fabric base suggests otherwise.

There are also other ways to check the naturalness of the proposed accessory or item. And how to do it in the store, you will learn from the video.

Influence with fire and water

These verification methods cannot be used in the market. Only at home it is possible to carry out mechanical influences on the fabric:

• Genuine leather will not react to contact with fire within 3-6 seconds. Some manufacturers treat the surface of leatherette with an aniline coating, which allows it not to melt.
• Genuine leather absorbs moisture, while leatherette will stay moist.

Here's what a professional would say about the differences between leather and non-natural products:

Additionally, checks include the method of proofreading information on the label.

Tag: will she tell you everything about the purchase?

It is known that tags must contain genuine information about the product. This is so, so reading and viewing them is a must, especially when buying expensive things.

1. The label in the form of a regular diamond indicates the presence of a substitute. Figured rhombus - in front of you is genuine leather.
2. Faux leather colors are also indicated by names that predetermine the range of the product.

Natural fabric will be accompanied by inscriptions:

• genuineleather (in English);
• vera pelle (in Italian);
• cuir (in French);
• echtleder (in German).

If there is nothing like that on the label, it's more like leatherette.

Varieties of natural fabrics

Genuine leather is divided not only by color, but also by production method, choice of animal and processing method:

1. Pigskin is the most affordable in the price segment. Used for the manufacture of budget products: shoes, linings, jackets.
2. Bullskin is thick, tough, durable, but not as strong due to its physical properties. They make backpacks, belts and mid-range shoes from it.
3. Sheepskin - soft and durable, designed for making bags, jackets, gloves.
4. Calf fabric is very soft, but has a high degree of wear resistance. Never creases and wrinkles.
5. Goat skin is dense, but soft, most often it is used to make premium goods - wallets, accessories, wallets, bags and jackets.
6. Deerskin has the best characteristics, but it is almost impossible to find goods made from it on the Russian market. It retains heat, suitable for making warm winter jackets with fur. Occurs in the production of a Scandinavian or Finnish brand.
7. Crocodile and snake skin - the first has increased strength, and the second - the original appearance.

There is also ostrich skin, which is different from otherstypes of strength and elasticity. It is used to make raincoats, jackets and luxury accessories.

Variety of colors of natural material

While artificial white leather is the result of dyeing, natural fabric of the same color is the art of craftsmanship.

1. Nappa leather is processed with chemical products to give plasticity and softness. The basis is the skin of cattle.
2. Saffiano is vegetable-tanned goat skin.
3. Velor is the result of chrome tanning, the process of which falls on the side of bakhtarma. The material is given a velvety smoothness by grinding.
4. Suede - the skin of small cattle on the front side. There must be a thick pile, a minimum of fluffiness and a maximum of softness.
5. Shagreen leather - vegetable-tanned leather with a relief pattern.
6. Laika - the skin of sheep, dogs, which goes through the process of tanning with aluminum alum with the addition of s alt, flour and yolk. It turns out a thin soft fabric for the production of gloves.
7. Nubuk - fluffy cattle leather, similar to the touch of suede.
8. Patent leather is a lacquered fabric that cannot withstand low and high temperatures.

Artificial leather - leatherette, eco-leather, obtained by applying a polyurethane film coating on a fabric base. Depending on the type of additive, the name is supplemented with the prefixes elasto- (rubbers), vinyl- (polyvinyl chloride), amido- (polyamides),nitro- (nitrocellulose), urethane- (polyurethanes).

Artificial fabric care: how to prolong the life of leatherette?

To make the product last longer, there are a few rules to follow:

• use of cosmetics;
• urgent removal of contaminants;
• cleaning with detergent solution;
• drying upright;
• ban on washing by hand or machine;
• grease stains can only be removed with soapy water.

If you follow these simple rules, you will retain the properties of artificial leather, and the product will last much longer.