Color Changes in Wool During Processing

Abstract

Color is an important physical property of wool fibers which can be defined with the aid of color- measuring instruments. The color of a fiber is a limiting factor in the range of shades into which the fiber can be dyed. Color changes which occur to the wool substrate itself during normal proc essing steps, such as scouring, carbonizing, bleaching, dyeing, steaming, drying, and others, are sig nificant in terms of the resulting limitations imposed on the shades obtainable. 'I'he size of the re flectance-level changes occurring in these processes is given and related to changes in utility and value of the fiber.