Some customer are confusing how to distinguish PU / Half PU/ PVC especially when they choose material or meeting with suppliers, on this article let's talk about how to distinguish between PU / Half PU and PVC.
Let's put the method upfront:
Is easy to tell the difference between PU and PVC, if you compare them side to side, you'll found the bottom fabric of PU is much thicker than PVC if you check over the edge. The PVC is harder the tougher. If you burn them, PVC have way strong smell than PU.
To identify the PU and half PU, try this way by yourself: burn the copper wire until it turns red. Then put the copper wire on the leather until the leather melt on the copper wire then burn it again. If the fire turns green, it means is half PU or PVC, it the fire still red, that means the material are PU.
The cost spread of PU / Half PU and PVC.
PU are 30 - 50% higher than half PU and PVC. As half PU are 90% made by PVC so the price difference between half PU and PVC is not that much.
The Production process of PU / PVC and Half PU.
Production process of PVC:
1. Stir the plastic particles until is mushy.
2. Coated it on T/C fabric base with required thickness.
3. Foaming in furnace to adapt the different softness production.
4. Surface treatment (Dyeing, embossing, polishing, matting, milling.,etc)
Production process of Half PU:
Coated the PVC and TPU on fabric base, the rest process are same with PVC. But the plasticzer in PVC will migrates out in less a year to leads the material start hard and brittle, the handbag have potential risk cracked within a year.
Production process of PU:
PU is more complicated than PVC in production process. As PU base fabric is high tensile strength canvas, except coated on top of the fabric base, but also able to cover the fabric base in the middle, then you can't see its fabric base. PU has better physical properties than PVC, with good torsion resistance, softness, tensile strength and air permeability. PVC pattern is made by hot pressing the steel pattern roller; The decorative pattern of PU is pressed on the surface of semi-finished leather with a kind of decorative pattern paper, and the paper leather will separated for surface treatment after it cools down.
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