Spunlace Nonwoven Fabric: The Complete Guide

Spunlace (also called hydroentanglement or jet-laced) is a nonwoven fabric manufacturing process that bonds fibers together using high-pressure water jets. Unlike thermal bonding (which uses heat to melt and fuse fibers) or chemical bonding (which uses adhesives), spunlace relies purely on the mechanical energy of water to entangle fibers. The result is a fabric that is soft, absorbent, and strong without the stiffness of thermally bonded materials.

The process was originally developed by DuPont in the 1960s and has since become one of the most widely used nonwoven technologies globally. Today, spunlace fabric is found in baby wipes, medical drapes, industrial wipes, cosmetic pads, and dozens of other products you use daily.

What makes spunlace unique is that it produces fabric that feels closest to woven textiles in terms of drape and softness, while being produced at the speed and cost of a nonwoven process. This combination is why spunlace dominates the wipes market and is increasingly used in medical and technical applications.

The spunlace process can be broken down into five main stages. Understanding each stage helps you understand why certain specifications matter and how they affect the final fabric.

Raw fibers (viscose, polyester, bamboo, or blends) are opened, mixed, and fed into a carding machine. The carder separates and aligns the fibers into a thin, uniform web. The quality of carding directly affects fabric uniformity, GSM consistency, and visual appearance.

For blended fabrics like viscose + polyester, the fiber mixing ratio is controlled at this stage. A common blend for industrial wipes is 70% viscose / 30% polyester, which balances absorbency (from viscose) with wet strength (from polyester).

The carded web is layered to achieve the target GSM. There are three primary web formation methods, each producing fabric with different characteristics:

This is the core of the process. The fiber web passes under a series of high-pressure water jet manifolds (also called injectors). Water pressures typically range from 30 to 250 bar, depending on the fabric GSM, fiber type, and desired strength.

The water jets shoot fine streams of water through the web, causing fibers to rotate, twist, and entangle around each other. This mechanical interlocking is what gives the fabric its strength without adhesives or heat.

Higher water pressure and more injector stages produce stronger entanglement, which increases fabric strength but can reduce softness. This is a key trade-off that manufacturers balance based on the end application.

At SunLuner, our ANDRITZ hydroentanglement lines (L1-L4) use 5-7 injector stages with pressures up to 200 bar, while our Trützschler wet-laid line (L5) uses a modified process optimized for flushable dispersibility.

After hydroentanglement, the fabric is saturated with water. It passes through a drying section, typically using through-air dryers or cylinder dryers, to reduce moisture content to below 5%. The drying temperature and time affect fabric shrinkage and final hand-feel.

Over-drying can cause the fabric to become brittle and shrink excessively. Under-drying leaves moisture that can promote microbial growth during storage. Quality manufacturers maintain drying parameters within tight tolerances.

The dried fabric is wound into large rolls (jumbo rolls), which can be up to 1,150 mm in diameter. These rolls are then slit to the customer's required width. Standard core inner diameters are 76mm (3 inch) or 152mm (6 inch).

Roll width is a critical specification. SunLuner's maximum production width is 330 cm on our direct-laid lines (L3/L4) and 320 cm on our cross-lapped lines (L1/L2). Wider rolls mean fewer seams in downstream converting, which improves efficiency for wipe manufacturers.

The choice of raw fiber has the biggest impact on fabric properties. Here are the most common materials used in spunlace production:

When specifying spunlace fabric, five properties matter most:

Spunlace fabric can be embossed with various patterns during or after hydroentanglement. Patterns are not just decorative, they affect performance:

SunLuner operates 5 production lines with different process capabilities. Understanding which line produces which fabric helps you specify the right product:

When requesting a quote or ordering samples, provide these specifications to get accurate pricing and the right product: