Comparison · Processing Base
Greige vs RFD vs PFD
Greige is unprepared fabric straight off the loom — sizing, waxes and impurities still in it, absorbency uneven, width unstable. RFD (Ready for Dyeing) is prepared for coloration but is not finished goods. PFD (Prepared for Dyeing/Printing) is prepared to one already-chosen route, such as digital printing. Greige is cheapest with the longest route ahead; each step removes part of that route.
Updated
The two misconceptions this page fixes
Buyers think greige is almost ready for dyeing or printing and just needs colour. It isn't — applying dye or print to an unsuitable greige base causes uneven colour, poor penetration, patchiness, print-definition problems, poor hand, excessive shrinkage, width variation and fastness failures. And buyers think RFD is finished white fabric ready to cut and stitch. It's a prepared processing base — depending on the route it may still need dyeing or printing, wash-off, drying, heat setting, width setting, softening, shrinkage control, final finishing, and inspection.
Side by side
| Greige | RFD (Ready for Dyeing) | PFD (Prepared for Dyeing/Printing) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| State | Loom/knit state, unprepared | Prepared for coloration | Prepared to one named coloration route |
| Contains | Sizing, waxes, impurities, loom marks | Cleaned, absorbency prepared | Cleaned, plus the pretreatment that route requires |
| Width/shrinkage | Unstable, uncontrolled | More controlled, confirm per route | Set for the named route, confirm on sample |
| Whiteness / absorbency | Not specified | Prepared, not specified to a figure unless agreed | Specified — the printer states what it needs |
| Still needs | Full preparation, then coloration & finishing | Coloration & finishing per route | Coloration & finishing only |
| Starting price | Lowest | Higher (preparation already done) | Highest of the three (route-specific pretreatment done) |
| Route flexibility | Any route — none is committed to yet | Several coloration routes still open | Committed — prepared for one route, may not suit another |
| Best for | Buyers with their own processing route | Buyers wanting a prepared base & fewer stages | Buyers whose print route is already decided |
"I want to print on this" — what we need to know first
Before we can say whether you want greige, RFD, or something more specific, we ask:
- Fibre composition and print method — pigment, reactive, digital, rotary or sublimation.
- Artwork — colours and level of detail — and the intended product.
- Finished hand and finished width required.
- Optical-white base? Acceptable shrinkage? Colourfastness standard?
- Who coordinates printing — you, or us end-to-end — and what the printer needs (RFD, PFP or a specially pretreated base).
Often the right requirement isn't simply "RFD." It may be prepared-for-printing, pretreated for digital, bleached white, optical white, a heat-set polyester base (sublimation needs a suitable polyester base), or RFD with a specified absorbency and whiteness. The route decides the base.
A dense, even face takes print well — see poplin count and construction for the shirting constructions buyers request most.
Where PFD fits, and why the letters matter
RFD and PFD are used loosely — and sometimes interchangeably — across the trade, which is exactly why they cause trouble on an order. The distinction worth holding is one of commitment: RFD is a prepared base that leaves several coloration routes open; PFD is a base prepared to the requirement of one route that has already been chosen. A cotton prepared for reactive printing is not automatically suitable for digital pigment, and neither is a polyester heat-set for sublimation.
The practical consequence is a sequencing rule: PFD cannot be ordered before the print route is fixed, because the route is what defines the preparation. If you do not yet know whether the design will run reactive, pigment, digital or rotary, you want RFD and the flexibility it keeps — or greige if you also control the preparation. Once the printer has named its requirement, PFD removes a stage and a risk.
- Ask the printer, not the weaver. The unit doing the coloration specifies the base — absorbency, whiteness, residual chemistry, width and heat-set state where relevant. Get that in writing before the base is bought.
- "PFD" alone is not a specification. Prepared for which route, to what whiteness, at what absorbency, at what finished width. Two suppliers' PFD can differ as much as two suppliers' poplin.
- Don't buy PFD to hold in stock. Its value is route-specific, so a base prepared for a route you later change is worth less than the RFD you didn't buy.
- Sublimation is the strict case. It needs a suitable polyester base — the pretreatment cannot rescue an unsuitable fibre, and no minimum quantity changes that.
What each base does to your minimum
Choosing the base also chooses which minimum you are working to, and the three do not behave the same way. Commissioning new greige weaving carries a minimum of 10,000m — putting a construction on a loom that isn't already running is a production decision, not a purchase. RFD and PFD are prepared bases, so what governs is the coloration minimum that follows: 1,500m per colour under 160 GSM, 3,000m per colour at 160 GSM and above for dyeing, 100m per colour per design for digital and sublimation printing, and 3,000m for rotary.
The distinction that matters for a small brand is between commissioning greige and taking it. An available greige construction — one already in our library — is not subject to the 10,000m figure and is one of the lowest-commitment entry points we have; quantity is confirmed per quality. What the 10,000m figure rules out is asking a mill to weave something new for a launch-sized order, which is a genuinely different request.
Read together, that produces a fairly blunt rule: if you are printing digitally, a prepared base plus a 100m-per-design print run is reachable at a scale newly commissioned greige never is — and if you want greige specifically, ask what is already running before asking what can be woven.
The full set of confirmed minimums, and the routes available below them, is on low-MOQ fabric sourcing from Pakistan.
Piece-dyed or yarn-dyed — the third route
Greige and RFD both leave the colour decision open. The alternative is buying cloth that already carries it, and that splits into two routes which are not interchangeable — a distinction worth knowing before you ask for a "dyed" fabric.
- Piece-dyed: the cloth is woven first and dyed afterwards, as a piece. This is the route for solid shades, and it is what most people mean by "dyed fabric".
- Yarn-dyed: the yarn is dyed before weaving, and the pattern is then built on the loom from different-coloured yarns. This is how stripes, checks, ginghams and chambrays exist at all — the colour is structural, not applied to the surface.
The practical consequence: a stripe or a check cannot be produced by piece-dyeing a greige, and asking for one on a dyed-solid lead time will not work. If your design carries a woven pattern in more than one colour, the decision is made at the yarn stage, which sits earlier in the calendar than dyeing does and carries its own minimum per colour.
When greige makes sense
Greige suits buyers and processors who have their own nominated processing, understand dyeing and finishing losses, want control over the full route, are buying production quantities, need a customised finish, or can inspect and approve grey fabric technically. It's not automatically right for a small buyer with no processing setup — the low initial price misleads once every remaining process is added in.
When RFD makes sense
RFD suits buyers who want a prepared base for dyeing, fewer stages to coordinate, quicker sampling, better control of absorbency and cleanliness before colour, and the flexibility to run one prepared base across several colour developments. It's especially useful for brands and garment buyers who want development flexibility without managing raw greige preparation themselves.
Price and lead time
RFD normally costs more than greige because preparation — inspection, batching, desizing, scouring, bleaching, washing, drying, heat setting, width setting, plus losses, utilities, chemicals, processing-unit minimums and QC — is already done. But compare the total route, not the purchase price. Greige's hidden costs include transport to the processor, batching, preparation charges, process loss, rejection risk, extra testing, width reduction, GSM change, delays between stages, and reprocessing if absorbency or whiteness isn't right. Lower start price, longer remaining route.
Burhan Enterprises RFD range
Our RFD range isn't "white fabric." It's a technically prepared development base for buyers moving into dyeing, printing or custom finishing without starting from untreated greige. Across the RFD qualities you can shortlist by composition, construction, GSM, width, weave, intended coloration method, suitable end use, available preparation and custom-finishing needs — and request technical guidance before committing to a dyeing or printing route. Preparation requirements vary by process, so confirm the intended route before ordering. We coordinate sourcing and development through partner processing units.
When shortlisting by construction (ends and picks per inch), the notation guide shows what those figures do — and do not — fix.
Browse the RFD range in the Fabric Library →
Related knowledge
- Fabric certifications: what buyers should ask
Greige vs RFD decides the processing route; certification scope decides how that route is evidenced — including for prepared bases.
- RFD fabric: specification and low-MOQ sourcing
The full RFD guide — what a prepared base is specified on, and how a small brand runs one base across several colourways.
- What is actually in greige fabric: sizing and preparation
The chemistry behind this comparison — what greige actually contains, and what each preparation step removes.
- Choosing a base fabric for digital and rotary printing
If the route is print: what digital and rotary each demand of the base, and how to specify it.
- Low-MOQ fabric sourcing from Pakistan
Confirmed print, dyeing and greige minimums, and how to restructure a launch that falls below them.
- How to source fabric from Pakistan
Where choosing the base sits in the order of a first programme, and what has to be approved before bulk.
- Cotton poplin: construction, GSM and sourcing
A woven base commonly ordered RFD for printed programmes.
- From greige to finished: how width, weight and length change
What happens to the numbers as greige moves through the states compared here.
- How greige fabric is inspected
Header matching, and which loom-state faults survive finishing — the acceptance side of buying greige.
Frequently asked questions
Can I print directly on greige?
Usually not. Greige carries sizing and impurities and has uneven absorbency, so it typically needs preparation before printing. Doing otherwise risks patchy colour and poor print definition.
Is RFD the same as finished white fabric?
No. RFD means Ready for Dyeing — a prepared base. Depending on the route it still needs coloration, finishing, shrinkage control and inspection before it's finished goods.
Is greige always cheaper than RFD?
The starting price is lower, but the total route often isn't cheaper once preparation, losses, transport and testing are added. Compare the full route, not the purchase price.
Which do I need for digital printing?
Often a base pretreated for digital rather than a generic RFD, and for sublimation a suitable polyester base. Confirm the exact print route first, then we specify the base.
What's the difference between RFD and PFD?
RFD (Ready for Dyeing) is a prepared base that leaves several coloration routes open. PFD (Prepared for Dyeing/Printing) is prepared to the requirement of one route that has already been chosen — a specified absorbency, whiteness and, where relevant, heat-set state. The terms are used loosely in the trade, so treat neither as a complete specification: ask which route the base was prepared for, and to what figures.
Can I order PFD before I know how the fabric will be printed?
No, and that is the point of the distinction. The print route defines the preparation, so PFD cannot be specified until the route is fixed. If the route is still open, order RFD and keep the flexibility.
Which base suits a small brand best?
Usually a prepared base rather than newly commissioned greige. Commissioning new greige weaving carries a 10,000m minimum, whereas a prepared base is governed by the coloration minimum that follows it — 100m per colour per design for digital and sublimation printing, or 1,500m per colour for dyeing under 160 GSM. Greige taken from an available construction is a separate case and is not subject to the 10,000m figure, so if greige is what you want, ask what is already running.
On typical values: preparation and finishing requirements vary by fibre, construction, process and supplier. Physical swatches, lab dips, strike-offs and approved specifications override anything illustrated here. Burhan Enterprises coordinates through partner processing units and does not own the processing facilities.
Tell us the route before you order the base
Share your fibre, coloration method and end use — we'll tell you whether you want greige, RFD or a more specific prepared base, and what it still needs.