Cotton Square Weave
Square weave fabric is the most fundamental type of textile weaves. It is strong, hard wearing and most importantly for workwear, has increased airflow above equivalent drill fabrics. You will find Visitec square weave cotton shirts in the Fusion range; they have been tested by the CSIRO and are 2 times more breathable than comparable light weight drill shirts.
Cotton Drill
Drill is a durable fabric with a strong diagonal structure in the weave. Visitec cotton drill is 'pre-shrunk' and has passed rigorous tests to ensure it meets high standards of quality including stability, UV protection, abrasion resistance, colour fastness and tear resistance.
The natural characteristics of cotton drill create comfortable, hard wearing garments perfect for our climate and tough environment.
Visitec drill comes in a number of weights starting at our lightest 190gsm shirting (that’s grams per square metre) then our 220gsm light weight drill, perfect for summer work pants. Our 280gsm medium weight drill is a great balance between comfort and durability, or maybe you need our 310gsm heavy weight drill that will give you all the grunt and durability of heavy duty work gear.
Enduramax®
Enduramax® fabric was developed by Visitec for its extreme durability and resistance to abrasions, tears, piercing and scuffs. It is a registered trademark of Visitec.
Enduramax® fabric is a heavy canvas type construction made from tough Nylon, we use this on stress and abrasion points to make Enduramax pants the toughest possible.
Canvas
Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain woven fabric used for work wear, tents, back packs and any where sturdiness and toughness is required. The canvas in the Enduramax pants is made of cotton.
Visitec canvas is classified as duck-weave canvas. The threads in duck-weave canvas are more tightly woven than plain canvas increasing its strength and durability.
Microfibre
Micromesh
Micromesh describes the structure or the actual surface look of the fabric.
Microfibre describes the yarn the fabric is knitted from.
This is important because most high visibility polo shirts are made from a lesser quality micromesh, generally using standard or core-spun Polyester. (You don’t want that!)
This type of polyester fabric may look similar to Microfibre, however it will not demonstrate the outstanding performance qualities or excellent hand feel of true Microfibre.
Visitec polo’s are only made from true Microfibre.
The Microfibre facts: Microfibre’s are densely packed filaments that are contained within a hollow outer fibre and these fibres produce a fabric with maximum softness and comfort along with superior breathability, quick drying time and excellent wash and wear properties.
Airwear
Airwear® fabric was developed by Visitec to increase airspace around the body and improve comfort by reducing heat through airflow.
Airwear® fabric breathes more than 6 times better than comparable light weight cotton shirts and is made from genuine Microfibre.
Garments made from Airwear® fabric have excellent Ultra Violet sun protection (UPF) and transport moisture away from the body, providing faster drying times and a cooler wearer.
Polar Fleece
Polar fleece is a soft, insulating fabric made from Polyester; it has a brushed finish both inside and out making it warm and comfortable against the skin.
Polar fleece is lightweight, soft and easy care, can be machine washed and dries quickly.
It is hydrophobic, holding less than 1% of its weight in water, and it is also highly breathable.
These qualities make it useful for clothing intended to be used during strenuous physical activity; perspiration is able to readily pass through the fabric while still keeping you insulated against the cold.
Fleece
Fleece is the general term for a soft knitted fabric with a deep pile on one side.
It is similar to Polar Fleece, however only one side is soft and brushed and the other side is flat and more durable.
Visitec heavy weight fleece combines a tough outer face with a soft and warm inner surface to provide durability and protection from the elements.
Polyester Oxford
Oxford fabric has a similar construction to canvas and is a heavy-duty plain woven fabric, it is hard wearing and tough.
The Visitec Elements range is made from 300D Oxford Polyester with PU coating. Denier (D) is a unit of measure for the linear mass density of fibres (yes, there will be a test); 300D indicates a superior quality of fabric and combined with the PU (Polyurethane) coating makes a softer, more comfortable wet weather garment.
A lot of wet weather gear in the market it made from lesser quality / lower denier Oxford fabric, these fabrics are rough and cheap in comparison and do not display the superior quality and hand feel of the higher denier Visitec Oxford.
VISITEC MAKES WORK WEAR THAT WE EXPECT YOU TO WEAR HARD AND WASH HARD.
General Garment Care
Here are some basic tips and explanations to keep your Visitec gear looking good and lasting longer, remember that all garments have different requirements for washing/drying and you should check inside your Visitec gear to follow the full care instructions.
We keep our instructions clear and simple to save you time and money.
The basics: To do laundry, first sort your dirty clothes, making separate piles for whites, bright colours and dark colours. If you mix whites with colours in the wash, the colours may bleed onto and ruin your whites.
As you sort, close zippers to prevent snagging, and empty the pockets (you don't want soggy bits of facial tissue stuck to your clothes!) program the correct temperature and use the appropriate amount of colour safe laundry detergent.
Cold / Warm Machine Wash 3M Reflective Tape
Pretty self explanatory, don’t use hot water on garments that state cold or warm water if you want to get the best life out of your workwear and wash like (similar) colours together with a colour safe detergent.
Plus if you keep your fluffy towels separate you will avoid having to pick off fluff balls!
Do Not Bleach, Soak Or Rub
OK here is an important one. We know that workwear gets dirty, but if the care label says don’t use bleach (or soak) then you need to stick to the program and wash in colour safe detergent, or try a colour safe pre wash stain treatment spray to shift heavy soiling.
Drip Dry Inside Out In Shade / Do Not Tumble Dry
Tumble drying will damage and shrink your clothing while wasting precious energy (Not to mention the power bills!)
Microfibre fabric dries very quickly, so hang your polo shirts and they will be ready to wear before you know it.
When hanging your gear up to dry, try to avoid direct sunlight if you want to preserve the strong colour (It’s pretty obvious that a shirt hanging in the Aussie sun for 8 hour a day is going to eventually fade)
Once out of the wash, shake out the garment or straighten the seams and hang it up in the shade, easy.
Dry Clean
Means that you may dry clean this garment with a professional dry cleaner, if it’s a taped garment then make sure they follow the 3M care instructions attached inside the garment.
Dry cleaning is by definition, cleaning with solvents and little or generally no water.
The combination of solvents and heat is hard on fabrics and may cause as much wear as actually wearing the garment so choose a reputable cleaner who has experience in specialised workwear apparel.
Do Not Iron
Pay attention or you will end up melting your workwear.
Do Not Expose To Naked Flame
OK, enough said here bright spark.
The Shell Of This Garment Can Be Spot Cleaned With Mild Detergent & Luke Warm Water
This instruction refers to some of our wet weather gear. This gear is made from specialised fabric that needs to be treated carefully to ensure it continues to perform well and keep you safe and dry. Use a clean sponge with some mild detergent and gently spot clean any surface dirt before rinsing and hanging to dry.
Visitec only uses genuine 3M reflective tape and special care needs to be taken when washing and drying taped gear.
For example: did you know that you can NOT iron directly onto reflective tape? You do now.
All 3M reflective tape comes with specific care instructions, these can be found inside your taped garment.
Your safety depends on this tape being in good condition so take care when you are washing, drying and caring for it.
Dry cleaners need to pay attention to the 3M care instructions because they detail temperature and information on what solvents are safe to use on 3M products.