Performance of the CottonscanTM instrument for measuring the average fiber linear density (fineness) of cotton lint samples

This paper explores the Cottonscan TM instrument, a new technology designed for routine measurement of the average linear density (fineness) of cotton fiber. An international inter-laboratory trial of the Cottonscan TM system is presented. This expands the range of cottons and laboratories from previous studies. Cleaned well-blended cottons were utilized for this study in order to focus on the instrument performance and minimize sample variations between replicate measurements. Overall, for cottons finer than 200 mtex, the 95% confidence limit for a single measurement was estimated to be ±12 mtex, in good agreement with previous work. This confirms that the Cottonscan TM instrument is a useful technique for determining the average fiber linear density of cotton fiber.