What is Selvage?
Also known as: Selvedge
The finished edge of a roll of fabric, perpendicular to the direction of weaving or printing. Used as a registration reference and quality-check zone in textile printing.
In detail
The selvage is the self-finishing edge of woven or printed fabric — the edge that prevents fraying without requiring hemming. In digital and rotary textile printing, the selvage often carries identifying information: brand name, color reference number, registration marks, and barcoded production data. Designers must account for selvage zones in their tile dimensions: the rapport must fit within the printable width minus the selvage allowance (typically 1-2 cm per side). Some prints intentionally extend to the selvage edge for full-bleed designs, while others maintain a clean margin. The selvage is also the standard quality-control inspection zone — print partners check color and registration along the selvage before approving a run. The selvage is also the place to embed a 'color bar' — small swatches of every ink in the design printed at full saturation. Color bars give the print partner an instant visual reference for color drift across the run, and let downstream quality control flag faded batches without measuring the design region itself.
Example
A 150 cm wide digital printer has a 2 cm non-printable selvage on each side, leaving 146 cm of usable width. A 30 cm rapport tiles 4.86 times across the width — designers either clip to a 4-tile (120 cm) usable design or pick a different rapport size that divides evenly into 146 cm.