Flat (open-width) rolls are a single layer of woven fabric wound on a tube. Tubular rolls are a continuous tube from a circular loom, wound as a flattened hose. Both can be PP woven fabric. They are not interchangeable on the converter’s line.
What changes in production
| Point | Flat / open width | Tubular |
|---|---|---|
| Loom output | Woven or slit to a finished open width | Comes as a tube; lay-flat width is half the circumference |
| Typical next step | Sheets, covers, wrapping, lamination | Bag lengths, liners, some covers without a side seam |
| Side seam | Not a tube; edges are selvedge or cut | No longitudinal sew if you keep the tube |
| Width language | “2.0 m open width” | “70 cm lay-flat” or circumference equivalent |
| Lamination | Common for covering-style fabric | Possible; confirm whether the tube or a slit-open sheet is laminated |
If you quote “2 meter woven fabric roll” without saying flat or tubular, factories will guess. Guessing shows up as wrong bag size or wasted cutting yield.
Choose tubular when
- You make woven bags, liners or related tubes and want no long side seam.
- Lay-flat width matches the bag width.
- Printing and cutting are set up for tubular fabric.
Choose flat when
- You convert sheets, ground cover, wrapping or covering fabric.
- Open-width lamination, welding or sewing is the process.
- Roll width must match a cutting table or laminator, not a bag width.
Most industrial packaging and agro-textile roll programs on this site are discussed as open-width fabric unless the RFQ says tubular.
How to write the RFQ
For tubular: lay-flat width, GSM, whether one or both walls are counted in GSM, roll length, color, printing, and whether the tube stays closed.
For flat: open width, GSM basis, lamination side, roll length, diameter or kg limit, and converting machine width.
Paste those lines into the quote form.