TowelHub Blog

We have all stood in a hotel bathroom or browsed a linen aisle and noticed those distinct woven bands near the edges of a towel. Sometimes they are flat and subtle; other times, they are decorative and intricate. To the average guest, these might look like simple design choices meant to make a plain white cloth look a little more sophisticated. However, anyone who has managed a commercial laundry, run a bustling gym, or sourced linens for a hotel knows there is much more to the story than just aesthetics.

Those lines, often referred to as borders, cams, or identifier stripes, serve distinct functional purposes ranging from inventory management to structural integrity. In my years helping businesses select and customize the right Bath Towel for their brand, I’ve seen how overlooking these details can lead to operational headaches. Whether you are stocking a boutique Airbnb or a high-traffic fitness center, understanding the code woven into your textiles can save you time on sorting and money on replacements.

The Hidden Language of Laundry Sorting

For large-scale operations like hospitals, hotels, and commercial laundries, efficiency is the absolute name of the game. When you are processing thousands of pounds of laundry a day, you simply cannot afford to have staff manually measuring every piece of terry cloth to see if it is a hand towel, a bath towel, or a bath sheet. This is where the specific number of woven lines or colored stripes comes into play as a visual shorthand.

Manufacturers often use a system where the number of stripes indicates the size or weight of the towel. for example, a single woven line might denote a standard room towel, while two lines could indicate a larger, premium bath sheet. This visual coding allows housekeeping staff to sort linens at a glance, ensuring that the pool area gets the durable pool towels and the VIP suites get the plush bath sheets. Without these indicators, the margin for error in your stocking rooms increases significantly, leading to inconsistent guest experiences.

It is also a matter of loss prevention and inventory tracking. If your business uses an outside laundry service, those lines act as a fingerprint for your property’s goods. I have worked with gym owners who use towels with a specific gold stripe. When the laundry delivery comes back, they can instantly spot if a generic white towel from another facility has been mixed into their batch. It sounds like a small detail, but over a fiscal year, paying for lost or swapped inventory adds up to a significant line item on your budget.

Decoding the Woven Borders: Cam vs. Dobby

Beyond the colored identification stripes, you will often see a flat, woven band near the hem of the towel. In the industry, we categorize these primarily into two types: Cam borders and Dobby borders. Understanding the difference is crucial because it dictates not just the look of the towel, but its longevity and price point. A Cam border is generally found on standard, budget-friendly towels; it is a flat weave that provides a little bit of design flair without adding significant cost to the production process.

On the other hand, a Dobby border is more decorative, featuring geometric patterns, checkers, or raised weaves. These are typically found on higher-end towels used in luxury hospitality. However, there is a technical aspect to this as well. Because the border is woven differently than the looped pile of the rest of the towel, it shrinks at a different rate during drying. If you are interested in the mechanics of this, reading up on the purpose of woven strips can help you understand why certain towels behave differently in high-heat commercial dryers.

The Impact on Drying and Energy Costs

It is a detail that few business owners consider, but the type of border on your towel affects your energy bills. The heavy, looped pile of a towel holds a tremendous amount of water, whereas the flat woven border holds very little. When these towels tumble in a dryer, the border dries much faster than the rest of the fabric.

This differential drying speed can sometimes lead to the border becoming brittle or overheating while the center of the towel is still damp. High-quality commercial towels are engineered to balance this, but cheaper alternatives often fail here. If you notice your towel borders fraying long before the rest of the towel wears out, it is likely due to this imbalance in drying dynamics. Investing in towels where the border density is matched correctly to the pile weight can extend the lifecycle of your inventory.

The Hourglass Effect and Durability

One of the most common complaints I hear from clients involves towels that warp or pull in at the sides, creating an annoying hourglass shape. This usually happens because the woven border shrinks more aggressively than the fluffy pile of the towel. When selecting towels for your business, it is vital to ask about the pre-shrinking process and the material blend of the border specifically.

A beautiful Dobby border looks great on the shelf, but if it shrinks 10% after the first hot wash while the towel body only shrinks 3%, your towels will look distorted and cheap. This warping makes them difficult to fold neatly, which frustrates your housekeeping staff and creates messy stacks on your shelves. We always advise clients to wash and dry a sample batch before committing to a large order to see how the borders react to their specific laundry equipment.

Branding Pitfalls: Embroidery and Printing on Lines

As someone who works closely with printing and embroidery, I always warn clients about the placement of their logos in relation to these lines. A common mistake businesses make is trying to embroider directly onto the flat border (the Cam or Dobby strip) because it looks like a nice frame for the logo. In practice, this is often a disaster for the longevity of the branding.

Because the border lacks the stability of the pile and tends to shrink, embroidery placed there often puckers or distorts. Furthermore, the needle penetrations can weaken that specific band of fabric, leading to premature tearing. We always recommend placing your branding above the border on the main pile of the towel. It ensures the logo stands out and moves naturally with the fabric. If you are confused about which towel style suits your branding needs, a guide to towel markings can clarify which areas of the towel are safe for customization and which are best left alone.

Screen printing on towels presents similar challenges. If you try to print over a textured Dobby border, the ink will break up and look uneven because of the ridges in the pattern. The flat Cam border takes ink better, but again, if that border shrinks, your printed logo will look squashed. The best approach is usually to treat the lines as a boundary keep your branding in the safe zone of the plush loop, or use a towel specifically designed with a dedicated flat embroidery band that is reinforced to prevent shrinkage.

Selecting the Right Towel for Your Specific Business Model

The lines on a towel tell a story about where that towel belongs. In a gym setting, you might want a towel with a distinct colored stripe running down the center. This isn't just for style; it prevents theft. A distinctive stripe makes it very obvious when a member tries to walk out with a gym towel in their bag. It also helps separate floor towels used for equipment from shower towels used for bodies, which is a major hygiene selling point for prospective members.

For a spa or a high-end salon, the approach is different. You likely want to avoid colored stripes that look institutional. Instead, you might opt for a subtle, tone-on-tone Dobby border. This provides that upscale, residential feel while still giving your staff a way to differentiate sizes. The key is to match the code of the towel to the expectation of the customer. An institutional stripe says efficiency and hygiene, while a decorative border says luxury and comfort.

FAQs

Do the lines on a towel indicate the quality of the cotton?
Not necessarily. The lines indicate style, size, and intended use, but not the raw material quality. A towel with a fancy Dobby border can still be made of low-grade cotton, and a towel with a simple Cam border can be made of premium Egyptian cotton. You must look at the GSM (grams per square meter) and the fiber content separately from the border style to determine true quality.

Can I bleach towels that have colored stripes?
This depends entirely on the manufacturing process. Most commercial towels with colored stripes are vat dyed or yarn-dyed specifically to be bleach-resistant. This is essential for hotels and gyms that need to sanitize linens without the colors running or fading. However, retail-grade towels with stripes often fade instantly in bleach. Always confirm the towel is bleach safe or chlorine resistant before buying for a business.

Conclusion

The lines on bath towels are rarely just there for decoration. Whether they are colored stripes helping a busy housekeeper sort inventory or a woven Dobby border adding a touch of elegance to a guest suite, these markings serve specific functions. For business owners, understanding these details helps in purchasing linens that are durable, operationally efficient, and aesthetically pleasing.

When you are ready to restock your inventory, look past the fluff and pay attention to the weave. Choosing the right borders and identification stripes can streamline your laundry operations, reduce replacement costs, and ensure your branding remains sharp wash after wash. For a wide selection of commercial-grade linens that balance quality with functionality, Towel Hub is here to support your business needs.