Flocage (flock printing): what the word really means

Flocage (flock printing): what the word really means

In French textile decoration, "flocage" today means, in most cases, a heat-transfer vinyl: a vinyl film cut to the shape of the artwork, then heat-pressed onto the garment. Originally, the term referred to a different technique (true flock, a velvet-like material bonded to the fabric), still in use but rarer.

Flocage in practice: two techniques, one word

The word comes from the real historical technique: bonding fine synthetic fibres (the "flock") onto a heat-activated adhesive, for a raised, velvety finish. It is the technique you still find on some textured, high-end logos.

But in everyday decoration language today, "flocage" almost always means something else: a heat-transfer vinyl, a vinyl film cut to the exact shape of the artwork, then heat-pressed. That confusion is worth knowing before you ask for a quote: if a print shop talks about "flocage", ask which technique they actually mean, because the finish and the budget are not the same.

What to remember

• "True" flocage bonds raised synthetic fibres (the flock); today the word almost always means a heat-transfer vinyl (a vinyl film cut, then pressed).
• Custom merch "in flocage" is therefore, most of the time, a heat-transfer vinyl, not the historical technique.
• When a quote mentions "flocage", asking for the precise technique avoids bad surprises on the finish and the price.