Many customers ask: Some hotel linens have a shiny appearance—are they made of chemical fiber (polyester)?
This is actually not the case. The shine comes from special finishing processes that alter the structure of cotton fibers, making them reflect light more uniformly and creating a smooth, lustrous surface. Mercerization is one such finishing process and has nothing to do with the fabric being synthetic.
Factories without mercerizing equipment often use calendering (also called pressing). Calendering is a process that, under heat and moisture, flattens the fabric surface and removes surface fuzz to improve luster.
A calender consists of several smooth hard and soft rollers. When fabric passes through the rollers, the yarns are flattened, the surface becomes smoother, luster increases, and the fabric feels stiffer. However, this shine is not durable and will gradually fade after several washes.
Calendering is a physical mechanical treatment, while mercerization is a chemical treatment—they are completely different. So it is incorrect to assume shiny, thin fabric must be polyester. For the same base fabric, mercerized linens are more expensive than non-mercerized (calendered) ones.
In short, the quality of fabric depends on two main factors:
Yarn count and density: High-count, high-density fabric is superior.
Finishing process: High-quality fabric undergoes full processing including singeing and mercerization, and is correspondingly more costly.