PAPERMAKING FABRIC

The present invention relates to an industrial fabric, in particular press fabric or transfer belt, for use in a papermaking machine. The industrial fabric includes a porous composite structure, having a batt fiber structure and particulate polymeric material. The batt fiber structure has an upper surface and a lower surface extending parallel to the upper surface and spaced from the upper surface along a thickness direction extending perpendicular to the upper and lower surface. The particulate polymeric material is partly fused together and bonded with fibers extending on at least one of the surfaces of the batt fiber structure and with fibers inside the batt fiber structure such that the polymeric material partly impregnates fibers of the batt structure and partly fills interstices between fibers of the batt structure to form the porous composite structure. Further in accordance with the present invention, the composite structure has a varying amount of polymeric material in the batt fiber structure along at least a section of the thickness direction of the batt fiber structure. The present invention further provides a method of making same.