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Custom Clothing Labels Manufacturing and Color Matching II:
The Science of Textile Color.
This article is a engineering resource that covers nut and bolts of color technology and
chemistry---amazing at it seems, color matching in any industry has a long way to go before
perfection is reached.
If you've chosen a set of Pantone colors or perhaps even sent a samples of previous fabric
label you already had made up, you may be suprised to find resulting shades of the new
delivery are slightly off. Understandably, you call up your clothing label supplier to try to find
out as to why your color selections was not to your expectations.
You are told that the label manufacturer makes every attempt to match and match colors, but
that it is very difficult to get a 100% exact match, especially with very deep shades or green,
blue, yellow, or red.. You are told that in order to get exact matches, a lengthy and
expensive physical sampling process must be employed---and even that is not guaranteed!
This brings up a very interesting question: Why can't technology present a perfect match the
first time? There are several very important reasons for this.
The first confounding element is the actual twist of the yarn. Is it S (counterclockwise) or Z
(clockwise)? Believe it or not, the twist direction of the yarn actually affects the ionic bonding
properties (the stickiness) of the dye---especially for synthetics.
Another factor to consider is the source of the yarns---if the threads are obtained from
different yarn suppliers---usually the cheapest wins out, as pricing is king in today's
environment. Did your last label have S or Z threads? This makes a big difference with dye
color bonding---and thus the resulting shade,
Yet anther difference is the slight pH alterations of the water used as a solvent to mix with the
concentrated fabric dye. If the pH of water is 6.835 in one batch of dye at time #1 and 6.775
with with the same batch of dye at time #2, then the ions in the clothing label acid dye will
bind slightly stronger or slightly weaker. The resultant shade will be a color very slightly off
from the original batch. This is an important limitation to keep in mind.
The only real solution is to utilize a physical sampling process, and when you are satisfied
with the color schemes and matching quality, then make a very large order---perhaps
substantial enough to cover your needs for years. If you don't plan on making any changes
to your label, this is definitely the most cost effective avenue.
However, if you need only a limited amount of garment labels of any one run, it is helpful to
relax the color requirements to a small range of shades---it's the fastest and least expensive
method.
Coloring of any textile is an area of great confusion and is oftentimes the source of an
apparel designer's stress. Either making large batch orders, or relaxing the color
requirements to a few similar shades makes the process less complicated and much more
cost effective.
The Science of Textile Color.
This article is a engineering resource that covers nut and bolts of color technology and
chemistry---amazing at it seems, color matching in any industry has a long way to go before
perfection is reached.
If you've chosen a set of Pantone colors or perhaps even sent a samples of previous fabric
label you already had made up, you may be suprised to find resulting shades of the new
delivery are slightly off. Understandably, you call up your clothing label supplier to try to find
out as to why your color selections was not to your expectations.
You are told that the label manufacturer makes every attempt to match and match colors, but
that it is very difficult to get a 100% exact match, especially with very deep shades or green,
blue, yellow, or red.. You are told that in order to get exact matches, a lengthy and
expensive physical sampling process must be employed---and even that is not guaranteed!
This brings up a very interesting question: Why can't technology present a perfect match the
first time? There are several very important reasons for this.
The first confounding element is the actual twist of the yarn. Is it S (counterclockwise) or Z
(clockwise)? Believe it or not, the twist direction of the yarn actually affects the ionic bonding
properties (the stickiness) of the dye---especially for synthetics.
Another factor to consider is the source of the yarns---if the threads are obtained from
different yarn suppliers---usually the cheapest wins out, as pricing is king in today's
environment. Did your last label have S or Z threads? This makes a big difference with dye
color bonding---and thus the resulting shade,
Yet anther difference is the slight pH alterations of the water used as a solvent to mix with the
concentrated fabric dye. If the pH of water is 6.835 in one batch of dye at time #1 and 6.775
with with the same batch of dye at time #2, then the ions in the clothing label acid dye will
bind slightly stronger or slightly weaker. The resultant shade will be a color very slightly off
from the original batch. This is an important limitation to keep in mind.
The only real solution is to utilize a physical sampling process, and when you are satisfied
with the color schemes and matching quality, then make a very large order---perhaps
substantial enough to cover your needs for years. If you don't plan on making any changes
to your label, this is definitely the most cost effective avenue.
However, if you need only a limited amount of garment labels of any one run, it is helpful to
relax the color requirements to a small range of shades---it's the fastest and least expensive
method.
Coloring of any textile is an area of great confusion and is oftentimes the source of an
apparel designer's stress. Either making large batch orders, or relaxing the color
requirements to a few similar shades makes the process less complicated and much more
cost effective.