News & Insights | Textile Industry

The importance of colour coordination in textile production

Published: August 19, 2023
Author: TEXTILE VALUE CHAIN

Since there are millions of different hues, accurate and reliable colour matching is essential for textile manufacturers who want to provide the precise shades as requested by customers. Depending on the lighting and individual perception, even slight colour differences can cause materials to appear completely different. To lessen faults, waste, and rework brought on by inaccurate colour, it is essential to implement strong colour evaluation methods using calibrated illumination. Booths for colour matching are an essential component of this procedure.

Colour Matching Booths can assist you in visualising how colours appear when light changes by simulating real-world lighting situations. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), such as the Colour Matching Booth that allows colour matching in accordance with international standards, help businesses to outperform rivals in terms of quality, efficiency, and customer happiness.

Using lamps that produce various forms of lights, the various lighting conditions in a colour matching booth are recreated. Examples of these light kinds include:

  1. Daylight (D65, D50): These lamps simulate outdoor light from the sun, and is perfect for testing any items which may be used and viewed outdoors
  2. Store Lighting (CWF, TL84, TL83, U30, U35, LEDs 3000K/4000K): By simulating typical retail store lighting conditions, it allows to judge the colour as it is seen by the customer while making the purchase
  3. Home Lighting (IncA): This lamp simulates a mixed environment of a home which includes changing light conditions

A crucial factor in colour matching is metamerism, the tendency of things to radically change their appearance when seen in different lighting situations. During the testing phase, IncA lamps aid in the detection of metamerism.

Three Factors which affect the Controlled Standardised Lighting Conditions:

  • Colour Temperature (Kelvin) – K : This denotes the colour or the colour appearance of the light lower colour temperature appear warmer like 2856K, 3000K and higher colour temperature looks cooler/bluer like 6500K
  • Lumens – lm / Lux Level: This denotes the brightness or intensity of the light. A higher lumen figure denotes brighter light.
  • Colour Rendering Index (CRI):  It’s a numerical value that denotes how well the colours are rendered by a lamp in comparison to a reference standard.  It is measure on index from 0-100.  100 being the exact match. For e.g. D-65 light has a CRI of 90+ whereas a Flourescent TL-84 has a CRI of 80.

The hue that a lamp will generate is determined by its Kelvin Temperature. The colour codes for various Kelvin temperatures are displayed in the chart below.

A lower kelvin temperature, high lumen output, and a CRI of at least 90 must be maintained to reproduce accurate and rich colours. The bottom line benefits from consistency and accuracy in colour, therefore textile manufacturers benefit greatly from investing in high-quality colour matching booths.

The majority of retailers are quickly switching over to LED lighting in their stores to benefit from its lower energy usage, cheaper maintenance requirements, and longer lifespan.

Textile companies must keep ahead of the curve as retail lighting transitions to LEDs. The way that colours are perceived is changing because to LED technology. Compared to wasteful fluorescent lights, LEDs provide better colour rendering and last longer. As can be seen in the image below, an LED lamp has a significantly better spectral colour distribution than a fluorescent lamp.

The latest LED POS booths from Paramount minimise problems like fringing while offering precise colour selection. All significant international standards, including ISO, ASTM, DIN, ANSI, and BIS Visual assessment requirements, are all met by their lamps. New LED colour matching technology from Paramount generates a profit through improved productivity, quality, and customer satisfaction.

To ensure that you and your supply chain reach the highest degree of colour accuracy, efficiency, and consistency, Paramount, via its decades of expertise, offers calibration certificates, service, and support on our Colour Matching Booths. Companies may maximise operational efficiency while unleashing the full power of their creative abilities with the help of the appropriate colour matching techniques and tools from Paramount.

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