Colour Measurement Solutions for the Textile Industry

From the very start of the design and specification process, colour measurement and colour data helps designers, brands, purchasers to clearly specify visual appearance as a set of coordinates with a globally accepted colour space. From here, a producer can utilise spectral data to more accurately match the requested colour of the customer and return a sample to the customer with more information about feasibility and reproducibility and issues like metamerism. Spectrophotometers with UV control provide vital information to ensure accurate absolute measurements on fabrics with optical brighteners.

By measuring a range of lab matches and production samples, customers and producers can define and agree tolerances for a target colour. This significantly reduces subjectivity in approval processes and ongoing quality control. While visual assessment remains an essential part of the process, reflecting how products are ultimately perceived by the end user, instrumental measurement provides a consistent, objective and internationally traceable reference point for all parties.

Best practice combines both approaches. Controlled viewing conditions are critical for reliable visual assessment, and light cabinets are widely used to ensure samples are evaluated consistently under defined and repeatable illuminants. This allows manufacturers to assess colour under multiple lighting conditions and identify issues such as metamerism or inconsistency before products reach the market.

With evolving industry standards and the transition away from fluorescent-based lighting due to regulatory changes, modern LED light cabinet technologies are increasingly being adopted. When combined with spectrophotometers and digital colour data, they enable a more robust and connected workflow. This links subjective visual approval with objective measurement, improving accuracy, reducing disputes and streamlining global colour communication.

For textile testing in a laboratory environment a spectrophotometer and digital colour data software solution simplifies the process of traceable before and after measurements, often with data points gathered over longer testing cycles, ensuring that the colour remains unaffected and uniform during its lifecycle. Here instrumental measurement can help generate actionable data in line with industry standards i.e. ISO105 Stain testing, Whiteness, Yellowness or any range of user generated indices.

Colour control is a vital tool in the textile industry, whether for garments where colour is often a primary attribute, or for other products such as carpets, leather upholstery, tarpaulins, sails, etc., where colour may be of secondary importance.

Colour data when integrated into development and QC helps producers to cost effectively produce products with a consistent appearance from batch to batch, from factory to factory or substrate to substrate.

This is important as customers perceive consistency as a sign of quality which improves the economic and perceptual value of products. Digital colour data helps organisations to repeatably, and cost effectively meet customer and consumer expectations of quality.

Colour data is also vital in reducing waste of time, resources and rejects, by agreeing specifications and measurement conditions digital standards and colour tolerances can help quality teams to quickly and empirically validate the colour of finished products, understanding and reporting any colour difference from the expected target no matter how small.

Konica Minolta has a global reach, with local sales and expertise to assist you in establishing a successful digital colour data system. Whether between supply chain partners, in development, in production or in QC, our teams can deliver a solution that meets your needs, and partner with you to scale that system as those requirements grow. Our solution is supported by a dedicated team experienced in installation, training, and customization of the solution to optimise your colour workflows.

Konica Minolta products are supported by an extensive network of authorised service facilities to ensure that your instrument is maintained, accurate, and traceable all year round.