Like you, digitization and sustainability are top of mind. However, colour is often overlooked when it comes to textile product development. Digitizing the textile supply chain and applying colour management at each stage will ultimately pay for itself through more accurate colour, faster production, and less waste.
With over 60 years of innovation and proven expertise in colour management and colour measurement, X-Rite has solutions to support everyone in the textile industry, including apparel brands, dye houses, textile vendors, and digital textile printers, to ensure colour accuracy and colour quality are upheld from concept to store, accurately and efficiently.
Devices for Textile Colour Measurement
Choosing a colour measurement device that could be easily used throughout the measurement process to confirm colour accuracy at all stages of production to avoid rejects and rework can be confusing. At ITME 2022, we showcased the following spectrophotometers for textiles.
- Sphere Benchtop Spectrophotometers like Ci7800 can measure opaque, translucent, and transparent samples. Embedded NetProfiler status lights verify the device is optimized for measurement performance. This series also pairs with X-Rite formulation, quality control, and quality assurance software to accurately formulate, verify measurement details, pinpoint issues, and optimize device performance.
- Sphere Handheld Spectrophotometers like Ci60 Series which are portable devices to take quick measurements and compare to tolerances at any stage of production. The Ci64 is our ultimate handheld for precise and consistent colour control instruments. It is available in multiple configurations with simultaneous SPIN/SPEX, correlated gloss, and a UV option to accurately measure uneven surfaces on a variety of products and packaging types.
- Compact Inline Spectrophotometer like the ERX130, which is a non-contact inline spectrophotometer designed to take reflectance measurements on homogeneous, structured, and small patterned samples. When mounted on a traversing beam, it moves back and forth to monitor colour throughout production and alert the operator of a shift before it is visible to the human eye.
Software for Textile Colour Control
- Formulation Software like Color iMatch uses multi-flux technology to intelligently process colour data and provide optimal initial colour matches to reduce wasteful formulation attempts. Color iMatch can streamline complicated workflows, improve formulation efficiency, and reduce wasted time and materials to return your investment quickly.
- Quality Control Software like Color iQC to quickly identify whether a sample is within tolerance, and if not, provides direct feedback to get it on target. It includes process and material templates that contain pre-defined standards, tolerances, and settings for instrument calibration and measurement modes to ensure correct colour measurement practices, regardless of location or software configuration.
- Inline Quality Control Software like ESWin CLCC, which connects with an inline spectrophotometer to monitor colour consistency and provide actionable guidance so operators can make immediate corrections without stopping production.
Light Booth for Textile Visual Evaluation
- A lightbooth like SpectraLight QC, which offers 7 light sources including dimmable filtered-tungsten halogen daylight (class A) and optional LED, this top-of-the line light booth provides the most accurate daylight simulation available for optimum visual assessment under all relevant lighting conditions. When used to evaluate colour during design, specification, pre-production, production, and quality assurance, the SpectraLight QC can reduce waste due to rejects and rework, shorten time to market, and improve overall product quality.
- Hanging luminaires that feature SpectraLight QC bulbs can be hung over a visual evaluation table and provide standardized lighting to evaluate textile colour palettes, fabric rolls, multiple garments, and cut and sew pieces. Learn more in this application brief.
Learn More About Digital Colour for Textiles
To learn more about how to optimize a traditional textile and fabric workflow with digital colour solutions:
- Visit our Textile Industry page to learn which solutions you need to digitize your textile workflow.
- Download this free whitepaper for useful tips and industry best practices to keep up with customer trends, maintain costs, and allow for sustainable practices.
- Read this application brief to learn how to apply digital tools to a textile workflow.
- Watch this on-demand webinar to learn tools and strategies to advance your color program and get apparel to market faster.
- Fill out the form and someone will be in touch to answer your questions and help you choose the right solutions for your textile colour measurement needs.
