Swatch Measurement Trouble Shooting
If you have measured any of our Pantone Fashion, Home + Interiors Polyester or Nylon Swatches and are getting color data that looks incorrect, Pantone recommends following the above steps first. If your color still seems to have issues upon completion of the above, please note:
- Make sure you are looking at a full 4”x4” Pantone Swatch Card with the fabric still intact to the card stock. Pantone Swatch cards are created with double-layered, un-backed fabric on a non-optically brightened paper card to the most exacting color specifications. Evaluating color without ample surface area can limit the overall visual analysis and spectral readings.
- Make sure your swatches are purchased directly from Pantone or a Pantone Authorized Dealer in order to ensure their authenticity and freshness. Purchase swatches here or locate a dealer near you: pantone.com/find-a-dealer.
- If your color looks off or incorrect, this can be due to the age of the fabric after receipt and how it was stored. Exposure to light and excessive heat will accelerate the aging process and alter the color’s appearance.
- If your color measurement is incorrect, please contact Pantone and email the spectral reading for review at pantoneorders@pantone.com
Spectral Data and Digital Color Communication
For those who require digital color information, Pantone also offers spectral data for all our Swatch Card colors. Using a Swatch Card in tandem with spectral data helps to reduce metamerism and provides the most accurate standard combination for multiple-vendor production of garments and home furnishings products. Spectral data also allows users to create a permanent digital library of color standards that will not fade or age and communicate Pantone Colors electronically. The data is available as a download or through Pantone Licensees.
How to ensure you are producing the best color the most accurately and efficiently:
- Use the recommended dyes from our dyestuff partners (pantone.com/dyestuff-formulations).
- Use the Pantone Spectral Data.
- Evaluate color properly using both a digital measurement and a visual assessment to an official 4" x 4" Pantone Swatch Card.
Dyestuff Color Matching for Polyester and Nylon standards
As a part of our formulation process, Pantone and our partners carefully selected dyestuff combinations for each color that provide excellent lightfastness, as well as durability to washing, dry cleaning, and wear*. Every recipe was selected to meet typical garment fastness requirements and customer expectations. In addition, our dyestuff partners offer online color matching services, in-plant technical support for color matching, and spectral data for each Pantone Color to minimize the color development timeline.
ONLINE COLOR MATCHING AND 24/7 TECHNICAL SUPPORT for Polyester and Nylon Standards
To help ensure our customers find the appropriate dyestuff recipes to match Pantone Colors, Pantone and its partners have created matchpantonecolors.com. The website provides users with any desired fabric**. Though other dyestuff suppliers can match Pantone Colors, using a formulation directly from Pantone partners ensures the best match with the lowest metamerism in the shortest amount of time. This quickly translates into lower cost and a much faster development cycle. Users of matchpantonecolors.com can also find educational articles regarding color and product development, as well as helpful tips for color control and communication.
Environmental policies and regulations are not the same in every geographical region. If a color’s recipe contains dyestuffs that cannot be sold due to environmental restrictions, matching the color can be quite a challenge. To ensure that all Pantone Polyester and Nylon Colors are reproducible by your favorite mill or vendor, we use only globally available, approved dyestuffs to create our formulations.