When we make custom apparel one of the most important things is getting the colour right. Your colours represent your brand and they need to be consistent. That is why we use Pantone.
What is Pantone
Pantone is basically the universal language for colour. Instead of trying to explain “a soft olive green with a bit of grey” you can just say the Pantone code and everyone knows the exact shade you are talking about. It makes communication with our dye houses and printers so much easier and avoids mistakes.
There are a few different Pantone systems but the ones you will most often see in fashion are:
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TCX which is fabric based and used for clothing and textiles
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TPG which is paper based and mostly used for design work or graphics
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TPX which was the old version of TPG and has now been updated
Why We Use TCX
TCX is made for fabric which makes it perfect for fashion. The swatches are dyed onto cotton so what you see is how the colour looks on actual material. That is really important because paper never shows colour the same way fabric does.
When we use TCX it means our partners in Vietnam and Bangladesh are matching your colour to real fabric not to a piece of paper. It gives a much more accurate result when we go into production.
How It Works With Our Made to Order Service
Here is the simple process we follow with your custom order:
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You pick your colour using a Pantone TCX code
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We dye a small piece of fabric in that colour called a lab dip and send it to you for approval
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Once you are happy with the sample we move forward with bulk production
This way you know exactly what to expect and your order arrives in the colour you approved.
Why Not TPG or TPX
You might see Pantone codes ending in TPG or TPX. Those are paper systems. They are handy for early design stages or mood boards but they do not work for fabric dyeing. Fabric absorbs and reflects light differently so the colour always changes.
That is why we always use TCX for clothing. It is the most reliable system for getting accurate results in production.
Colour Your Way
We believe colour should be an option not a limitation. With Pantone TCX you can choose from thousands of shades and bring your exact vision to life. And because we always send a sample first you can feel confident your colour will turn out just the way you imagined.
Check out more here on the Pantone Website