In the World of Color, Precision Matters More Than You Think! From smartphones and automobiles to architecture, home appliances, and medical equipment, color, material, and finish (CMF) design plays a crucial role in shaping our visual experiences. In industrial manufacturing, ensuring color consistency and stability is essential, as it directly impacts brand identity, product quality, and consumer purchasing decisions. But did you know? The same color can appear drastically different under different lighting conditions! This is why color standardization and precise control are critical in industrial design, brand marketing, and manufacturing processes. This necessity is at the heart of both RAL color standards and CMF design principles. As globally renowned color scientist Professor Ronnier Luo famously stated, "In our industry, color is everything." This statement is not just a motto for designers but a fundamental truth for all professionals involved in color management. How can we ensure that colors remain accurate and consistent across different lighting environments? A perfectly matched color in the lab might look completely different under store lighting, daylight, or office illumination, potentially leading to inconsistencies in product appearance and market perception. Addressing this challenge is the driving force behind advancements in color science—and the key topic…

Abstract A colour rendition chart, named Preferred Memory Colour Chart (PMCC), has been produced. It includes 30 colours, diving into three groups: preferred memory colours, reference colour gamut and a grey sale. The methods to derive these colours and the colour specification of each colour were covered. Its applications were also introduced. 1.Introduction XRite ColorChecker chart (XCCC) [1], which has been widely used in imaging industry for five decades, as a colour reproduction target. It has been widely used to build colour correction metric for cameras under different illuminants, to check the fidelity against the image on displays. The chart has been widely used for evaluating cameras’ quality in terms of colour accuracy, white balance, tonal response, noise or signal to noise ratio (SNR), etc. It also includes some memory colours, by reproducing the measurement results of some familiar objects. It can be concluded it has been widely used to achieve successful colour reproduction. However, it has been realised that users are more appreciate pleasing images rather than accurate images. Hence, Hunt [2] differentiate the fidelity against preferred colour reproductions. Preferred Memory Colour Chart (PMCC) as shown in Fig. 1 was intended to provide a tool for evaluating the device…

Color Inspiration at a Design-Driven Brand According to Yun Chen, choosing colors is like exploring a “lonely, uncharted wilderness.” [5] It is up to a designer’s talent and vision to select a collection of colors to represent the aesthetic of a design concept. Some designers see new colors clearly in their mind’s eye and need a way to document them. Others go exploring in stores, galleries. This textile series will share technical insights and wisdom of AATCC members. The "Second C" series will focus on color. If you wish to contribute your own technical insights on topics of interest to AATCC members, contact Communications Director, Maria Thiry; Technical Insight or anyplace likely to spark their imagination. They don’t know what they want, but they’ll “know it when they see it.” [6] In either case, color designers must rely on “found objects” to represent the colors that they want. This is no mean feat, since it is estimated that there are between 1.5 and 2 million distinguishable colors that can be represented on textiles. [7] Found objects fall into two classes: 1) color reference sets and 2) colors artifacts (also known as cuttings, swatches, etc.). [8] Color reference sets are large collections…

The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) is an industry advocacy group focusing on the effective application of color and functional finishes on textiles.  Textiles are used in many sectors including transportation, military/government, industrial, medical/ healthcare, sports/fitness, and fashion, thus the business and end-use requirements vary widely. As we see rapid changes in global business, AATCC “continues to evolve to meet the needs of those in  the ever-changing textile, apparel, and materials industries.” [1] The textile, apparel, and materials industries are huge. The global apparel retail market drives about US$1.8 trillion in revenue. [2] Textile mills and apparel factories create another US$1.9 trillion in global revenue. [3] And these numbers grow every year. The “Second C” in AATCC is for Colorists. This series of articles will deal with color in the apparel industry, focusing primarily on apparel brands, since that is where color specifications start. Additionally, we will see how practices emanating from brand color offices impact mills and garment factories. The Purpose of the Second C The Second C is a practical guide to assist colorists. The intention is not to present novel academic research or use big words. Rather, over the coming year, I will discuss…