How to Work to a Pantone Colour on Fabric
Most textile briefs name colours by their Pantone reference, and most colour disputes with a mill come from how that reference was chosen, checked and written down. This guide covers the habits that get a dyed colour right first time: the right library, the right light, a measurable tolerance and a clear specification.
Step by step
Use the textile library
Pantone TCX is formulated on cotton for fabric work. Paper libraries (C, U and TPG) are useful for design boards, but they are not production references for dyed fabric.
- Specify fabric colour in TCX
- Keep paper guides for early palette work
- See the TCX vs TPX vs TPG guide for the details
Learn how colour difference is measured
Delta E (ΔE) measures how different two colours look; lower is closer. CIEDE2000 is the formula most labs use, and it is calculated in LAB, the colour space dye houses work in.
- ΔE under 1: hard to see
- ΔE under 2: a common commercial tolerance
- Agree the tolerance with the mill before sampling
Control your lighting
The same fabric can look different under daylight, shop lighting and incandescent light (metamerism). Judge and approve colour under D65 daylight, the standard viewing light, and also check under the retail lighting if it matters for the product.
- D65 daylight for approvals
- A light booth removes most arguments
- Check under the store's light when it matters
Treat the physical chip as the reference
Screens emit light and fabric reflects it, so a monitor never shows a colour exactly as it will dye. Calibrate your monitor so your design stays consistent, but treat the physical Pantone chip as the true reference.
- Calibrate with a colorimeter
- Compare to the physical chip, not the screen
- Expect screen-to-fabric differences
Keep your working colours consistent
While designing, you need the exact values of every colour in your artwork so a palette stays the same across files and colourways. Texloom's colour tools give you LAB, RGB, CMYK and HEX values and the ΔE between any two colours. They do not identify Pantone colours: confirm the reference in Pantone Connect or a physical guide.
- Record LAB values next to each colour
- Use ΔE to check two versions of a colour
- Confirm the Pantone reference in Pantone Connect
Document the specification
Send the Pantone reference, not just a picture of the colour, together with your ΔE tolerance, the fabric (fibre, weight and finish) and any acceptable alternatives. A written spec turns approval into a measurement instead of an opinion.
- Reference + tolerance + fabric for every colour
- One master colour list per collection
- Ask for a lab dip before bulk
Common mistakes to avoid
Questions designers ask
Can Texloom tell me which Pantone colour my design uses?
No. Texloom does not contain Pantone colours. Use Pantone Connect or a physical Pantone guide to find or confirm a reference; Texloom gives you the exact values of your own colours.
What ΔE should I ask a mill for?
Under 2 is a common commercial tolerance for apparel and home textiles; colour-critical brand work often asks for under 1. Agree it before sampling.
See how far apart two colours really are
Texloom's Color Converter gives LAB values for any colour and shows the difference between two as ΔE, the measure mills use.
Open the Color Converter