PATCH WITH COLORS IDENTICAL TO THE CUSTOMER’S FABRIC

Customer’s needs or problems

The customer asked us to produce a fine leather accessory with embossing, to be used on some of his garments that are already in production. He wanted the accessory to be just the same color as the garment to which it is applied, creating a minimal impact with a tone-on-tone effect. The garments have been made in a variety of colors, in delicate pastel shades.

Aim

To achieve a completely faithful color match that will never vary over time or in later production runs.

Context

Large-sized luxury Italian company

Challenges and obstacles

The main problem is related to the fact that those certified tanneries that supply the basic leather for embossing cannot ensure that the color will remain exactly the same between production runs using the same leather. Leather by its very nature is an organic, non-chemical material and therefore subject to variation, so there is no guarantee that the color or dye chosen for the leather will always be identical to that of the previous or following batch. So we had to find a way to print the same color without changing the “finish” of the resulting accessory.

Solution adopted

The leather chosen had to have the same finish so serigraph printing, which is accurate in terms of color but opaque, was not a viable option. Since the type of leather chosen by the customer was not white, we had to adjust the colors to fit the result we wanted to achieved. We had to subtract the shade of the leather from the color used for printing in order to obtain the perfect result. A very precise “recipe” was then created using magenta, cyan, yellow and black. This basic recipe will be used, with possible adjustments, in any subsequent production.

Why

As serigraph printing had to be excluded, we chose digital printing instead. The first sample approved by the customer served as the yardstick for all subsequent reprints, which will be tested, checked and approved before being produced.

Result

The color of the accessories we produced is identical to that of the customer’s garments, so the patch “blends in” perfectly with the item to which it is applied.

Impact

The customer expressed his satisfaction with the accurate color of the accessories, and subsequently decided to extend the range of colors.