What a lab dip is and why it takes a week

What happens in a lab dip

The mill takes your colour reference — a Pantone TCX number, a physical swatch, or a garment — and works out a dye recipe for that specific fabric. The recipe depends on the fibre, the weave or knit, and the finishing, so the same Pantone number will need different recipes on cotton poplin and on linen.

The lab dyes a small piece, compares it to the standard under a light box, and adjusts. That iteration is why a week is normal and three days is optimistic.

How approval should work

• Ask for two or three alternatives when the shade is close but not exact.
• Approve under D65 or a stated light source, not office lighting.
• Keep the approved dip physically, signed and dated.
• Note the acceptable tolerance in writing — for example, a rating of 4–5 on the grey scale.

What goes wrong

• Approving on screen. Monitors lie; the fabric does not.
• Approving on a different fabric from the bulk.
• Ignoring metamerism — the shade matches under one light and not another.
• Losing the approved dip, so the bulk argument has no reference.

How to speed it up

Send a physical reference, not just a number. Give the mill the finishing that will be applied, because finishing shifts shade. And decide quickly when the dip arrives — most of the delay is usually on the buyer’s side, not the lab’s.

FAQ