DK Company Fashion Group Saves Time and Money with Color Management

First Challenge: Consistent Colors

Even though suppliers were using the correct color codes to submit lab dipped samples, the batches still exhibited differences, so DK Company recalled the physical standards being used by their dye houses to measure each for accuracy. A Datacolor 500 spectrophotometer revealed significant variations between copies of the same color standards. 

“You can imagine how frustrating it was for the designers to discover this,” says Hall. “You believe you are doing everything right, following the standards, using a lightbox to evaluate color, but still getting inconsistent results. To find this variation was unacceptable for them.”

Next, DK Company did a close inspection of samples that had been sent to Denmark for approval from the dye labs. Again, using a spectrophotometer, they uncovered that 95% of the samples had been cut from the same batch. Prior to this revelation, a great deal of time and effort was spent choosing the “best” sample because designers believed they were seeing 4 different dips, not realizing they had come from the same formulation.

“This was a combined case of cutting corners and miscommunication on both sides, but it was a problem that needed to be addressed,” explains Hall. “The best solution is good specification, good procedures and good communication.”

Second Challenge: Reduce Costs

Across all of DK Company’s brands, approximately 700 different colors are routinely used. Fees for physical standards are high and purchasing enough standards for each of their dye labs was cost prohibitive. QTX files could reduce the cost of physically communicating color. 

There was also an opportunity to nearly eliminate the high cost associated with shipping samples to Denmark via DHL. Sometimes samples were sent to HQ for designer evaluation 2 or 3 times before the color was accepted. Although some may feel this is simply the price of doing business, the team knew they could do better. 

Measuring for Success

The first order of business was to eliminate the use of physical standards as a means of communicating color to the dye labs.

With the help of a Datacolor Spectro 500 benchtop spectrophotometer, DK Company Vejle was able to shift to using QTX files that could be digitally communicated to the labs via Datacolor TOOLS software.

The Results:

• Eliminated the cost of providing physical standards to hundreds of factories and dye labs
• Eliminated the occurrence of off colors caused by inconsistencies in the physical standards
• Improved communication between designers, dye labs, textile mills and technical offices

Empowering Employees

The next step was to empower a key employee at each of DK Company’s technical offices, starting with their Bangladesh location and eventually implementing this practice at their Turkish and Chinese offices as well.

Because the key person is close to the dye lab locations, he or she can more easily communicate requirements and expectations than the designers in Denmark, plus they are more in-tune with and have a better understanding of the processes at the dye houses.

This one employee would also be trained to use a spectrophotometer and Datacolor TOOLS to ensure objective analysis, reporting, communication and visualization of accurate color results between the technical offices and the dye labs.

The Results:

• Time to market reduced by 10-15 days because physical samples are no longer sent multiple times to Denmark for approval
• Reduced miscommunication between designers and dye houses
• Money saved by eliminating shipping thousands of dyed samples to Denmark for approval each year

Higher Approval Rates

The last step was setting a goal to reduce the acceptable level of variation between standards and the final color. With the help of Datacolor’s color management solutions, DK Company Vejle now successfully and consistently meets a DE of <1.5. 

To further ensure smooth final approval, the key employee at the Bangladeshi, Turkish and Chinese technical offices now utilize a Datacolor Check3 handheld spectrophotometer for inspections when they visit the dye houses.

Thanks to excellent inter-instrument agreement between the Datacolor 500 spectrophotometer and Check3, each handheld is equipped with all the spectral data that the Datacolor 500 previously measured in order to establish the new minimum pass/fail DE. 

The Results:

• 75% of samples are approved the first time and the rate increases to 90%-95% with a second trial. This massive improvement was already reached within the first 6 months after a factory implemented digital color management.