Publish Time: 2026-09-22 Origin: Site
A size run that arrives in three slightly different shades is not a manufacturing accident — it is the predictable result of the sizes being dyed or printed in separate batches. One dye lot colour consistency means the whole order, every size and every reorder, comes from a single colour reference and a single production batch.
Colour variation clothing is one of the most common complaints in custom apparel, and it is also one of the most preventable. This page explains where colour drift actually comes from, what Pantone matching can and cannot promise, and the four controls that keep a range matching after the tenth wash.
In short: a dye lot is one batch of fabric dyed together in the same bath. If a size run is made from several dye lots, the shades will differ slightly and the difference becomes obvious when the sizes sit next to each other. Running one dye lot per order removes that variable entirely.
Fabric colour is not a fixed property of a fibre. It is the result of a specific batch of fabric passing through a specific dye bath, under a specific set of conditions, on a specific day.
A dye lot — also called a dye batch or a dye run — is that batch. Every metre of fabric dyed in the same bath shares the same chemistry, the same temperature curve and the same timing, and therefore lands on the same shade. Fabric from a different bath is a different dye lot, even when the recipe is identical.
Two consequences follow, and they explain almost every colour complaint in custom apparel:
Dye lots are also a real limitation of the trade, not a shortcut. A mill dyes in batches of a fixed size because the machinery has a capacity, and fabric from two batches will never be a mathematical match. The control is not to eliminate variation; it is to make sure variation never appears within one order.
The mechanism is worth understanding, because it tells you what to ask about.
Separate production for separate sizes. If a size run is cut across several fabric rolls that came from different dye lots, the small sizes can come off one lot and the large sizes off another. On the rack, the XS and the XXL are visibly different garments.
Replenishment from new fabric. A top-up ordered months later is dyed from a new bath, using a recipe matched against a reference that may be a photograph, a memory or a Pantone number. Each of those references carries its own error.
Substrate differences. Colour behaves differently on different fabric constructions. The same Pantone reference sits differently on a 140 gsm jersey and a 320 gsm fleece, and differently again on a woven versus a knit. A range that mixes constructions cannot be matched by number alone.
Decoration stacking. Where a garment carries a sublimated panel and an embroidered mark, the panel colour is set by the print and the mark colour by the thread. The two are produced by different processes and have to be matched to each other, not just to a swatch.
Light. A shop floor with mixed lighting hides variation that daylight exposes. Two garments that match under warm store lighting can look different at the door — see the metamerism note below.
Not all colour differences cost the same. These are the places where a half-shade gap turns into a complaint. Every one of them bites harder on a uniform or workwear programme, where garments are reordered for years and the second order is compared directly against the first.
| Garment or situation | Why it shows |
|---|---|
| Team kit in a photograph | Team photos put ten to twenty garments in one frame, side by side, under identical light |
| Uniform programme across sites | Wearers from two sites meet in the same room; the difference reads as two different uniforms |
| A mixed size run on one wearer's rail | The sizes are hanging in sequence, which is the worst case for spotting drift |
| Light-coloured garments | White and light shades show a shade difference that a navy or a black absorbs |
| Garments that mix constructions | A polyester polo and a cotton-blend shirt in the same colourway will never be a perfect match |
| Sublimated and dyed pieces in one order | Print colour and dye colour are set by different processes |
| Repeat orders | The second order is compared directly with the first, by people who own both |
The reference is the whole control: a number, a swatch and a retained approved piece, all pointing at the same target.
Pantone matching apparel is the standard route, and it is worth being precise about what it delivers.
What it can do. A Pantone reference gives the mill and the printer a numerically defined target instead of a verbal one. It removes the argument about whether the colour is "close enough" and it makes a reorder repeatable. If you have a brand colour, send the Pantone number and a physical swatch.
What it cannot do. A Pantone number is a target, not a guarantee, for three reasons:
The practical answer is a lab dip: the mill dyes a small piece to your reference and sends it for approval before the bulk fabric is dyed. Approving a lab dip converts an abstract number into a checkable object, and it costs a fraction of a wrong bulk run. Where a range spans several substrates, that reference work belongs before the quote rather than after it - the same principle that sits behind our cost breakdown.
These are the controls we apply on every order, and they are the same four to ask any supplier about.
1. One dye lot per order. The whole order is produced from a single batch, so the size run matches itself. This is the control that matters most, and it is the one to ask about explicitly. A supplier who cuts a 400-piece programme across three fabric batches has already created the problem.
2. An approved reference kept on file. The lab dip or the approved sample stays with the order record. A reorder is then matched against the object that was approved, not against a photograph of a garment that has been worn and washed for a year.
3. No silent fabric substitution. Cheaper fabric appears constantly in sourcing. Changing the base fabric changes the shade, the drape and the hand feel at once, so on a uniform or teamwear programme it is immediately visible. The specification holds unless the buyer asks for a change.
4. Test under the right light. Approve the shade under the light the garment will actually live in — daylight for outdoor programmes, and the store's own lighting for retail. Where a programme is large, ask for the swatches to be assessed side by side rather than one at a time, because the eye detects a difference between two objects far better than it detects an absolute error in one.
There is a specific failure worth knowing about, because it is the one that makes people think a supplier has lied.
Metamerism is when two colours match under one light source and differ under another. It happens because different colorants reflect light differently across the spectrum. Two fabrics can be engineered to the same Pantone reference and still diverge the moment the light changes — matching under the fitting-room lighting and separating on the pavement outside.
Two practical implications:
It also means a photograph of a colour is close to useless as a production reference. Screens render colour differently from each other, and a photo carries the light it was taken in. If you cannot send a physical swatch, send the Pantone number; if you can send both, send both.
Matching the shade is half the job. Keeping it through the wash cycle is the other half, and for uniforms and hospitality wear it is the half that gets tested weekly.
Two things matter:
Shade retention. Colour can shift as a garment is washed — some of it is dye that was never properly fixed, and some is a natural movement over repeated cycles. This is why an approved sample looks right on delivery and a well-worn garment sometimes does not.
Staining. Colour can transfer from one part of a garment to another, or onto whatever it is washed with. This is checked with a white cloth held against the fabric under heat and moisture and then assessed for staining, which is the same test we run on incoming fabric before cutting.
We test fabric for colour fastness against washing, rubbing, perspiration and water before it is cut, alongside appearance, weight tolerance, width, skew, shrinkage, tearing strength and abrasion. The garments this protects most are the ones buyers reorder for years: a work shirt, an enterprise polo, a tunic for a hospitality team. The two numbers worth carrying into a brief: shrinkage above 1% fails, and weight is held to a ±5% tolerance — because a garment that moves after the first wash also changes how the colour reads on the body.
Shade and fastness are checked on the fabric, before cutting - the two failure modes have different cures.
Colour matching starts with the reference, and more reference is always better than less.
If a match has to be a very close one — a branded colourway, a national team identity, a licensed range — say so at the start. Getting a reference fixed before production costs a lab dip; discovering a mismatch after production costs the run. Anything outside a standard brief goes through the same route as our other custom requirements.
Where a range mixes printed and dyed pieces, the two colour systems have to be matched to each other.
Yinshan Sportswear has been producing custom sportswear and teamwear since 1986.
MOQ is confirmed per style and decoration rather than against a flat number — most styles start from 5 pieces, and the figure moves with the fabric, the construction and the number of decoration positions. How the sample approval and the size split are handled is set out on the MOQ and sampling page.
What does one dye lot mean?
One dye lot is one batch of fabric dyed together in the same bath. Fabric from the same bath shares the same shade; fabric from a different bath is a different dye lot even when the recipe matches. Running one dye lot per order means every size in the order is the same shade.
Why do my sizes look slightly different in colour?
Almost always because the size run was cut across more than one dye lot, or because part of the order was replenished from later fabric. The shades are individually acceptable and the difference only becomes visible when the sizes sit side by side.
Can you match an exact Pantone colour?
We match against the Pantone reference you send, and we confirm it on a lab dip or a sample before bulk. A Pantone chip is printed on paper and your garment is dyed on fabric, and every dye bath lands within a tolerance, so the honest answer is a close match confirmed on a physical sample rather than a mathematical identity.
What is the difference between a lab dip and a sample?
A lab dip is a small piece of fabric dyed to your reference, used to approve the colour before the bulk fabric is dyed. A pre-production sample is the finished garment, which confirms the colour together with the fit and the decoration. They check different things and both are worth doing.
Why does a colour match inside and look different outside?
That is metamerism — two colours engineered to the same reference reflecting light differently under a different light source. It is most common when a range mixes printed and dyed components, and the fix is to approve the shade under lighting close to where the garment will be worn.
How do you keep a reorder matching the original order?
We keep the approved colour reference and the specification on file, produce one dye lot per order, and hold the fabric specification unless you ask for a change. The reorder is matched against the approved reference rather than against a photograph.
Does decoration change the shade?
It can. Sublimated print colour and dyed fabric colour are set by different processes, and a garment carrying both has to be matched across the two. Send the thread and print colours with the fabric reference so they are decided together.
Send the Pantone reference if you have one, plus a physical swatch or the garment you are matching, and tell us where the range will be seen and which substrates are in it. We will confirm the reference on a sample, keep it on file, and run the order from a single dye lot.
Buying custom rather than ready stock? Send your garment list, size curve and delivery date through our contact page. Colour sits alongside two other specification decisions worth settling early — the performance fabric and the decoration method — and the questions buyers ask most often are on our FAQs page.