dye lot
10 years ago No Comments

(pronounced DYE lot)

How do textiles get their colors” Through some sort of dying process: 1) dye the natural fiber, 2) dye the chemical solution that creates the synthetic fiber, 3) dye the yarn before weaving, 4) or dye the piece after it’s woven. Whatever. Well, as mass produced textiles are made over and over during the manufacturing process, they must be dyed in groups or “lots”.

Due to one thing or another, each dye lot may vary slightly in color. Why” 1) A new crop of natural fiber might have a slightly different molecular make-up that accepts a dye differently. 2) One of the chemicals in a dye’s recipe might be found to be dangerous, so it is discontinued. 3) The supplier of a particular organic dye might go broke so the manufacturer can’t get it anymore. 4) The worker might accidentally mix the chemical recipe slightly wrong. We could go on and on.

So, a “dye lot” is every bit of the textile (carpet, fabric, wallcovering, etc.) that is dyed (or printed with dyes) at the same time, in the same way. Since only so much quantity can be dyed at the same time, the manufacturer can only guarantee that the textile dyed at the same time will be exactly the same color. Therefore, if an absolute match is critical to the project, then request a cutting or sample from that exact dye lot.