Colour Palettes

Using the source of your colour inspiration, albeit a small piece of fabric, ribbon or lace or even a bit of fluff, we can create...

...colour accurate paper printed........

  • Palettes
  • Storyboards
  • Shade Variation cards
  • Shade standards
  • Recipe Cards

to your own design and specification or we can offer design options.

Palettes to your own design

Creating a colour palette using fabric is a task which is enormously costly, time-consuming, frustratingly fiddly and laborious.

  • Small lengths of fabric are required to be accurately dyed and finished for each colour.
  • These fabric lengths are cut into small squares for each of the shades on the palette.
  • These small squares are then glued, stuck or stapled onto the palette. This is repeated for each of copies of the palette.

There is an alternative...

At ColourMaster Images we can creatively produce bespoke, colour accurate, paper printed palettes.

  • Palettes can be created as plain chips, with fabric texture or as product.
  • Visually matched by a qualified textile colourist.
  • Choice of illuminant; TL84, D65, INC ‘A’, CWF or Tungsten.
  • Printed in a variety of sizes - A4, A3 or A2.

This is not a piece of fabric but is an image of fabric texture which can be used on our paper printed palettes.

Creative Palettes & Storyboards – can be as creative as your imagination

Palettes & storyboards can be created using images of product or using swatches with the aesthetic appearance of real fabric, with ‘pinked’ edges and shadow. We can integrate product, corporate identity, shade accurate colour chips, graphics and images, all on the same palette or storyboard.

Download PDFTimescale
  • For those requiring a full palette creation service, we will supply, at no extra cost, Shade Variation Cards (see below) with 5 variations from the matched shade.
  • This will help to determine the exact shade required on the palette quickly and efficiently. The designer should view the colours submitted in the same agreed viewing illuminant and conditions.
  • Dependant on the number of shades required a palette could be created in around two weeks, with the facility to make last minute amendments just prior to the printing deadline.
Benefits
  • No requirement to dye and finish small sample lengths of fabrics and to subsequently cut out numerous small fabric squares to attach to your palette design.
  • A quick and efficient service – a palette can be created in as little as two weeks.
  • Repeated print runs available if required as information is stored confidentially.
  • We supply additional products to support your palette including solid blocks of a single colour for distribution, cotton dye recipes and spectral data.

Our other colour services

Shade Variation Cards (SVC)

These cards can assist designers and trend forecasters to get exactly the shade required. We can shade match to the requested source prior to supplying a choice of alternative variations in increments of differing chroma, lightness & hue.

How it Works
  • Send the source shades.
  • Select the illuminant.

We place the source centrally on a Shade Variation Card prior to creating a choice of alternative versions in agreed increments of differing chroma, lightness & hue.

  • The example on the right has 48 different variations from the source but options can be created with less or more variations.
  • The subsequent variations, when selected, can be displayed on palettes or storyboards.

This process virtually guarantees the exact shade required will be amongst the options on the SVC.

  • All of the shades on the Variation Cards can be further supported by synthesised spectral data in 16, 31 or 40 points and cotton reactive dye recipes
  • For those requiring a full palette creation service, Shade Variation Cards with 5 variations from the matched shade are supplied at no cost.
  • This reduces the lead-time as it allows shades to be approved by our clients from the variations sent.

48 different variations from the central source in increments of differing chroma, lightness & hue.

Shade Variation Card with 5 variations from the matched shade can assist the palette creation lead-time

Shade Standards

Paper printed shade standards can be created to your design & specification.

Spectral data is available as 16, 31 or 40 points.

Fabric Recipes

We can supply synthesised cotton reactive dye recipes for any shade matched.

Recipes for other substrates could be available if interested please discuss.

These will give your manufacturers a guide to the best dye combination to minimise metamerism to the spectral data supplied.