3 steps to approving a lab dip

Plus a common mistake to avoid

If you’re designing non-printed clothing, you’ll want to approve a lab dip for color before you go into production or samples.  There are other websites that talk about what a lab dip is.  This post is about what to do when the lab dips your factory sent all look the same, and how to organize your comments and approvals so they’re easy to find later.

Here’s an easy three step process to approve your lab dips:

Step 1: Check them against your color standard.

Your color standard your Pantone, or a cutting of the swatch you sent your factory to match.

If you have a lightbox, use it.  If you don’t, check the dips under natural light and indoor light.  If possible, check the dips under daylight and double check under store light.  Colors can look different under different lights. 

Hold your color standard next to or on top of each dip and compare them one by one.  It’s likely they look very different when viewed next to your standard. 

Set aside any dips that are obviously bad matches.

Compare the rest of the dips side by side with your standard in between and rule out the worse matches one by one until you have your winner.

Step 2: Pick your favorite to approve, or if you have comments give them clearly. 

Pick from these options to comment on your lab dips:

Describe the color:

• Red

• Green

• Blue

• Yellow

Describe the saturation:

• Bright

• Dull

Describe the value:

• Dark

• Light

Describe how much:

• Slightly

• Much

Put it together:

• Ex:  “Dip 1 is best but is slightly too yellow and much too dull.”

Step 3: Send the factory your comments. 

Here’s the #1 mistake to avoid – sending your comments as text in the body of in an email.  This is a great way to find yourself spending half an hour searching your inbox to see if you approved that yellow lab dip. 

Organize your comments and use a chart (you can grab mine here) that you attach to your email.  That way, your comments are in one place you can easily find later.  A chart is the best and easiest way to track your comments and saves you and your factory time.

BONUS TIPS:

1. Don’t check color at the end of the day.  Your eyes are tired and your comments will be better in the morning. 

2. Avoid using percentages (i.e. “10% more yellow”).  Percentages sound precise but they’re actually very subjective and can cause confusion with your factory.

3. Avoid giving too much direction at once. In my experience, if you comment on more than two issues at a time the next lab dips don’t come in as well as when you only mention the two that bother you the most.

   For example, if the yellow lab dip you like best is much too dark, and much too blue, and slightly too dull, comment only the worst offenders.  You can say “Dip A is best but is much too dark and much too blue.” Even though you didn’t mention the dullness, chances are it will be fixed in the next round of dips.

4. Remember the big picture. The color of your fabric can change slightly going from dip to sample or bulk yardage, and from dye lot to dye lot. This is normal and small differences can’t be avoided.

   You might not mind that your blue lab dip has a little red in it, but if it was a little more red, would it start to look purple? If so, pick the option with less red in it.

   Make sure to factor in the rest of your line, too. You might not mind that your Charcoal is coming in a little dark, but how does it compare to your Black lab dips in the same style? Are they so close in color that there’s little difference between them, or would it be a problem if it came in darker in bulk? If so, make sure you pick the lighter Charcoal lab dip, or the darker Black lab dip.

   Remembering the bigger picture helps make sure you don’t approve something that’s going to become an issue later on.

5. Color can look very different under different lights. Be sure you’re using the different light options on your light box, or checking the dips under different lights you have available to you.

   Greens especially can change under different lights.  Ask me about the time I bought a straw colored pair of tights for my first day at a new job and ended up looking like the Grinch who stole Christmas in a pair of green tights that looked totally different under the office lighting. (Don’t worry, three years later the VP of design told me she still thinks about it.).

Need a hand tracking your lab dips?

Download my free lab dip tracking chart below!

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