Colour Accuracy in Custom Silk Printing: What Designers Need to Know Before Production

Colour is often the most important part of a silk scarf design. It sets the mood, carries the identity and decides the final impact. Getting it right on silk takes a little more care than getting it right on screen.

Why does colour look different on silk?

A screen emits light. Silk reflects it. And unlike paper, where ink sits on the surface, silk is a natural fibre that takes dye into itself. The final colour is shaped by the cloth as well as by the artwork.

Small things play a part: the batch of silk, how it was prepared, and the temperature and humidity on the day of printing. Most of the time the effect is slight. When a design depends on one very specific tone, it becomes easier to see.

Which Pantone system should I use?

Pantone TCX. Many designers work in Pantone C, the coated system, which is made for printing on coated paper. Applied to silk, those colours can shift, sometimes noticeably.

Pantone TCX is made for textiles. Its swatches are dyed cotton, which is a far closer guide to how a colour will look on fabric. TCX does not guarantee a perfect match on silk, and silk usually looks a little richer than the swatch, but it makes the result much more predictable.

Why is grey the hardest colour to get right?

Grey is not a single colour. It is a balance of several dyes, and a very small shift in that balance changes it. A touch more red and it feels warmer. A touch more blue and it feels cooler. Neutral tones are also where the eye notices change most.

Deep colours are far more stable. Black, navy and rich saturated tones hold their consistency reliably. Designs with strong contrast and clear colour areas are the most forgiving, and often look richer on silk than on screen. Very pale tones, precise neutrals and extremely subtle gradients need a little more flexibility in what you expect.

How do I match a brand or signature colour?

The Custom Studio gives you two choices under Colour.

• Print from artwork. Your artwork is printed as supplied. This suits illustrations, photographs, gradients and multi-colour designs.
• Match a specific colour. For a critical brand, logo or signature colour, give us the Pantone TCX reference. We print colour variations on silk and you approve one before production. A small extra charge applies.

A digital print gets very close to a reference but cannot promise an exact spot-colour match. Our guide to digital vs screen printing explains why.

Should I order a finished sample?

If colour matters a great deal, yes. A finished sample is one complete scarf in your silk and finish, so you can judge the colour on the real thing. We print two and keep one as the colour reference for your production run. A sample is optional and takes 4 to 5 weeks.

Will the production run match the sample exactly?

Very closely. A sample is made at one moment on one batch of silk, and a later run can differ slightly within normal tolerances. This is true of all textile printing. For most designs the difference is barely noticeable. With greys and pale neutrals it can be a little more visible, even when the printing is technically correct.

The projects that go best are the ones that allow for this. Silk is a natural material, not a perfectly controlled surface, and that is part of its character.

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Ready to start? Choose your size, silk and finish, select colour matching if you need it, and see your price straight away. Start your scarf in the Custom Studio →

Unsure whether your colours will hold? Email your artwork to support@lovesilk.co.nz and ask.

Frequently asked questions

Can you match an exact Pantone colour on silk?

Very closely. Give us a Pantone TCX reference and we print colour variations on silk for your approval. An exact spot-colour match is not guaranteed with digital printing.

What is the difference between Pantone TCX and Pantone C?

Pantone TCX is the textile system, with swatches dyed on cotton. Pantone C is for coated paper and gives a different colour on fabric.

Why does my design look different on silk than on screen?

A screen emits light and silk reflects it. Silk also absorbs dye into the fibre, so colours often look richer and slightly different from the file.

Which colours are hardest to print on silk?

Greys, pale neutrals and very subtle gradients. Deep and saturated colours are the most reliable.

Does colour matching cost extra?

Yes, a small extra charge applies, shown in the Custom Studio before you order.

Related reading: The complete guide to ordering custom silk scarves in New Zealand · Designing for silk · How to prepare your artwork file · Choosing a border and hem colour