CONCEPT 2 CONSUMER FROM AATCC

Maria C. Thiry, Features Editor, AATCC Review

In May of 2001, an exploratory meeting was held in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Many AATCC members indicated a strong interest in forming a retail-oriented committee. Key points explored at this meeting included the need to improve communications between manufacturers, designers, mass marketers, and retailers; the need to improve the usability and relevancy of test methods for retail users; and the need for technical education for designers and retailers.

Since then, the Concept 2 Consumer (C2C) committee has been busy working with other committees and organizations on a number of projects designed to define, educate, and communicate test methods and best practices to further its goals.

TEST METHODS

In a cooperative effort between the AATCC C2C committee and the ASTM committee D13 on Textiles, the committees formed a joint ASTM-AATCC task group to look into test method relevancy. The task group noted that retailers were asking for shorter testing turn times and also for some tests that were not official AATCC tests methods or ASTM standards.

The AATCC Technical Supplement contains two types of documents: actual procedures or guides and reference and information documents. The documents contained in the Technical Supplement are not meant to be formal AATCC test methods or official ASTM standards, but informal guides. Both AATCC and ASTM D13 committees will continue working on these guides and procedures to develop them into official ASTM and AATCC standards and methods. When this process is complete, the supplement will no longer be necessary.

COLOR MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK

AATCC’s Color Measurement and C2C committees have started an initiative called “The Color Management Handbook.” The handbook includes documentation of methods, procedures, and education.

The color handbook will attempt to explain and recommend procedures on several fronts. For example, the guide may define procedures for visual evaluation methods, illuminants, and proper measurement techniques. Submittal swatch size and content may be explored. Verbal color communication and terminology may also be addressed, as well as requirements for electronic submissions.

Because of the industry’s different preferences for certain variables, such as illuminants, it may not be possible to “standardize” every aspect of a procedure. However, the handbook can provide guidance for general procedures, and point out the differences in the variables that a user might choose. It may also steer users clear of impractical processes, such as viewing lab-dip submits by a window.

DIGITAL COLOR COMMUNICATION

The committee plans to develop a protocol to communicate color and business information between specifiers (i.e., designers or retailers) and suppliers. The protocol may take the form of something similar to the XML format utilized in the pattern-making industry to communicate specific points of measurement. C2C members representing specifiers, suppliers, and communication software systems have been solicited to participate in this subcommittee. The plan is to involve as many software suppliers as possible so that a common format can be agreed upon. By establishing an industry-defined protocol that is accessible to all, companies with different color communication software should have less trouble exchanging important data. It is anticipated that this work will eventually culminate in an international standard and will be addressed by ISO committee TC38/SC1/WG7 Textile Color Measurement.

BRIDGING THE GAP OF UNDERSTANDING

The need for color control procedures and education is prevalent. AATCC is in a unique position to bridge the gap of understanding between design and production, enabling us to find a common ground for color control without sacrificing our individual missions. We need to be able to accommodate the flexibility in product design that is mandated by retailers while still adhering to time and production restraints that enable us to deliver a quality product to the consumer. By working together as an industry, we can help define, educate, and communicate practices that will serve to support us and help us grow in the future.

For additional information about AATCC’s Concept 2 Consumer, please contact the Association’s executive director, John Y. Daniels; telephone 919-549-8141; e-mail danielsj@aatcc.org.

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