Assessing color gamut of reactive dyes on digitally printed cotton fabric using spectrometer and Photoshop evaluations

The purpose of this paper is to assess the printable color gamut of reactive dyes on digitally printed cotton fabric. Technical literature suggests that multiple outcomes can occur if the same image is printed using different printers with the same fabric and inks. Two objectives focused on the gamut and ways to obtain CIEL*a*b* readings on fabric. They are as follows: 1) Assessing how the printable color gamut changes through stages from printing to steaming compared to a standard for digitally printed fabric. 2) Comparing evaluation of color measurement using a standard spectrometer method and the Photoshop difference tool method. A population of sixteen university and company digital printers for fabric was used. The results were consistent with previous findings that printable gamuts differed by printers. The Photoshop method was ineffective in displaying accurate repeatable readings