Color is one of the most common sources of production disputes. A brand specifies "navy blue" — the factory interprets it one way, the dye house another, and the final garment arrives in a shade that looks nothing like what was approved. The solution is a shared reference that everyone in the supply chain understands: Pantone TCX.
TCX stands for Textile Cotton eXtended. It's part of the Pantone Fashion, Home + Interiors (FHI) system, and it's specifically calibrated for color on cotton fabric — not on coated paper, not on screen, not on plastic. The physical color chips are produced on cotton, which means the reference matches the substrate you're actually dyeing.
Always specify color with a Pantone TCX reference number in your tech pack — never just a color name or a hex code. A name is subjective. A Pantone number is a contract.
TCX vs TPX vs TPG — what's the difference
TCX (Textile Cotton eXtended) — color chips on cotton. The correct reference for dyeing cotton jersey and most woven fabrics. This is what you want for t-shirts.
TPX (Textile Paper eXtended) — color chips on paper. Used for paper-based applications and some printed materials. Not suitable for fabric dyeing references.
TPG (Textile Paper — Graphite) — the newer replacement for TPX in some Pantone books. Still paper-based, not ideal for fabric.
For garment production in cotton jersey, always use TCX. Your dye house will use the physical cotton chip as their reference — if you give them a TPX number, they have to convert it, which introduces interpretation error.
How to use Pantone TCX in your tech pack
| Field | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Color name | Fiesta | Descriptive reference only |
| Pantone reference | 18-1660 TCX | The binding spec — always include |
| Tolerance | ±0.5 ΔE | Acceptable color deviation at lab dip stage |
| Lab dip required | Yes | Factory submits dyed swatch for approval before bulk |
| Metamerism check | D65 / A | Verify color matches under daylight and tungsten |
In FlatLabs PRO, the color section of your spec sheet includes a field for the Pantone TCX reference, lab dip requirement, and tolerance spec — everything your dye house needs to match color correctly before bulk production.
Lab dip — what it is and why it matters
A lab dip is a small fabric swatch dyed by the factory to match your Pantone reference, submitted for approval before the full production run is dyed. It's the checkpoint between your color spec and the actual bulk fabric.
Always require a lab dip approval in your tech pack — and specify the tolerance: how close is close enough. The industry standard is ±0.5 ΔE (Delta E, a measure of color distance). Below that threshold, the color difference is barely perceptible to the human eye. Above 1.0 ΔE, the difference starts to become visible — especially in photos and side-by-side comparisons.