Colour Accuracy

Colour is the part of an order most likely to disappoint, because a screen and a bolt of cloth never agree completely. This page explains what causes the difference and how to check a shade before you commit.

How the fabric is dyed

Our clinical shades are vat-dyed. The dye penetrates the fibre instead of sitting on the surface, which is why the colour survives hospital washing and does not fade into a pale version of itself after a month. The trade-off is that dye lots vary slightly: two batches of navy are both navy, but not identical.

Why the screen misleads

• Every screen has its own colour temperature and saturation. A phone set to vivid will show navy as a brighter blue than the cloth.
• Photographs are lit. Studio light, shade and the model's surroundings all shift how a shade reads.
• Compression changes subtle tones, especially greys, mauves and dark greens.
• The colour name is a description, not a specification. The mill code is the specification.

How to check a shade properly

1. 1

   Use the mill code

   The fabric library lists 45 mill-coded swatches photographed from the real cloth. Match on the code, not on the name or the screen colour.

2. 2

   Ask for a photograph in daylight

   Message us the shade you are considering and we will send an unedited daylight photo of the current lot.

3. 3

   Order one garment first

   For a ward or a team, order a single piece, look at it under your own lighting, then place the bulk order against that shade.

4. 4

   Book the whole quantity at once

   A bulk order is cut from one dye lot so every garment matches. Reordering later can land a shade away.

Colour consistency across a bulk order

For institutional orders we hold the dye lot for the whole quantity, cut all sizes from it, and stitch in one production run where the schedule allows. If your order is large enough to need more than one lot, we tell you before production and send photographs of both.

Embroidery thread is matched to the garment or to a brand colour you specify. The digital proof shows the thread shade against the cloth, and nothing is stitched until you approve it.

When a colour difference is a defect

A shade that reads slightly warmer or cooler than your screen is normal. A garment that is a materially different colour from the one you ordered, or a set whose top and bottom do not match, is a defect and we will replace it. Send a daylight photograph with the order number.

The fabric swatch library lives on the colour page of the shop: 45 mill-coded shades, each photographed from the real cloth.