Guide
Lab dips and colour approval
A small dyed fabric or yarn sample a mill produces to show how close it can get to a colour standard before bulk dyeing.
This guide explains the words you will meet on this topic and shows which ATMA lessons teach each step. The definitions are from the ATMA glossary, in English, Arabic, French and Turkish.
Key terms
- Lab dip
- A small dyed fabric or yarn sample a mill produces to show how close it can get to a colour standard before bulk dyeing. · AR عينة مختبر (لاب ديب) · FR Lab dip · TR Lab dip
- Approvals
- The stage where samples are made and signed off by the buyer before bulk production starts. · AR الموافقات · FR Approbations · TR Onaylar
- Bulk fabric
- The actual fabric batch bought and dyed for the full order quantity, as opposed to the small quantity used to make a sample. · AR قماش الإنتاج الفعلي (بلك) · FR Tissu de production (bulk) · TR Toplu üretim kumaşı (bulk)
- Bulk production
- Making the full quantity of the order, as opposed to a small sample. · AR الإنتاج بكميات كبيرة · FR Production en série · TR Toplu üretim
From the course
A mill's colour or lab manager, a merchandiser, and a buyer all face the same moment on almost every order: a colour has been approved once, small, and now someone must decide whether it is safe to commit a full, often 300-kilogram or larger dye lot to it. This lesson mainly teaches a decision flow: when is a colour actually ready for bulk dyeing, and when is it not.
What you will learn
These ATMA lessons cover the topic, from the basics to building a working document or checklist.
- Lab dips and strike-offs: approving a colour before bulk dyeingA mill's colour or lab manager, a merchandiser, and a buyer all face the same moment on almost every order: a colour has been approved once, small, and now someone…
- Reading a colour approval report: pass, fail and conditional approvalA colour approval report is the document a mill or a factory receives back after submitting a lab dip (a small dyed sample) or a strike-off (a larger sample on the…
- Shade variation and metamerism: why a colour can look different under different lightA buyer's merchandiser at Northline Apparel signs off a colour approval every time a bulk order moves toward dyeing.
- Tracking colour approvals across a bulk orderThis page is for anyone who manages a bulk order through dyeing: a merchandiser, a mill planner, or a quality controller.
- How a buyer reviews a sample and issues an approval, revision or rejectionThis page is for a merchandiser, production manager, or buyer-side reviewer who needs to understand what actually happens once a sample leaves a factory and reaches…
The first lesson of every course is free. No account is needed to read it.
Quick answers
What does “Lab dip” mean in garment merchandising?
A small dyed fabric or yarn sample a mill produces to show how close it can get to a colour standard before bulk dyeing.
What does “Approvals” mean in garment merchandising?
The stage where samples are made and signed off by the buyer before bulk production starts.
What does “Bulk fabric” mean in garment merchandising?
The actual fabric batch bought and dyed for the full order quantity, as opposed to the small quantity used to make a sample.