It never ceases to amaze me how uninformed and ignorant most people who work in the flooring industry are when it comes to technically knowing about the products being sold and installed.

A case in point is a commercial installation in the Midwest for which one of our associates was dispatched to do a color blending at the seams. When he got to the job, he was informed an inspector was already there and had determined the carpet panels were reversed- going in different directions. Now this will certainly make a difference in the shade of adjacent panels of carpet when installed, and it is easily determined by looking from different vantage points.

In this case, however, the carpet was all going in the same direction, which was verified by pulling some of it up and checking the arrows on the back. So, what now? All the carpet is going in the same direction, but the color shade difference is obviously evident.

After checking all the paperwork, it was determined the production dates on the carpet used in this installation were different. When our associate told this to the manufacturer's rep, his response was, "Does that make a difference?" Yes!

Carpet produced on different dates- even if on the same machine- can vary in texture, color, finishing- on the face and backing- variations of the tufting machine from set up to slight yarn tension differences, which shift it was tufted on, a variation in the yarn- even if it is supposed to be exactly the same- who's operating the shearing machines, and a slew of other factors.

If you are going to be doing a large installation, you cannot mix lots from different production dates if they are all going to be used in the same open space. And even if they are not, the production date and run should all be the same- and it goes without saying the dye lots should always be the same for a large run.

Now, if the production date is the same, the dye lot will likely be the same if it is all done at the same time.

However, depending on when and how the carpet is dyed for a commercial job, you should request a commercial match so the colors will graduate uniformly from the first to the last roll sequentially.

Most designers and architects rely on the manufacturer's reps for their technical information. This revealing article is just one reason why that's not always a good idea. The reps that have been in the business for years are very knowledgeable and know this stuff, but the younger ones are a different breed. They aren't taught to be technical people, and frankly, they aren't. Their job is to represent their company and sell the product. Fewer and fewer technical people exist in the industry to back them up, and shy of six or seven manufacturers, there really aren't any technical people left.

These are the people I've learned from over the last 38 years, especially early on in my career. Today, our company is made up of the creme de la creme of technical people- most of them coming from the manufacturing side.

If you have a problem, or know someone who needs help, call us; we are the experts with the answers and the inside track in the industry. We actually know if something makes a difference. In today's economy you don't want to guess or take chances. Now is when you really need to know.