I recently received an email from a dealer questioning what he was being told about repairing, on site, a side match color shade difference on a piece of carpet.

He's been in the business for over 40 years and never heard of this. He wanted confirmation that what he was being told was true. The carpet in question was a piece of Stainmaster. He was concerned about the effectiveness of this corrective process, how color fast the dyes would be in comparison to the dyes used during manufacture and that the process was non-toxic. The manufacturer was telling him this has been done for many years, the colors were fast and that it was non-toxic.

Is this information correct?

First let me state, side match shade variation is one of the largest claims categories that exist. Shade variation is primarily caused by unlevel dye application within the run of carpet being dyed, typically on the continuous dye range, although to a lesser degree, it can also occur in a beck dyed product. On the continuous dye range if the dye temperature varies by a couple of degrees, if the line speed changes just a bit or the fix of the dye varies in the steam box a shade variation can occur within the run of carpet from one end to the other.

If you are installing one or more drops next to each other chances are high you'll have a shade variation at the seam. You can't know if the shade is going to vary until you get the carpet seamed when all of sudden someone, and it should be the installer but it may be the consumer, notifies you of the difference in color. Welcome to a not so elite club.

Over 20 years of success

Color shade variation can, in fact, be corrected. It has been done successfully for well over 20 years. Not only can this process correct shade variation it can be effective for blending in streaky yarn coloration on commercial carpet. Done by an expert, and there a several in the country who stay very busy, or by a mill's own color correction experts, who are on the road almost every day of the year, this service is almost always effective in correcting color shade variation. The method is non-toxic and the colors are permanent.

Only the carpet at the seam has to be shaded where the stark contrast in shade exists. The color will not clean out or walk off. Millions of yards of carpet have been saved by this process. It is a manufacturing problem but it is not really a defect because it can most often be completely corrected in the field. If the consumer does not want to allow this service performed and wants the carpet replaced, it is likely the replacement will suffer the same malady.

After all, it will be dyed the same way and the chances for the shade to be off again are fairly high. I wouldn't bet against it. And even if the carpet is a multi-colored pattern and the shade is off at the seam chances are it can be corrected. Technicians who perform this service are the magicians of the industry. I've seen color issues I wouldn't have believed could be corrected and was amazed at the results.

So if you question whether a color shade variation can be fixed on site and done so effectively, don't. This is one of the oldest corrective field processes in the industry and it really works. That's something you have to tell your customer when you experience one of these complaints. It's also environmentally friendly because the carpet will not be wasted or go into the landfill since the problem can be corrected.