KromaLab™ — Color Matching, Conversion & Ink Mixing
Match a print to a Pantone, convert any color between formats, scan a sample with your phone, and run an organized ink-mixing queue — all from one color hub.
What KromaLab does
KromaLab brings every color decision into one place so you stop guessing. Open it from the dashboard sidebar. You get a Color Converter that's always on screen, plus three tools across the top: Scan Sample, Scan Tag, and Ink Mixing. Behind them sits a Pantone library, an off-the-shelf ink database from multiple manufacturers, and the same garment swatches your jobs use — so a color you match here lines up with what actually prints.
Converting a color between formats
- 1Open KromaLab and find the Color Converter card.
- 2Pick your input format: HEX, RGB, CMYK, HSL, or Pantone.
- 3Type or paste your value — the converter updates as you type.
- 4Read every other format back instantly: HEX, RGB, CMYK, HSL, and LAB all populate at once.
- 5Click the copy icon on any output field to grab that value for your art program or spec sheet.
Each conversion also shows the three closest Pantone matches with a Delta E (ΔE2000) score and the three nearest off-the-shelf inks. Lower Delta E means a tighter match — under 2 is generally indistinguishable to the eye.
Scanning a printed sample (Scan Sample)
When a customer brings in a shirt and says 'match this,' you don't need a Pantone book. Scan Sample uses your phone or device camera to read the colors right off the garment.
- 1Tap Scan Sample.
- 2Capture a photo of the print under good light. Add a location label (e.g. 'Front chest') so you remember what you scanned.
- 3KromaLab detects the colors in the print and matches each one to its nearest Pantone.
- 4Decide where the scan goes: attach it to an existing job, spin it into a new quote, or save it on its own for later.
Use Scan Sample for walk-ins before a job even exists. Choosing 'Create New Quote' turns a counter conversation into a real quote in seconds — no double entry.
Identifying a blank by its tag (Scan Tag)
Not sure what brand and style a customer-supplied garment is? Tap Scan Tag and read the label. KromaLab uses the tag's RN number to identify the manufacturer and helps you pin down the style so you order the right blank for the reorder — instead of eyeballing it and hoping.
Running the ink-mixing queue
The Ink Mixing tool keeps your ink room organized. As jobs need custom colors, they land in a mixing queue your mixer works through. Each entry tracks its status so anyone can see what still needs mixing and what's mixed and ready for the press. Open it from the Ink Mixing card in KromaLab.
- 1Open Ink Mixing from KromaLab (or the Ink Mixing page).
- 2Work the queue top to bottom — items are ordered so the most urgent jobs get mixed first.
- 3Mark each ink Mixed when it's done so the press floor knows it's ready.
Pair a mixed color with a Production Note (Ink Mix category) on the job so the exact recipe is saved for the reorder. The bucket lid is not a filing system.
Why this matters for reprints
Color is the hardest thing to repeat across runs — ink batches drift, mesh changes, and what looked perfect in November prints differently in June. By matching, converting, and recording color in KromaLab (and saving recipes as Production Notes), you build a color history for every job. The next time that order comes back, you reproduce it instead of re-guessing.