Development of a color matching algorithm for digital transfer textile printing using an artificial neural network and multiple regression

Abstract

A color matching algorithm has been developed to solve the color mismatch problems encountered during the digital transfer textile printing process. To match the colors between display and fabric, standard red, blue, green (sRGB) and International Commission on Illumination (CIE) color systems were used. For an affordable color matching process, sRGB values of printed fabric were extracted by a general flatbed scanner instead of an expensive spectrophotometer. Extracted sRGB values and originally intended target sRGB values were used as input and output values to form artificial neural networks and multiple regression equations to establish the relationship between those values. To verify the color matching algorithm, a total of 100 random color samples were printed, scanned, and analyzed. Both methods showed good correlations between input and output color values, which implied that the color matching algorithm developed in this study improved the color correspondence between the original design and its printed results.