Colour Reduction and Dither Techniques for Jacquard
topic
Jacquard fabric colour reproduction is limited to the number of distinct weft colours available per pick, typically 4 to 16 in commercial upholstery production, requiring reduction of photographic images with millions of colours to the limited yarn colour palette available, using dither patterns that intersperse available colours at the thread level to create intermediate perceived colours through optical mixing, with dither algorithm selection determining the visual quality of the colour reduction that governs how closely the woven fabric matches the original design.
Role
Enables the reproduction of multicolour and photographic imagery in woven Jacquard fabrics with limited weft colour palette by applying the same principles as halftone printing in translating continuous tone images into the discrete colour choices available per thread position, with dither quality determining the design fidelity of the finished fabric and the choice of dither algorithm being the primary design software decision governing colour reproduction quality in photographic Jacquard fabrics.