In today’s highly competitive textile industry, accurate and efficient color management is critical for staying ahead. Companies that can deliver consistent color faster and more reliably gain a clear advantage.
As a global leader in color management solutions, Datacolor helps textile manufacturers meet these demands with Datacolor® Textile Lab Manager (TLM). This integrated lab color matching software combines strong performance with flexible, customizable features to improve both accuracy and efficiency.
Lianfa Textile is one company that has successfully benefited from this approach, transforming its color management processes and strengthening its competitive position.
With nearly 70 years of development, Lianfa Textile has built a fully integrated industrial chain—from cotton processing to finished garments. The company operates across multiple sectors, including sustainable energy, spinning, weaving, dyeing, knitting, home textiles, and branded apparel.
Before implementing Datacolor Textile Lab Manager (TLM), the company faced several challenges in its color management processes:
Li Haiyan, Director of Color Weaving at Lianfa Textile, explains
“In the past, our colorists had to manually search through large amounts of data to find the initial formula. This process was time-consuming and prone to errors. During peak seasons, it directly impacted delivery efficiency and increased production costs.
To overcome these challenges, Lianfa Textile introduced Datacolor Textile Lab Manager (TLM), an integrated color matching solution designed specifically for the textile industry. With flexible data integration, customizable features, and powerful modules, TLM has brought a new level of efficiency and control to the company’s color management processes.


By combining TLM software with Datacolor spectrophotometers, Lianfa Textile transformed its traditional workflow into a more automated and streamlined process:
Automated color measurement and instant insights: For 90% of products, there is no longer a need to manually search for initial formulas. The system provides immediate color measurement results along with key data such as pricing and lighting effects. In many cases, the suggested starting formula requires significantly less adjustment, improving both speed and accuracy.
Streamlined, closed-loop processes: The system integrates multiple steps—from initial formula creation to measurement, correction, dispensing, and costing—into one connected workflow. This reduces operational steps by 17, minimizes manual input, and speeds up sample production while improving data accuracy.
Automated color correction: After the first sample is created, the software automatically analyzes the result and generates corrections. Typically, colors can be refined to a △E value of 0.5 or lower within three iterations, reducing the need for repeated adjustments.
Through the introduction of TLM software, Lianfa Textile has achieved remarkable results in color management, quality control and work efficiency. Based on TLM software, Lianfa Textile and Datacolor jointly carried out the transformation of the whole process of the laboratory, and realized a series of optimization measures, such as the opening of the procedures of the associated equipment, the construction of the price system associated with color measurement and the upgrading of the intelligent tools of the color mixing personnel.
Li Haiyan shares the impact: “Since implementing TLM, we’ve reduced overall lab labor by about 17%, including colorists, technicians, and support roles. The number of sampling iterations has decreased, and the average development cycle has been shortened by around 30%, with a 15% improvement in on-time completion. At the same time, our color data has become more accurate, improving both consistency and responsiveness while creating cost advantages.”
With more than 50 years of expertise in color management, Datacolor brought highly tailored solutions based on a deep understanding of Lianfa Textile’s customer needs. TLM not only delivers strong performance in the lab but continues to evolve through customer feedback, expanding its capabilities into production environments.
“The strength of TLM lies in its precise data, intelligent color matching, and continuous learning capabilities. It’s more than just a tool—it’s a partner that helps drive industry transformation. In the future, we will continue to work with Datacolor to explore smarter, more connected production processes” Li Haiyan added.

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