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Lectra and X-Rite/Pantone Sign Partnership Agreement to Deliver Integrated Color Technology for Enhanced Design Workflow and Seamless Color Communication
Monday 01. February 2010 - Lectra, the world leader in integrated technology solutions dedicated to industries using soft materials-textiles, leather, industrial fabrics and composite materials-, is pleased to announce the signature of a new partnership agreement with X-Rite, the world leader in color management, measurement and communication technologies.
X-Rite, and its subsidiary Pantone, develop, manufacture, market and support innovative color solutions through measurement systems, software, color standards and services. They have extensive expertise in inspiring, selecting, measuring, formulating, communicating and matching color, which translates to better quality and reduced costs for users in a range of industries.
Lectra and X-Rite will provide fashion companies with a seamless solution for color management-a challenge that many customers face. This partnership will enhance Lectra’s value-added solutions, including Lectra Fashion PLM, the only fashion-specific product lifecycle management solution on the market, Kaledo, the leading fashion and textile design suite, and Modaris 3D Fit, Lectra’s 3D virtual prototyping application. X-Rite technologies that will be highlighted in Lectra solutions include ColorMunkiTM, an all-in-one color solution for selecting, creating and controlling new colors and PANTONE FASHION + HOME color references, and CxF (Color Exchange Format) a file format designed to accurately and unambiguously communicate all commercially relevant aspects of color across devices, applications and geographies. Through the ColorMunki’s compatibility and PANTONE FASHION + HOME directly integrated into these Lectra’s solutions, creative, development and production teams can easily and accurately manage and communicate colors both internally and with external partners and suppliers.
“We are delighted to partner with Lectra to deliver advanced tools in color communication for the fashion design community,” said Iris Mangelschots, Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing, X-Rite. “ColorMunki and Pantone are established standards for brand owners in graphic design for color selection, control and communication. Our partnership with Lectra, a recognized world leader in the fashion design industry, will extend these same benefits to fashion designers in an efficient, integrated way, connecting yet another integral link along the apparel supply chain.”
“Color is critical in design, but it is an expensive business that can be very hard to control. Integrating X-Rite and Pantone technology into Lectra’s solutions will provide designers with a tool to enhance the quality and speed of exchanges between design, development and production, while keeping to the company’s original design concept as closely as possible,” said Daniel Harari, Lectra CEO.
Color is key: overcoming the challenge of capturing, managing and communicating
Close collaboration between Lectra and X-Rite will offer the industry numerous benefits at all stages of fashion and textile development, from conceptual brainstorming and design, to development and production. Finding color inspiration for prints, knits, weaves, trims and other components is always a challenge for designers, especially with the increasingly rapid turnover of fashion trends.
Integrating X-Rite/Pantone technologies directly into Lectra’s fashion solutions will make it far easier for designers to capture and manage color. What’s more, color communication will be greatly facilitated. Designers regularly face the challenge of communicating their chosen color to team members, sub-contractors and professional partners-often scattered throughout the world. Now, the right product in the right color can be presented for sale at the right time.
On trend, on color: far-reaching benefits for the whole development process
Superior color management is now possible for both Lectra’s current and future customers and allows for rapid validation of a color’s feasibility for a specific fabric, reducing the number of lab-dips necessary to develop a product. Because development moves more quickly, the color process becomes more streamlined, allowing for decisions closer to market. Designers then have more flexibility to choose colors that are on-trend while in parallel lowering sampling and production costs. Seasonal color palettes can be shared, so that all merchandising is coherent with the actual collection in progress.
Upcoming: a kaleidoscope of joint events
Webinar:
Pantone’s 2011 Spring/Summer color trend forecast to discover the key colors and themes for the season. Learn how to develop trend information into a collection plan with color palettes, fabrics and silhouettes using Kaledo. Presented by Laurie Pressman, Pantone’s vice president for fashion, home and interiors, and Anastasia Charbin, Lectra’s design solutions product manager. Exclusive to Lectra and Pantone customers, this webinar will take place on February, 3 at 4:00 p.m., Paris time (10 a.m. EST) and 6:00 p.m., Paris time (noon EST). For more information and to register, please visit: www.lectra.com/fr/lectra_events/index.html
Tradeshows:
munichfabricstart, February, 2-4, Munich, Germany.
munichfabricstart is a textile trade convention that showcases equipment, suppliers and fabric specialists from all over the world. Lectra booth: H3 / F04 – Pantone booth: H3 / C00.
Première Vision, February 9-12 2010, Paris, France.
Twice a year, Première Vision, The World’s Premier Fabric ShowTM, draws 50,000 professional visitors from 106 different countries to Paris. Lectra will present its latest innovative fashion solutions (booth 5K61) with X-Rite as part of the Mode…Information Suite (5J66).
Lectra will also be presenting “Transforming trends into textiles: design solutions by Lectra” at 10:00 a.m. on February, 10. Pantone will present “Color your future: How to save money and shorten lead times in your color management process from design to production with PANTONE” on February, 10 at 1:00 p.m.