Let there be light…that shows colours as they really are. Most conventional factory lighting across India’s textile and garment industry fail to replicate the full spectrum of natural sunlight, leading to misjudged colour matching during quality checks, sampling and final inspections. The consequence? Rejected export consignments, increased reprocessing costs, customer dissatisfaction and erosion of brand image.
“We address this root problem by ensuring what you see under our lights is what the customer sees in natural daylight. Fabric type plays a major role in how colour appears. Cotton and synthetic materials, matte and glossy finishes and even yarns versus finished garments all reflect light differently,” said P Kishore, Proprietor, Smartlite Innovation, a bespoke lighting solutions provider for all major industries.
While the natural sunlight includes the entire visible spectrum, it is something standard LEDs often struggle to replicate. Many emit a spike in blue light and miss out on deep reds and other subtle tones. “True-Spectrum LED lights are designed to offer a more balanced and consistent view, using advanced phosphor mixing and tuning. With a Colour Rendering Index (CRI) above 95 and R9 values over 90, these lights aim to show colours like reds, skin tones and fabric details with much greater accuracy,” explained Kishore.
For the uninitiated, CRI is a measure of how accurately a light source reveals the true colours of objects compared to natural sunlight. The CRI scale ranges from 0 to 100, where a CRI of 100 means the light shows colours exactly like natural sunlight. R9 is a specific part of the CRI that measures how well a light source displays strong red colours. Many LEDs have trouble showing deep reds correctly.
According to Kishore, the most adopted form factors in the textile industry include linear luminaries for stitching and tailoring units, surface 2×2 lights for QC and inspection areas and high CRI battens and spotlights for sampling rooms and dyeing units.
Kishore shared that manufacturers have reported up to 40% reduction in colour-based rejections, faster inspection processes and reduced reliance on natural daylight. Fewer returns from international buyers due to colour mismatches are also being noted. Some of their clients include Esstee Exports and Adil Exports in Tirupur.
He pointed out that Smartlite lights deliver up to 30% higher energy savings compared to standard high-CRI options, emit low heat which reduces HVAC loads.
“We design SMARTLITE solutions to be plug-and-play, fitting into existing electrical and mechanical set-ups with minimal downtime. Whether it’s tube replacements, magnetic retrofit kits or panel swaps, our products come with universal mountings and voltage tolerance, making retrofitting seamless,” explained Kishore.
Looking ahead, the company is looking at next-gen innovations such as tunable spectrum lighting that can switch between different daylight conditions like morning sunlight or high noon. “Many garment factories rely on natural sunlight, but it varies in both intensity and colour spectrum throughout the day, which can lead to inconsistent colour judgment during garment inspections,” said Kishore.
They are also developing adaptive CRI systems for multi-fabric zones and IoT-integrated luminaries that enable real-time monitoring, diagnostics and smart control. Kishore added that they are exploring AI-assisted lighting suggestions tailored for colour-critical environment such as QC labs, Sampling rooms, Dyeing units, Stitching units and Showrooms or client approval areas, using embedded sensors.
