The most prestigious organization in China for fashion color research, forecast and design gave X-Rite Incorporated its top award for innovation recently for ColorMunki™ Design, a instrument/software package that delivers color control and color creation tools for digital workflows.

Award judges for the China Fashion Color Association (CFCA) said ColorMunki provides a strong platform for designers in the fashion, consumer product and the graphic arts, industries to develop and communicate new color schemes. The award was given to X-Rite at the association's Fifth Annual ColorChina event held during December 3-4 in Beijing.

Since its launch during August 2009 in China, ColorMunki Design has been adopted by some of that country's largest companies and organizations involved in color design, including Li Ning Co. Ltd., Kappa, Ozoka, LKK Design, and the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology.

"We are extremely honored that the Association would recognize that ColorMunki Design is inspiring a whole new generation of designers in China to apply their craft in a wide range of industries," said Pantone Asia Vice President Terence Lam, who attended the Beijing ceremony to accept the award from Madam Cheng DongHong, Secretary of the China Association for Science and Technology.  X-Rite|Pantone is the corporate entity that markets the ColorMunki Design product in China, and the CFCA is a member organization of the China Association for Science and Technology.

Founded in 1982, the CFCA serves 420 organizations and 3,800 individuals in the textile, garment, chemical, architectural, automotive and other industries in its mission to promote the creative use of color in the design process.  The association conducts research and market analysis, provides color training courses and offers customized services in  color coordination and product design.

 “China still has a long way to go to implement color science and technology," said Liang Yong, Director of CFCA. "We look forward to working with X-Rite|Pantone on a broad and all-round basis to introduce leading color technology and color management solution to CFCA members and to bring China color application to a higher level.” He said X-Rite |Pantone recently reached agreement with CFCA to jointly promote color science and technology on both color education and color technology applications.

The ColorMunki Design package offers  solutions to give designers and the freedom to work with any color from the visible spectrum. The package includes ColorMunki spectrophotometer, palette creation software, color calibration software, protection bag/monitor holder, Quick Start Guide and USB power cord.

The ColorMunki Design Palette Creation software allows designers to easily: Create and name unlimited custom color palettes, select colors from PANTONE® and other built-in libraries, select colors from dynamically associated Harmony, Variation and Similar colors, capture any color from any substrate, automatically extract color from any image.

ColorMunki Design provides unique verification tools that allow designers to quickly preview colors before production, including: PrintSafe™ one-click out-of-gamut view for different printer and paper combinations, preview palette for CMYK or Spot color print, evaluate colors under different light sources.

Rieter sells nonwovens activities

Rieter signed a contract with the international technology group Andritz, based in Graz, Austria, for the sale of the French company Rieter Perfojet S.A.S, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Rieter Group. This divestment is being made in the context of focusing on core activities in the Textile Division of Rieter.

Located in Montbonnot, France, the company is engaged in the development and manufacture of machinery and systems for producing nonwovens.

It has 50 employees and generates sales of some 40 million CHF. Rieter Perfojet’s products and technologies, marketed under the “JetLace” and “Spunjet” brand names, are highly acclaimed in the marketplace and are in use worldwide for the hydroentanglement of nonwoven fabrics.

As a consequence of the current economic crisis Rieter has intensified its efforts to concentrate its resources in the Textile Division on its core competencies in the field of spinning machinery for short staple fibers, together with technology components and service offerings. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. Completion of the transaction is subject to the consent of the anti-trust authorities. This is expected at the beginning of 2010.

Andritz is a publicly listed, international technology group with more than 13 000 employees and generated sales of some 3.6 billion Euros in 2008. The Andritz Group already operates in the nonwovens business through its subsidiary Andritz Küsters GmbH in Krefeld (Germany). With its global presence and its systems engineering know-how the new owner is therefore ideally equipped to ensure the sustained business development of Rieter Perfojet.

Courtesy: Peter Grädel, Head Corporate Communications,
Rieter Management AG. (Winterthur-Switzerland).