Color Formulation of Cotton Fabrics Using Multi-Objective Ant Colony Optimization

Abstract

The formulation of colors is one of the most important aspects of colorimetry. For dyeing and finishing industries, mastering this step is a major problem to be solved. In this paper, a multi-objective ant colony optimization algorithm is developed to optimize the reproduction of the desired shades. The multi-objective function of the proposed algorithm minimizes simultaneously the CMC color differences and the metamerism index between the standard and the reproduced colors. Two ranges of dyes were used to dye cotton fabrics. The elaborated multi-objective algorithm showed good results with small values of color differences and metamerism index. All CMC color differences values were less or at the limit of the acceptability threshold of 1, and about 75% of samples exhibited minimum metamerism and are considered as a good match.

Keywords

• color formulation
• ant colony algorithm
• multi-objective function
• cmc color differences
• metamerism index