By Katie Gerbasich
Walking through downtown Clemson, it’s hard to miss the sea of orange and purple. Hundreds of t-shirt designs line storefronts using different colors, fabrics, and printing techniques. Still, fans expect one thing to remain consistent: they should be able to recognize their team instantly by color alone.
Drs. Erica Walker and Amanda Bridges in Clemson’s Department of Graphic Communications have spent the past several years studying exactly that.
“Color is a vital part of a brand’s identity, and printing consistent, durable, and accurate brand colors across different materials can be challenging for manufacturers,” Walker said.
After receiving international recognition for their Clemson-branded textile research, Walker and Bridges expanded their work to include all ACC team colors. The study evaluates 64 brand colors across multiple textile types and printing methods, including dye sublimation and direct-to-film (DTF) printing, to better understand how color accuracy, durability, and material interact in athletic apparel.
“Brand colors matter, and fans recognize when their team’s colors are not representative,” Walker said.
To test this, the research compared two printing processes, dye sublimation and direct-to-film printing, across cotton, polyester, and blended fabrics. By analyzing how each method performs on different materials, the study highlights the challenges of maintaining color accuracy at scale.
Walker, a faculty fellow of Clemson’s Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute, has received support from the Institute throughout this work, including funding for equipment and conference participation.
The findings show that the printing method, textile type, and color family play significant roles in color accuracy. Direct-to-film printing consistently produced more accurate color results overall, while dye sublimation performed best on 100% polyester fabrics. Across both processes, some color families proved easier to reproduce than others. Neutral tones such as black and gray, along with yellow-gold hues, showed higher accuracy across processes and textile types, whereas more saturated colors posed greater challenges.
As athletic departments continue to expand the reach and value of their brands, maintaining color consistency becomes more than simply a design challenge. It becomes part of how student-athletes and fans identify with, represent, and connect to their teams.
“Ensuring that brand colors are seen accurately across mediums, processes, and materials,” Walker said, remains a central goal of the research.
By examining how printing methods and fabrics influence color accuracy, the study offers manufacturers valuable insights for delivering consistent, high-quality products. So the next time you buy a Clemson t-shirt, take a second look to see if it is actually Clemson Orange and Regalia purple.
