CAMOUFLAGE FABRIC: VISIBLE COLOUR VS NIR REFLECTANCE

Visible matching and NIR matching answer different questions

NASA explains that materials can reflect, absorb and transmit near-infrared radiation beyond what our eyes see. Its vegetation examples distinguish visible appearance from a measured spectral response. The purchasing implication is limited but important: seeing an acceptable green, brown or grey cannot establish the offered fabric’s NIR result. Ask the technical owner which appearance and spectral requirements apply, and keep separate approval records for them. A monitor image is useful for discussing a direction; it is not the physical reference or a measurement report. Avoid approving bulk material from a photograph simply because the pattern looks familiar.

Control the authorised pattern before requesting a print trial

Identify the pattern owner or permission route, controlled artwork version, repeat size and intended fabric position. Establish which physical master or buyer-approved colour references govern development, rather than relying on a downloaded image of an unrelated uniform. Keep confidential tender artwork and controlled spectral documents in the agreed business-review channel; do not upload them to a public product page. Brilliant-Tex reviews pattern authorisation before custom development. A published construction can provide a starting substrate, but its listing does not confer rights to reproduce a protected design or prove acceptance by a particular military customer.

• Confirm the pattern permission and controlled artwork version.
• Name the reference owner and approval authority before sampling.

Write a visible-colour specification without calling it an IR test

The supplied Brilliant-Tex knowledge card distinguishes physical colour references, visual evaluation and instrument-based colour differences. ISO 105-J03:2009 addresses colour-difference calculation for same-material specimens measured under the same conditions; its ISO catalogue records confirmation in 2025. That scope is not a military NIR acceptance method. For the visible-colour decision, agree the reference sample, viewing conditions, measurement conditions, difference formula and tolerance rather than writing only match Pantone. Let the competent laboratory and buyer select the appropriate procedure. Record a visible-colour pass accurately, without expanding it into an unsupported spectral or finished-product claim.

Request project-matched spectral evidence, not an IRR badge

Ask for the controlled requirement, measurement procedure, wavelength coverage, required colour positions, specimen preparation and acceptance rule. The laboratory should confirm the instrument and procedure are suitable for that requirement. A useful report identifies the article, colour or print version, finish, sample identity and results against the agreed criteria. Record which items are already evidenced and which remain development targets. Do not replace the buyer’s criteria with an invented universal reflectance percentage, or treat one colour’s result as approval of every colour in the pattern. If the requirement cannot be shared openly, agree a confidential technical review rather than guessing it.

• Trace the report to the exact offered construction and print version.
• Distinguish documented results from proposed testing or development.

Shortlist the substrate and finish as one offered construction

Two actual IR-Guard references illustrate different purchasing routes. NR13/PTAF6I lists 100% nylon 210T taffeta, 70D/24F × 70D/24F, with a 5mm × 5mm ripstop, IRR printing and a PU breathable-coating route; its published weight is 100gsm±5% and cuttable width 147cm. PX3/PUEODI lists polyester 150D plain oxford, IRR printing and PU coating, at 145gsm±10gsm with 150cm cuttable width. Review samples against the intended component, weight and assembly needs rather than ranking them by a generic tactical label. Neither public record supplies a project-specific spectral curve or proves compliance with a named military requirement. Published finishing descriptions also do not establish current destination-market approval.

Do not carry approval silently across material changes

Define the approved construction, colour recipe or print version, finish and representative specimen state in the purchasing record. If the supplier proposes a different substrate, coating, lamination or processing route, ask the evidence owner which checks must be repeated; do not simply attach the old report. State any required evaluation after cleaning, weather exposure or other service conditions in the controlled brief without inventing a cycle allowance. Agree who approves development, who checks production lots and who authorises release. This change-control recommendation does not assert that every modification necessarily fails; it prevents an undocumented substitution from being mistaken for the tested article.

Keep NIR reflectance distinct from thermal and equipment claims

NASA distinguishes reflected near-infrared radiation from infrared emission associated with warm objects. These are not interchangeable evidence categories. An NIR reflectance result therefore should not be advertised as proof of thermal concealment. If a tender requires a broader signature-management assessment, refer that requirement to the responsible technical owner rather than extrapolating from the fabric catalogue. Likewise, agree the separate assessment responsibilities for the finished garment or equipment and its other components. The two products below are material-development references, not guarantees of invisibility, sensor defeat or field performance. No operational concealment result is claimed here.

Send an enquiry that separates facts, targets and exceptions

A useful brief names the destination market, end product and fabric position, authorised pattern, controlled colour references, preferred construction, finished weight and usable width. Attach or reference the mandatory spectral requirement through an approved channel, and identify the sampling state, evaluation conditions and approval owners. Add quantity, development stage and sample deadline. Ask Brilliant-Tex to return available construction facts, relevant existing evidence, proposed verification work and unresolved exceptions separately. Request the tactical catalogue if you need a wider shortlist. For European and South American projects, confirm the actual destination requirements instead of assuming a single regional or military approval applies everywhere.

• Separate visible appearance, NIR evidence and complete-product responsibility.
• Use the published references for screening; make the offered project construction and outstanding checks explicit.