Side Match IV: Inspection

In the first post in this series, I made a big deal about how easy it is to misdiagnose side match complaints. Over the three preceding parts of this series, you’ve seen how many possible factors can contribute to poor side match.

The purpose of this post is to walk through the steps necessary to arrive at a correct diagnosis.

You will the following tools:

Determine Whether the Seam is Peaked

1. Use your high-intensity light to cast a shadow over the pile. Any peaking will be made conspicuous by the shadow.

2. If the seam is peaked, determine whether the edge that appears lighter is the one that faces toward the dominant light source. Crease a sheet of plain white paper and lay it with the crease over the seam. Look at it from all directions. The edge of the paper that appears lighter is that which faces the direction of brightest light. (Figure 1.)

Determine the Machine Direction

3. Using your turning tool, turn back a corner of each of the joined cuts and check the direction of the back. In woven polypropylene backs, the slit-film (flat) fibers run lengthwise and the thick threads run widthwise. Also note whether there is any visible difference between either the backing fabric or the color of the latex.

4. If the carpet has a non-symmetrical pattern, verify that it runs in the same direction on both cuts.

5. If you’re unable to determine the machine direction using the two methods above, you can try pulling on one leg of a tuft and observing the direction from which the tuft’s other leg is drawn down into the back. (Doing this on loop-pile constructions is a Bad Idea.) Don’t get confused by shifting or stepover tufting patterns.

If the machine direction is not identical on both cuts, then this probably is a contributing factor. However, it may not be the only factor, so you should continue with the remaining tests.

Determine the Pile Direction

This test applies to all pile types, not just cut-pile constructions. Until you confirm that the pile direction is the same on both sides of the seam, it is almost impossible to determine with certainty whether a shade variance exists. That’s worth repeating: You will not know for sure what you’re seeing until the pile on both sides of the seam lies the same direction.

6. Perform the high-tech pencil-and-paper test. Lay a sheet of paper flat on the pile and roll a pen or pencil back and forth on it. The paper will creep in the direction the pile lies. Repeat this test by rolling the pencil in several directions. Regardless which direction you roll the pencil, the paper will creep in (more or less) the same direction. Note that the pile direction may have nothing to do with the machine direction.

7. If the pile on both sides of the seam doesn’t lie in the same direction, you have to try to get it to. Wrap the steam iron in a white cotton towel and steam the pile in an area about three feet long and 1-1/2 feet on either side of the seam. If the pile is nylon or wool, once it’s relaxed by steam, you should be able to set its orientation with the wallpaper brush. If it’s polyester, it’ll be harder, but it should eventually work. If it’s polypropylene, do your best, but, well, good luck with that.

If steaming eliminates the problem, you know you were dealing with a pile-direction problem.

Check the Color

8. Eliminate as much ambient light as possible, especially that which strikes across the seam from one side. Light the seam from directly above with your high-intensity lights. Observe it from all directions. If you’ve succeeded in getting all the pile running the same way, a color difference (if there is one) should be more or less visible from all directions, but will probably be most visible from the direction in which the pile lies toward you.

If it reverses when viewed from different directions, you still have either a pile-direction problem or a texture problem.

The Report

Your report should describe the locations of all of the affected seams and the results of all of your tests for each seam. Try to get clear photographs of the complaint areas as well as the results of as many of your tests as are applicable. You may need to use a tripod for adequate exposure under low, ambient light.

If the causal factors are identical at all of the seams, your conclusion can group them all together. If multiple factors are contributing to the carpet’s appearance, list all of the factors and state whether each is a primary or secondary contributor to the complaint.

If the factors are different at each seam, you need to break down your diagnoses seam by seam. Diagram them if necessary. It is important to note whether the affected areas are physically separated from other unaffected areas of the installation.

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