Dye Recipe Quantity Calculator

Work out dye recipe quantity instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Dye Recipe Quantity Calculator

Dyestuff is dosed on weight of fibre, so a 2.5% shade on 200 kg of fabric needs 5 kg of dye regardless of bath size. Auxiliaries such as salt and alkali are dosed in grams per litre of liquor, so their quantity depends on the liquor ratio — which is why a lower liquor ratio saves chemicals, water and energy.

Formulas

Dye quantity

Dye (kg) = fabric weight x shade % (on weight of fibre)

Auxiliaries

Liquor volume (L) = fabric weight x liquor ratio; salt (kg) = liquor x g/L / 1000

Worked example

With the default values below, Dye Recipe Quantity Calculator returns Dyestuff Required of 5.0000. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Fabric Weightminimum 0.001 kg: 200 kg
Dye Concentrationaccepts 0.001–20 % on weight of fibre: 2.5 % on weight of fibre
Liquor Ratiominimum 0.1 : 1: 8 : 1
Salt Concentrationminimum 0 g/L: 60 g/L

Results

Dyestuff Required: 5.0000
Dye Liquor Volume: 1,600.00
Salt Required: 96.000
Dye Concentration In Bath: 3.1250

Step by step

1Values used
2Dye quantity
3Auxiliaries
4Dyestuff Required= 5.0000
5Dye Liquor Volume= 1,600.00
6Salt Required= 96.000
7Dye Concentration In Bath= 3.1250

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 4 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
Textile dyeing effluent contains salt, alkali and unfixed dye and is subject to discharge consent limits. Confirm effluent treatment capacity before increasing dye or salt loading.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Textile dyeing effluent contains salt, alkali and unfixed dye and is subject to discharge consent limits. Confirm effluent treatment capacity before increasing dye or salt loading.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is dye on weight of fibre but salt in g/L?

Dye exhausts onto the fibre, so the amount needed scales with fibre. Salt works by raising the electrolyte concentration of the bath, so it scales with bath volume.

What happens if the liquor ratio changes between lab and bulk?

Shade shifts, because exhaustion depends on bath concentration. Lab dips must be done at the bulk machine's liquor ratio or corrected for it, otherwise bulk reproduction fails.