AGENT/MANUFACTURER COLORIST CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
FEBRUARY 2015
AGENT/MANUFACTURER
COLORIST CERTIFICATION
PROGRAM
NPG Color Procedure Manual © 2015 Nordstrom, Inc., all rights reserved. CONFIDENTIAL: These documents contain
proprietary, trade secret, and confidential information which are the property of Nordstrom, Inc. These documents and
their contents may not be duplicated or disclosed to any other party without express authorization of Nordstrom, Inc.
Page 1 of 4
AGENT/MANUFACTURER COLORIST CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
FEBRUARY 2015
The Nordstrom Product Group Colorist Certification Program is designed to support the color
approval process by enhancing collaboration with NPG Agents and Manufacturers and ensuring
efficiency and effectiveness without compromising color quality.
To support both the art and the science of color, Nordstrom Product Group (NPG) has aligned its
color related business processes across NPG brands. The Creative Studio and Color Operations
Teams have been created, centralizing color responsibilities.
o
o
The Creative Studio Team researches color trends and manages the palette.
The Color Operations Team is responsible for color management – ensuring color
accuracy and consistency.
The color management function is supported by Certified Colorists at Agent, Manufacturer and
Mill locations. These Certified Colorists are an extension of NPG, acting as NPG’s eyes in the
field, evaluating and approving Lab Dips and Bulk Fabrics for all applicable fabrications.
The standardization of NPG Color Processes, and the leveraging of digital color approval and
Agent, Manufacturer and Mill expertise, results in improved efficiencies and reduced lead-time for
color approval.
COLORIST TRAINING
Training for Agent/Manufacturer Colorists should commence within the first month the employee
is in the Colorist position for new Colorists, or from when the NPG relationship begins for existing
Colorists. Training will be conducted at the NPG offices in Seattle or at Agent/Manufacturer site
for a minimum of three days. This will allow the NPG Color Operations Team to work directly with
the Colorist, evaluating various samples during the training period, correlating the Colorist’s “eye”
with the NPG Team. The processes are outlined below:

NPG Color Operations Team sends Color Training documentation to the
Agent/Manufacturer Colorist for their review.

NPG Color Operations Team conducts the Color Training presentation.

Color evaluation training is conducted:

o
The Agent/Manufacturer Colorist reviews swatches of all applicable types of
fabrication both digitally and visually against the standard.
o
The NPG Color Operations Team reviews the Colorist’s comments, provides
feedback and tracks performance.
Follow up training will be conducted using video conferencing or during an in-country
on-site visit, as necessary.
NPG Color Procedure Manual © 2015 Nordstrom, Inc., all rights reserved. CONFIDENTIAL: These documents contain
proprietary, trade secret, and confidential information which are the property of Nordstrom, Inc. These documents and
their contents may not be duplicated or disclosed to any other party without express authorization of Nordstrom, Inc.
Page 2 of 4
AGENT/MANUFACTURER COLORIST CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
FEBRUARY 2015
COLORIST CERTIFICATION
Once the Agent/Manufacturer Colorist has been trained, an evaluation period will begin during
which time the NPG Color Manager will assess the Colorist’s performance based on the
correlation of visual acceptance between NPG and the Colorist. The evaluation period will be for
two seasons, unless otherwise determined by the NPG Color Operations Team, after which the
Colorist will be certified. Further process detail is shown below:

Lab dip submittals and bulk swatches of all applicable types of fabrication will be
reviewed by Agent/Manufacturer Colorist digitally and / or visually.

Agent/Manufacturer Colorist comments are to be sent to the NPG Colorist

The NPG Colorist will review the comments and confirm acceptance of the specific
lab dip submittal (Dip A, B, or C) or respond with an action plan.

The NPG Colorist will track results and monitor performance.

Certification is based on consistency of mutual visual acceptance and the
achievement of a minimum cumulative mutual acceptance score of 80% for two
consecutive seasons.

NPG will continue to send colorist performance reports seasonally.
LOSS OR SUSPENSION OF CERTIFICATION
Agents, Manufacturers or Mills may lose or have certification suspended if they fail to maintain
required conditions.


Certified Colorist - NPG must receive immediate notification of the loss of a Certified
Colorist at the Agent, Factory or Mill.
o
A new candidate for certification should be offered as soon as possible.
o
Color approval will revert back to the NPG Color Operations Team during the
gap in coverage.
o
Agents, Manufacturers or Mills regain certification only after additional training
and evaluation by the NPG Color Operations Team
Equipment – NPG must receive notification of long term equipment downtime at the
Agent, Manufacturer or Mill.
o
o
o
An action plan with timeline should be submitted to NPG Color Operations
Team outlining process to get equipment back on-line.
Color approval will revert back to the NPG Color Operations Team during the
gap in coverage
Agents, Manufacturers or Mills regain certification only after an updated
correlation test is conducted
AGENT / MANUFACTURER / MILL COLOR QUESTIONNAIRE
New Agents / Manufacturers / Mills are required to complete the NPG Supplier Questionnaire,
providing information on equipment type / model, on-site colorist capabilities (Munsell test score,
current responsibilities, previous experience, peer supplier certifications) and current color
management processes.
NPG Color Procedure Manual © 2015 Nordstrom, Inc., all rights reserved. CONFIDENTIAL: These documents contain
proprietary, trade secret, and confidential information which are the property of Nordstrom, Inc. These documents and
their contents may not be duplicated or disclosed to any other party without express authorization of Nordstrom, Inc.
Page 3 of 4
AGENT/MANUFACTURER COLORIST CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
FEBRUARY 2015
Existing suppliers will be required to provide updated information on an annual basis via the
Nordstrom Supplier Questionnaire.
The NPG Color Operations Team will review the Questionnaire upon receipt to confirm equipment
compatibility and evaluate Colorist capabilities. Additional information may be requested as
needed.
EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS
NPG Spectrophotometer:
Datacolor SF600 from Datacolor
Compatible Models:
Datacolor 650 from Datacolor
ColorEye 7000A from X-rite
NPG Lightbox:
Spectralight III from X-rite (Gretag)
Acceptable Alternative:
SpectraLight QC or Judge II from X-Rite
EQUIPMENT CORRELATION
Agents / Manufacturers / Mills will need to perform correlation tests to ensure their equipment is
aligned with NPG. The testing process is outlined below:

NPG Color Operations Team will select 10 different shades from the Pantone
standards (Note: Standards will be advised later).

An NPG Colorist will measure these shades using the NPG Spectrophotometer.

The digital reading and half of the physical standard will be sent to the Agent /
Manufacturer / Mill for measurement on their equipment. A copy of the NPG
Measurement Procedure will also be sent to provide detail on “how to measure”.

The Agent / Manufacturer / Mill will measure the samples and send digital readings to
the NPG Color Team via email.

An NPG Colorist will compare the results to ensure both instruments correlate.
Note: Standard shades used for correlation will be maintained by NPG.
NPG Color Procedure Manual © 2015 Nordstrom, Inc., all rights reserved. CONFIDENTIAL: These documents contain
proprietary, trade secret, and confidential information which are the property of Nordstrom, Inc. These documents and
their contents may not be duplicated or disclosed to any other party without express authorization of Nordstrom, Inc.
Page 4 of 4