You can reorder the same design months later, but you usually cannot get exactly the same shade. Each production run gets its own shade code, and a new run will often be slightly lighter, darker or warmer than the first. A factory may still have boxes of your original batch in stock, which is the only way to get a true match.
If an exact match matters, buy reserve stock in the first order. If a close match is enough, keep a master sample and agree with the factory how close the new run must be.
Why shades drift
Tile colour depends on raw material lots, glaze and ink batches, kiln conditions and the digital print file. Over months, a factory changes clay lots, ink suppliers and kiln settings. Even with the same design file, the result moves. This is normal, and it is why boxes carry shade and batch codes. See shade variation and how it is controlled.
What to ask the factory
- Do you still have stock of the original shade and batch number, and how many boxes?
- Is the design still in production, and has the print file or glaze changed since my last order?
- Can you make a trial and send a sample from the new run before full production?
- Will you keep the new run to one shade and one calibre?
How to get the closest match
Keep a master sample from your first order. Store a few tiles from the original batch, labelled with the shade code. When you reorder, send the shade code and photos to the factory, and ask for a production sample before the run.
Compare the new sample with your master side by side, in daylight, laid flat. Approve it in writing or reject it. Write the approved tolerance into the purchase order, for example "to match the approved sample dated ...". Without a written reference, the factory decides what close enough means.
If the factory has dropped the design, it may offer a similar new design. Treat that as a new product, with its own samples and tests.
Planning ahead
Reserve stock from the first run is still the safer route for designs you expect to sell for a long time. Keeping spare stock in the same shade explains how to plan and store it. For projects, tell the customer that extra tiles bought later may come from a different batch.
Factories in Morbi update their ranges often, so a design you buy this year may be withdrawn later. Ask how long the factory plans to keep it in production before you build a range around it. How often Morbi factories launch new designs gives the background.
Next step
We hold your approved samples, check the new run against them and stop the loading if the shade does not match. To plan a reorder, book a free sourcing review.