The optimization of markers is one of the most important preparatory steps for production in the clothing industry. It determines the sizes of clothes to be laid and cut together. Markers are built on a work order basis. The work order is a matrix of sizes by colors that have to be covered by markers in an optimal way. The optimal way can be defined in a number of ways: it can be the minimum number of markers to accomplish the work order, or the least time for fulfilling the work order, or the minimal amount of cloth used. In this article, the problem of marker optimization is treated formally. The problem is transformed into the 0/1 knapsack problem and solved using evolutionary algorithms. The results obtained on ten real-world work orders show an important improvement over the previously best known solutions.
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