About Me

My photo
Narich specialises in creating simple solutions for sometimes complex problems using non destructive light and spectral techniques

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

What is the value of colour measurement?


Accurate colour measurement, or any light based test for that matter, is a lot cheaper than many traditional testing methods, particularly as its non destructive. It is however not free. So when is colour measurement essential?

Lets take a typical Industrial Example - Auto manufacturing - Quality

Car makers tend to have very high standards, obtain parts from many different suppliers around the world, made of multiple materials with varying functionality. It is not possible to start matching doors to bodies, bumpers to bonnets and other accessories like plastic wheel trims and petrol caps on the assembly line. One of the many technical specifications include a colour specification. To be accurate and universal, the specification include about 14 rules to ensure that the different parts match well under various conditions. The cost of using Spectrophotometers far outways reprocessing of cars on the assembly line, as well as the possibility of a reduced quality perception by customers. The same approach also applies to the colour of the tail lights, the intensity of the headlamps and dashboard icon clarity. 

Example - Fashion Plastics - Branding and Formulation

Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG's) run to very tight time constraints. Lets say a well known brand name is going to launch a new skin care product for a high selling season like Christmas. It can take plastic container manufacturers months to get the packaging approved working visually with physical samples.

Today, a designer can post a master colour on line, and by using a Spectrophotometer with Colour Prediction Software actually formulate the plastic colour within days. Packaging, either paper or plastic, can be married to all the related media according to master colour details. This results in lots of savings as well.

Example - Textiles - Matching Fabrics - Quality

Fashion is created at high speed and the market reacts very rapidly as well. While some garments might be OK with it, mostly we would like the left sleeve or leg to match the right sleeve or leg, even when these come from different rolls of fabric, maybe over months of delivery. Spectrophotometric's make this easy, speeding up fashion and eliminating defects.

Ask us about your application

No comments:

Post a Comment

Join our Light Conversation!