Why Color Measurement is Important for Paint and Coating Industry?

Spectrophotometry and colour measurement is important for quality assurance and product’s colour consistency. Irrespective of the industry, colour measurement for accuracy plays a key role, be it automotive, textile, consumables, chemicals and so on. With modern equipment, equipped with reliable digital and integrated circuits, the complex task of quantifying colour becomes easy and objective.

When we say colour measurement, we are referring to a system that uses an instrument to decipher the description of the colour according to the standardised test procedures. The results obtained from these instruments is used for comparing the master colour with sample colours, regardless of what human eyes are perceiving. This colour comparison is what quality control managers need. This quantification process is used for giving shape to the pass-fail model of quality check during mass production.

Why Is Color Measurement Important?

In some industries, the color of the product is the important criteria for the consumer to choose a product, e.g. food items, clothes, and sometimes cars too. If the colour is not attracting the attention, the product will lose the limelight. For instance, a car manufacturer rolled out a feature loaded model, but neither of the colors is catching target customers’ attention. This would impact the sales of the car model hugely. In another scenario, exact colour matching of the parts important. Say, a reputed toy manufacturer is making a battery-operated bike model to be ridden by kids.  Colour matching of every part is important. Though it is something which is meant for children, but quality managers would reject the piece in case of any colour discrepancy. If the producer cannot enumerate the colour difference, there is always a guess work involved to achieve the colour accuracy, which may or may not work. To end this guess work, it becomes imperative to use a colour measuring device like spectrophotometer or colorimeter.

When it comes to food and pharmaceuticals, FDA (Food and Drug Authorities) and other similar regulatory authorities have strict control over the colour usage in the items. If the manufacturer has no control over the usage of additive colours, he might get into trouble and invite penalty. As consumers are nowadays aware of quality standards, non-approved items may lose half of the potential customer over competitors with this one parameter only.

How to Make Efficient Colour Measurement?

Well, if you search over internet there are ample of colour measuring devices available, which makes the buying process more difficult. Spectrophotometer and colorimeter are the commonest devices used for this purpose. Depending upon the industrial requirements, the choice can be made. The ability to mix colour in exact proportion for efficient colour selection requires the use of a spectrophotometer. Your device should be capable enough to consider different parameters like hue, saturation, gloss, matte and colour value. It can quantify the colour in both transmittance and reflective mode for three-dimensional attributes. To get the accurate colour measurement, your device must quantify the colour spectrum
with all these aspects.

Testronix has multiple models of spectrophotometer and colorimeters for different industrial applications. Perfect for textiles, paints and metal coatings, food colouring, packaging, labels, etc. You may contact the experts at Testronix for any assistance required for choosing the right product for your industry.

Why Is Spectrophotometer Need of Paint and Coating Industry?

Paints and Coatings colour measurement are an important part of different industries like furnishing, automobile, large electronic appliance etc. In very industry, it plays a key role in improving aesthetics of the product. There was a time when refrigerators were available in monotonous whites and greys, but now, ample of colour choice is available. To attract more buyers, more colour options are being introduced. Now, the biggest challenge is creating the consistent colour scheme throughout the product while maintaining this consistency throughout the range.

Especially in paints, the viewing angle makes a considerable difference in the appearance of colour, along with gloss and matte finished surface. In this situation, making a colour appear consistent throughout becomes tricky. Also, the light interference from the surroundings impact the perception. Thus, there is a need of a time-tested device that can match the master colour with samples with getting affected by surroundings. For b2b clients, it sometimes becomes tricky to convince the client that the colour of the actual product is what they have chosen, as the final product is getting affected by many parameters. In this situation, if you showcase some real-time reports of precise colour matching; the chances of rejection reduce to much an extent.

Today, measurement has reached to a different level. Earlier the purpose was just to match two samples to avoid discrepancy. But now, it is all about knowing the process and introduce the scope of improvements. Leveraging the power to collect data at different points throughout the process and sharing it down the line will help in improving the production process by reducing the operation time and improving the efficiency.