TECHNOLOGY | COLOUR MEASUREMENT
Right: The MA-T family of instruments helps to
quantify colour, sparkle and coarseness
only distinguish and quantify colour but can also account for appearance factors such as gloss, fluorescence, metallics and textured appearances. “This is especially important as more special-effect materials and finishes make their way into the world of plastics,” Schmollgruber says. “Using a spectrophotometer that includes colour imaging can bring many benefits in this regard, as well as ensure more accurate targeting of the image area and retention of the image and information about the measurement conditions for track, trace and auditing purposes.”
Special effects Special effect and other appearance-enhancing finishes – long established in the automotive industry – are now finding applications in every- thing from appliances and consumer electronics to toys and plastic containers for personal care products such as shampoo. “This includes every- thing from aluminium flakes for a metallic look to highly advanced materials that include multi-colour sparkles that change colour and appearance based on lighting conditions and viewing angle,” says Schmollgruber. “We are also seeing increased use in textured
Below: PantoneLIVE is a cloud-based digital colour standard
ecosystem that gives instant access to the Pantone Matching System (PMS)
materials and plastics. These complex materials must be measured and managed differently than traditional absorbing colourants. Colour manage- ment instruments need to go beyond simply measuring colour to the inclusion of appearance characteristics such as coarseness and texture. That will be the next generation of instruments for the plastics industry and we are already bringing products to market to address this. X-Rite recently introduced the first colour measurement instru- ments to combine colour imaging and multi-angle spectral measurement. The MA-T family of instru- ments helps to quantify colour, sparkle and coarseness. This allows customers to more precise-
ly define and control the effect finishes used plastics,” he says. The use of effect finishes, such as those de- signed to create a mirrored or multi-coloured surface, requires a new approach to colour measurement. Spectrophotometers are designed to average the colours, so the results when measur- ing such effects may not coincide with what the quality controller is observing. X-Rite says that its MA-T family combines spectral measurement with a full-colour, high resolution on-board camera and software for image analysis. The on-board colour camera provides a live video
feed of the image area to be captured. When specific tolerances are set in the accompanying software for both colour and appearance characteris- tics, a pass/fail notification is provided to let the oper- ator know the if the product met all the specified tolerances. This identifies problem areas so formula- tion or quality control professionals can take appro- priate remedial steps. The approach is intended to improve the assessment of colour and appearance of sophisticated special effect finishes and introduce more consistency across increasingly complex manufacturing supply chains. X-Rite predicts that this new and evolving generation of imaging spectro- photometry tools will bring big changes in both formulation and quality control of plastics. A second major technical trend in colour
measurement is the ongoing shift to digital in the design-to-production workflow. “This starts with designers using digital tools to specify and communicate colour in design, production and manufacturing. Tools such as PantoneLIVE, a cloud-based digital colour standard ecosystem, give designers and colour producers instant access to the official Pantone spectral colour values of the Pantone Matching System (PMS) for plastics and coatings,” says Schmollgruber.
18 COMPOUNDING WORLD | July 2018
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www.compoundingworld.com
PHOTO: X-RITE
PHOTO: X-RITE
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