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COLOUR MEASUREMENT | INSTRUMENTATION


Digital precision in colour


Measuring and matching colour in plastics is no easy task but the latest digital tools can help at all stages of the production process.Peter Mapleston learns more


“Getting colour right in the plastics industry is essential to customer satisfaction because custom- ers associate colour consistency with quality,” according to Earl Balthazar, Colour Technologist and Senior Applications Engineer at colour measurement equipment producer Datacolor. “It can be challenging to achieve consistent,


reproducible colour in any industry, but the physical characteristics of plastics require closer attention when it comes to colour matching. This is why a comprehensive digital colour management workflow and the latest advancements in colour management technologies are key in ensuring reliable and accurate colour,” he says. Balthazar says a typical digital colour manage- ment workflow includes full-spectrum instruments that generate colour data beyond observation by the human eye. “Use of advanced colour manage- ment solutions and colour quality control software allow producers and decision makers to measure, analyse and manage colour digitally from any-


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where in the world and quickly share those analyses across the supply chain,” he says. “With higher-end spectrophotometers, profes- sionals can skip the time-consuming process of creating plaques – a process that can take up to 25 minutes just to make a single pass/fail decision. Today’s technology makes it possible to make the same pass/fail decision in just five minutes, increasing efficiencies, saving time and avoiding wasted off-spec material,” Balthazar explains. The latest spectrometers — such as Datacolor’s


Spectro 1000/700 series instruments — measure temperature as well as colour. Balthazar says temperature measurement is important because plastics samples coming off the production line are frequently considerably above ambient tempera- ture. He says this can significantly impact colour appearance. Last month, Datacolor introduced two new models to its Spectro range of benchtop spectro- photometers. It says the economical Spectro 700V


July 2021 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 15


Main image: New digital technologies can help


maintain colour consistency even in the most complex plastics supply chains


IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK


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