INSTRUMENTATION | COLOUR MEASUREMENT
Above: Datacolor’s latest Spectro 1000 model measures sample
colour and temperature
vertical configuration instrument enables users to measure a greater variety of samples, while the Spectro 1000X model, with its upward-facing aperture, is said to be well suited for handling liquid, paste, powder and granular samples.
Colour and gloss New models also feature in the Konica Minolta line-up. The benchtop-series CM-36dG and CM-36dGV (the second has a vertical alignment) are two-in-one high-precision spectrophotometers that measure colour and gloss simultaneously. “Differences in measurement values between instruments are exceedingly small, so when these instruments are used consistently from suppliers through finished product maker, higher inspection process efficiency can be expected,” says Jutta Albertin, European Product Manager CCM at Konica Minolta Sensing Europe. She says stability and reliability of the devices is guaranteed using a patented monitoring function that the company calls “Wavelength Analysis & Adjustment” (WAA). This compensates for slight shifts in measurement values due to external factors such as ambient temperature changes. Albertin says the two new units retain the strong
points of the predecessor series CM-3600A but add several new features to improve user experi- ence. These include status LEDs to provide a clear visual feedback, a camera preview system for sample positioning and reporting, and a more versatile port alignment that allows the device to be used horizontally or rotated 90° to measure materials such as powders in “top-port” style. Albertin also highlights some features of the company’s Colibri software platform for colour quality control and recipe prediction. “Any kind of polymer can easily be used for recipe prediction without a lot of pre-work,” she says, adding that this includes post-consumer recycled material. “De- pending on the desired colour shade, the software helps to decide about the best ratio of PCR to virgin polymer and thus enables the compounder or masterbatcher to react fast if the PCR varies. Colibri software also has the ability to match not only colour but also opacity ‘in a perfect way,’” she says.
Pandemic effects One observed effect of the Covid-19 pandemic has been an increase in the number of compound and masterbatch produces — as well as their customers — that are using digital colour references and digital workflows to enable colour work and communication from remote locations, according to Felix Schmollgruber, EMEA Technical Applica- tions Manager at X-Rite. Digital standards quantify a colour’s identity based on the type of plastic, gloss or surface reflection, special effect additives, opacity and more, Schmollgruber says. They can reduce waste and unnecessary time spent on iterations passed back and forth between design and production. “To create a digital colour standard, you need an accurate, repeatable master spectrophotometer,” he says, highlighting the X-Rite Ci7860 benchtop as a suitable option. When specified correctly, digital standards make
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IMAGE: DATACOLOR
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