Color QC and Matching Blog

Tip #8 Sample Presentation for Color Measurement

Posted by Elaine Becker on Fri, Apr 20, 2012

Much of this blog series has been focused on the instrument and getting the best possible inter-instrument agreement.  However, we can’t forget the basics of good practice in color measurement when it comes to sample presentation.   Some types of samples can be very repeatable to present to the instrument, while others pose more challenges. 

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Tags: color tolerances, electronic color standards, color matching, color standard, inter-instrument agreement, translucency, color spectrophotometer, spectrophotometer

Tip #4 - Inter-Instrument Agreement

Posted by Elaine Becker on Mon, Oct 31, 2011

What is Inter-Instrument Agreement? Should I care?  How do you determine it?   How do I know what my numbers are?  Can I measure it myself?

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Tags: electronic color standards, color standard, instrument profiling, inter-instrument agreement, color spectrophotometer, spectrophotometer

Tip #3 – The Physical Color Standard

Posted by Elaine Becker on Fri, Jul 29, 2011

 Before generating an electronic color standard, a physical standard needs to exist and be measured to generate the electronic data.  Here are some guidelines for selecting the specimen and storing and handling it:

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Tags: color matching, color formulation, color standard, global color communication

Tip #1: Instrumentation for Sharing Electronic Color Standards

Posted by Elaine Becker on Wed, Jun 15, 2011

 

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Tags: color standard, instrument profiling, inter-instrument agreement, instrument geometry, color spectrophotometer, spectrophotometer

10 Tips for Using Electronic Color Standards

Posted by Elaine Becker on Thu, Apr 28, 2011

Using electronic color standards and sharing L*a*b* color values is the goal of many companies and their supply chains these days. It’s easy, fast, and convenient.  If we’re all using the same numbers for our color target, isn’t that the best way to assure that we’re all matching to the same color?  It is certainly more convenient than shipping samples around overnight.  But before you do so, you need to understand the best practices of color measurement and for setting and maintaining numerical color standards.  Many color disputes arise these days because color instruments don’t necessarily read the same.  Electronic or numerical color standards are widely used and shared within a supply chain and have many benefits, but if all of your instruments are not regularly monitored and calibrated, then problems can arise. 

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Tags: color tolerances, color standard, global color communication, instrument profiling, inter-instrument agreement, instrument geometry, color spectrophotometer

CyberChrome Exhibits at the American Coatings Show 2010

Posted by Elaine Becker on Wed, Apr 28, 2010
 

CyberChrome Inc was an exhibitor at the recent American Coatings Show in Charlotte, NC.  Featured products included OnColor Profiler for improving inter-instrument agreement and the OnColor Suite of color management software for quality control and color formulation.

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Tags: color tolerances, OnColor, color matching, color formulation, color standard, instrument profiling, inter-instrument agreement

Color Measurement Accuracy: Translucent Materials

Posted by Elaine Becker on Thu, Apr 08, 2010

This blog article was written by Dr. John W. Root of Mt. Baker Research: 

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Tags: color standard, instrument profiling, inter-instrument agreement, instrument geometry, translucency, color spectrophotometer

Spot On: Lessons from a Color-Matching Master

Posted by Elaine Becker on Wed, Mar 10, 2010
As the North American Manager of Color Services for Pittsburgh-based PPG, a $16 billion per year manufacturer of paints, coatings, chemicals, optical and glass, Shelley Sturdevant knows something about color matching. She manages and oversees color control for the Coil and Extrusion coatings business at 10 facilities nationwide, with a color palette currently holding over 100,000 colors.

We had the opportunity to spend a few minutes with Shelley as she shared some of what she's learned managing color for PPG over the years:

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Tags: OnColor, Color correction, color matching, color formulation, color standard

COLOR TOLERANCES:

Posted by Mike Burns on Thu, Jul 16, 2009
 

One of the more frequent questions we hear from suppliers is:  What should my color tolerances be?  The simple answer equates to what the client will accept in color variation in all directions of color space versus the color standard the supplier needs to match.  The importance of the client providing representative color standards will be the subject of a future blog.

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Tags: color tolerances, Announcements, Color difference, Product Information, box tolerances, CMC DE, DE CIE2000, elliptical tolerances, color standard