Autura Ink: The Future of Cloud-Native Ink Formulation and Quality Control X-Rite’s latest innovation, Autura Ink, a cloud-native ink formulation and quality control solution, recently won the prestigious PRINTING United Alliance Pinnacle Award in the color management and quality control category. This award recognizes innovative new products that significantly enhance the printing industry through exceptional quality, capability, and productivity. We sat down with Ming-Pong Liu, Software...

Accelerate ROI, digital transformation, and sustainability with a digital textile color program. Hiccups in getting to market can be devasting for any type of business. For fashion, soft goods, apparel, and footwear brands, a major concern is missing out on the opportunity to increase sales and establish or reinforce brand credibility. Brands simply can’t afford any unnecessary slowdowns during the execution of a design due to delays in preliminary steps such as the color approval process....

Looking for a centralized location to manage your X-Rite products and services? Check out My X-Rite. Whether you need product information or support, service details, or access to learning resources, our free online portal is just a few clicks away. 24/7 Access: Easily access your personal dashboard from your computer or mobile device around the clock. Personalized Dashboard: See what matters most to you in one convenient location. Effortless Service & Support: Submit and track...

Starbucks has once again kicked off the holiday season with four new festive cup designs. This year they surprised us with a magenta accent, which “lifts the traditional holiday colors and makes the red even look brighter,” said Kristy Cameron, Starbucks’ creative director. In the frenzy of holiday shopping, packaging plays a crucial role in catching the eye of potential buyers. However, staying ahead of the game and adapting packaging designs to align with ever-changing con...

The environmental footprint of fashion is out of control. According to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), “Textile mills generate one-fifth of the world's industrial water pollution and use 20,000 chemicals, many of them carcinogenic, to make clothes.” Fabric being dyed in factory. Image from NRDC.org.  A Problem That Impacts Everyone Did you know it takes about 200 tons of water (enough to fill several swimming pools) to produce one ton of cott...

If ensuring color consistency is part of your job description, you’ll want to learn more about PantoneLIVE. Our customers report that it helps them get products to market an average of four times faster! PantoneLIVE is an end-to-end, digital color communication ecosystem that helps everyone involved in a packaging workflow visualize and communicate color. It shows which colors are achievable, and which are not, across everything from flexible packaging to corrugated board. And, since the digital...

他人から「りんご」と言われた時に、あなたは、赤、緑、黄のどれを思い浮かべますか？ もし、顧客から具体的ではない説明で調色を求められたら、どうすればよいでしょうか？。カラーコミュニケーションというとてもシンプルな定義が、カラープログラムの成功を左右することができます。詳しくは、以下のブログをご確認ください。 絵は千の言葉を描けますが、言葉だけでは、千の色を描く事は出来ません。 色に関する循環的な会話は日常に起きるものです。一般的には、誰かが色を少し変えて欲しいという要求から始まります。例えば、もっと暖かく、もっとポップにして、もっとトーンダウンして、などです。あなたも何度か経験したことがあるのではないでしょうか。デザイナーとの電話では、欲しい色が「見えている」と言われたのに、それを表現するための適切な言葉が見つからないことです。あるいは、自分が伝えたつもりの色が出なかった印刷業者との会話も難しいです。 ブランドオーナー、デザイナー、サプライヤー、そしてメーカーは、さまざまな方法で、そして、多くの場合口頭で、期待する色を伝えようとします。さらに、色の説明が伝えられるたびに、それは少しず...

This time of year, the internet is full of Top 10 Countdowns. It’s a tradition we’ve embraced since 1940 when the Billboard published its first chart ranking the top selling recorded songs. Since then, others have jumped on the bandwagon to highlight the most popular trends of the previous year.   We’ve been publishing our top-read blogs since 2016, and we’re happy to see some educational topics like color perception, tolerancing, and spectrophotometers continue to r...

Color plays a major role in our food choices. Many foods like Swiss cheese, strawberries, broccoli, and mashed potatoes always look the same. We know what to expect when we take our first bite. But what if your mashed potatoes were green? Would they taste different? Would you even try them? Why Color Analysis is Important for the Food Industry   There has been a lot of research about the role color plays in how we perceive and even taste food. These studies show that our judgment of f...

色は大事だと、よく言われています。なぜ大事なのか知っていますか。実際、生産工程において、色はとても重要な要素です。しかし、残念ながら、多くのメーカーは、色を正しく表現することが以前と比べ、はるかに難しくなったと気づいています。なぜなら、取引先のブランドは、より厳しい許容範囲を満たすことを求めています。 その理由の一つは以下のとおりです。 メタリックパッケージ、真珠光沢仕上げ、カスタムファブリック、鮮やかな新色など、色技術の進捗は顧客を魅了する一方で、生産における一貫性を持たせることがより難しくなっています。 たとえば、コンポジットデッキを例としてあげましょう。以前はグレーかブラウンの2択しかありませんでした。そして、デッキ全体に調和が取れていけば、お客様は十分満足されました。しかし、今では、深い木目模様やエキゾチックな色など、多くの選択肢があります。そのため、メーカーは2～3色ではなく、数10色を管理しなければなりません。統一感を出すために、より難しくなりました。 パッケージもそのひとつです。かつて、印刷された箱のみが並んでいたお店でも、今はホイルパウチやブリスターパック、マルチ基...

In 2006, X-Rite acquired the Munsell Color Company. Along with that acquisition came an important legacy of color science, color standards, and color vision analysis tools. Today we'll look back at Albert Munsell's contribution to the world of color and share the products his work has inspired to help us manage color in a range of industries, including packaging, apparel, footwear, electronics, cosmetics, home furnishings, paint, food and beverage, construction, and more. Albert Munsell's Role ...

When customers are just getting started with color management, they often ask, "What is the difference between a spectrometer and a spectrophotometer?". With such a minute spelling difference, it's easy to make a quick typo and get the wrong answer for this color question. So...what's the difference? Spectrometers vs. Spectrophotometers    What is a Spectrophotometer? A spectrophotometer is a color measurement device that is used to capture and evaluate color on just about anything, in...

According to autolist.com, over 80% of cars produced today are white, black, or some shade of gray. It’s not necessarily because bright and bold colors are more difficult to produce and match than their grayscale counterparts, they just take longer to get through the inspiration and car design process.  Believe it or not, producing a new auto color can take up to five years before it makes it to the showroom floor. It’s a long, tedious process for designers, paint...

アズダ社のブランドパッケージはさまざまなサプライヤー、印刷プロセス、基材を使用して世界中で印刷されています。アズダ社の印刷専門家からなる小規模なチームでは、印刷品質を検証するために、すべてのサプライヤーに立ち会うことが現実的ではありませんでした。   ７年前、アズダ社はデジタル カラー プログラムである、エックスライト社の品質管理ソフトウェア ColorCert Suiteを採用し、承認を合理化し、棚に並べたときに、一次・二次パッケージング印刷業者全体で、一貫性のあるブランドの存在感と品質保証を実現しました。   現在、アズダ社の承認済みの印刷業者の大多数は、プレスルームツールを導入し、ColorCertスコアカードサーバーに直接データを送信しています。アズダ社はプロセスカラー、ブランドカラー、オーバープリント、グレーバランスの許容範囲を決め、プロセスをコントロールします。印刷業者は、客観的かつ一貫性のある基準により、自社の印刷品質を評価・監視します。     アズダ社は最新版のColorCertスコアカードサーバーにアップグレード エックスラ...

When choosing a beverage product from the store shelf, consumers not only demand superb taste, but also consistency in the way the beverage looks to the human eye. Color and transparency are essential markers for quality - any imperfection can indicate contamination, impurities in the raw materials, or process variations caused by heating and oxidation. However, drinks like fruit and vegetable juice, beer, and blended cocktails are difficult for manufacturers to control during production. Natura...

.upcoming-webinar-block { width: 100%; display: table; margin-bottom: 20px; } .upcoming-webinar-left { width: 120px; padding-right: 20px; display: table-cell; } .upcoming-webinar-left img { margin-top: 10px; } .upcoming-webinar-right { vertical-align: top; display: table-cell; } Color measurement devices have been around since the 1940s, but they’ve come a long way since then. Built by Jules Duboscq in France in 1870, t...

Last week Pantone announced the Pantone Color of the Year 2020 - Very Peri (PANTONE 17-3938). The Pantone Color of the Year announcement isn’t just important for designers. Since this color will set the stage for upcoming trends, brand owners should also take notice to capitalize on this trending color. Bring Very Peri to Market, Fast. Is Virtual Design the Answer? The fashion and apparel industry began embracing virtual design years ago. Luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Burberry, ...

Light booths provide a controlled environment for judging color under different lighting conditions. They can help visually evaluate how different types of light will affect the perception of color, evaluate the color of raw materials before and after production, and ensure different components will remain uniform once they’re assembled.   But not all light booths are the same. With NIST traceability and ISO 17025 accreditation, X-Rite offers worldwide competence in calibration, cert...

The best way to visualize how color will react in real world lighting conditions is to use a quality light booth. Traditional light booths contain common illuminants like daylight, incandescent, and fluorescent to replicate how color will look in the retail store and post-purchase in outdoor and home lighting. Today, the increased use of LED lamps in home, commercial, and retail environments is impacting decades of standardized lighting procedures.   How LED is Changing the Game LED li...

測色は、色の重要な作業において、色の品質を指定・定量化・伝達・定形化・検証するために必要です。色の感じ方は人それぞれ異なるため、測色は目視評価より正確な結果を得られます。  色測定とは？ 色測定は、サンプルによって放射・透過・反射される光の量をとらえ、スペクトルデータとして定量化することで、光源の変化分も捉えることが出来ます。測色計（分光測色計）で行う色測定は、目視評価より正確です。なぜなら、人間の色認識は差を表すのは得意ですが、定量的に示すことは不得意です。色に関わる重要な作業には、色を識別・定量化・伝達・区別するための分光測色計の導入を強く推奨します。 色波長の測定方法 色を測定するには、分光測色計と呼ばれる測色装置でサンプルに光を当て、人間の目に見える波長範囲である380nmから780nmの範囲で透過または反射した光の量をとらえます。分光測色計は波長範囲にわたるスペクトル波長測定に基づき、計算を行い、スペクトルデータを定量化します。  測色計とは？ 測色計には、色彩計と分光測色計の２種類あります。 色彩計は人間の目と同じように色を認識し、赤・緑・青を感じる3...

Learn about light, reflection curves, optical brighteners, and more.     Illuminants Electro magnetic radiation in the wavelength range from 380 nm to 730 nm is seen as light by our eyes. Low wavelengths show as blue light, then the spectrum continues from green to yellow, orange, and red. UV radiation is located in the range below 380 nm; the range above 730 nm is called infrared radiation. The visual impression of a colored body changes by the composition of the incoming light. ...

People often ask how X-Rite got its name and how we came to be a leader in the art and science of color. It’s really a great story – one that focuses on innovation, entrepreneurship and determination. What’s in a name? X-Rite was founded in 1957 by a group of engineers and business entrepreneurs who had a desire to start a business based on innovation. The members brainstormed new product ideas ranging from can openers to sheet metal tools to collapsible car cots. After buildin...

The Pantone Color of the Year announcement is always exciting. Not only does it set the stage for upcoming trends, it also provides brand owners and designers critical guidance for marketing and product development. However, those who are charged with manufacturing products and packaging with trending colors (like 2021's Ultimate Gray and Illuminating) know it doesn’t “just happen.” It takes time and effort to incorporate new colors. Whether you work in paints, plasti...

The Pantone Color Institute just announced PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray + PANTONE 13-0647 Illuminating as the Pantone Color of the Year 2021. According to the Pantone Color Institute, PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray + PANTONE 13-0647 Illuminating, a marriage of color conveying a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting. Illuminating is a bright and cheerful yellow sparkling with vivacity, a warming yellow shade imbued with solar power. Ultimate Gray is emblematic of...

The color of liquid is one of the most difficult things to control during production. But it’s important. Would you choose a bottle of juice or cleaner that is lighter in color than the other bottles on the shelf? What about cough syrup?     Liquid is hard to measure because it can range in transparency from translucent to opaque. It’s also hard to hold, and the measurement device can’t touch it or the optics and the sample will both be contaminated.   Today&rsq...

パッケージング業界では常に「サステナビリティ」が最優先とされています。サステナビリティとは、環境のニーズと次の世代を考慮し、あらゆる手段を用いて生産工程における無駄を排除することです。それは、社会的責任を配慮するだけではありません。消費者は商品の購入を決定する際、サステナビリティに取り組む商品であるかどうかをチェックする傾向にあるためです。   もちろん、サステナビリティに取り組むことだけが、店頭に並ぶ商品ブランドを形成する要素ではありません。新型コロナウイルス感染症に関する水際対策が強化されると共に、印刷工程やカラーの承認作業を現場で行うことが困難になってきており、それにより印刷工程が長引き、またパッケージ色のあらゆる問題にもつながっています。そのような工程は目標から外れ、無駄なコストが発生してしまいます。    サステナビリティに取り組むと同時に、新型コロナウイルス感染症に関する水際対策にも対応できるパッケージを実現するには、手作業を要する旧式システムから、テクノロジーベースのワークフローに移行し、コスト削減と一貫したブランド色の確保に努める必要があり...

As the industrial plastics market grows increasingly competitive and demands more sustainable practices, manufacturers need new ways to formulate and produce accurate color faster, with less waste. Digital color standards are one of the most effective tools to bridge this gap. They also enable color work and communication from remote locations.   With digital color standards, brands and designers can set clear expectations with supply chains. In turn, suppliers can achieve color goals wit...

As the world reopens, retail stores are making functional changes to ensure customers and employees are safe and healthy. For starters, the notoriously social activity of shopping now requires associates and customers to maintain distance and wear masks.      Customers need to feel comfortable when they sit down at the cosmetic counter, too. While the role of the beauty consultant is not going away, demo makeup applications and cosmetic testers are. This leaves retailers seeking ...

競争の激しい市場において、ブランド企業とパッケージデザイナーは、店頭に並んだ自社製品を差別化する方法を模索しています。その対策は、色だけでなく、箔、特殊ワニス、ソフトタッチの仕上げなどの装飾オプションまで広がっています。また、デザイナーは従来の印刷だけでなく、より強いソリッドカラーや蛍光色、虹色なども使用するようになっています。デジタル ソリューションにより、パッケージのバリエーションを増やせ、稼働時間の短縮やサイクル タイムの短縮に対応できるようになります。 鮮やかな色や仕上げは、パッケージを店頭で目立たせますが、この傾向はパッケージ印刷のコンバーターに多くの課題をもたらします。消費者に鮮やかな色や仕上げを与える光の物理学的性質が、測定上の課題にもなっています。見る人に輝きを与えるよう、光が反射したり屈折したりすると、分光測色計で捉えるのが難しい鏡面成分も生じます。 ここでは、パッケージ印刷業者とコンバーターがデザイン意図に沿って、強いソリッドカラーと特殊な仕上げを施したパッケージを製造するための5つのヒントをご紹介します。成功している企業には、大きなビジネス成長のチャンスがありま...

As digital printing continues to grow, many printmakers are moving beyond traditional media to create artwork on substrates like wood, acrylic, textiles, and backlit materials. While the results can be beautiful, achieving exceptional print quality on these materials can be challenging.   Enter the i1Pro 3 Plus. With its large aperture, polarization and transmissive capabilities, this new member of X-Rite’s i1Pro Family can create color profiles for substrates that are otherwise ...

Our customers who are now working remotely need to be aware that changing a small variable – such as approving color from home under a different light source, or emailing specifications instead of sending a physical sample – can introduce color issues that risk creating a larger color problem. The first and most critical stage to color control is accurate color communication. These resources will help you get started. The Importance of Color Communication Blog | Many color...

Spectrophotometers (“spectros” for short) are color measurement devices used to capture and evaluate color. As part of a color control program, brand owners and designers use them to specify and communicate color, and manufacturers use them to monitor color accuracy throughout production. Spectrophotometers can measure just about anything, including liquids, plastics, paper, metal and fabrics, and help ensure that color remains consistent from conception to delivery.   &nb...

Phone and computer screens are the window into the digital world of color, but if you are approving colors via email or text you need to be aware of the limitations.  For starters, each of your devices relies on a different color model to display color. Input devices – your camera and monitor – use the additive color model to display color. They start with darkness and add red, green, and blue light to create a spectrum of colors. Printers, on the other hand, use the s...

Does your quality control program include visual evaluation? Lighting plays a huge role in how we perceive color. It can help you verify whether the color of your product is acceptable and ensure it remains accurate in every possible lighting condition after purchase.     Many of our customers are finding visual evaluation to be even more important as they transition color reviews and approvals to a different location, such as in the home office or to another remote environmen...

So much goes into the way you perceive color, including light, genetics, the environment, human traits, and even fatigue. You may also be among the 1 in 255 women and 1 in 12 men who have some form of color vision deficiency. Our online color challenge is a fun way to better understand your color vision acuity.     Regardless of your color vision acuity, if you are communicating, evaluating, or approving color from a new location your eyes may trick you into making diff...

Color has always been a critical factor for our customers. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many are now trying to design, specify, communicate and ultimately achieve accurate color from remote locations or with less staff and fewer resources. Are you having trouble maintaining your color program in this unprecedented time?  We've compiled our most popular resources – blogs, videos, whitepapers, webinars, and case studies – to help you connect with your supply chain and ...

Appearance is more than just color. It’s an all-inclusive look at everything inherent to an object, including texture, gloss, transparency, translucency, and special effects like sparkle and shimmer. When viewed from different angles or under different lighting conditions, appearance effects can change our perception of color. That's why it’s important to control both color and appearance throughout design and development.  Durable goods brands use appearance effects to captur...

Although digital printing has been around for many years, the industry is undergoing dramatic changes. On the plus side, digital print technologies utilize more durable inks and offer higher reliability, longer print life, and overall cost savings and efficiency. But these changes also mean print shops must adjust the way they operate to remain competitive.   According to Allied Market Research, the digital fabric printing market is expected to reach almost $4 million globally by 2022,...

Managing color throughout production is always a challenge, but advances in color technology, like the metallic, shimmer, and pearlescence effects designed to capture consumer attention, are taking the frustration to a whole new level for quality control managers. This is especially true when producing parts that must match at assembly, such as the metal panels for a home appliance or the painted side mirrors for a vehicle.  Special effects are tricky to control because our perception can c...

Durable goods and consumer electronics are no longer destined to be white, gray, and black. In fact, consumers are moving towards more classic colors and special effect finishes like metallics. To capitalize on this trend, brands need to bring innovative designs in new colors faster to market than ever before.   One trending color, the PANTONE Color of the Year 2020, is sure to capture the attention of durable good and consumer electronic brands. It is a simple, timeless, elegant, and endur...

紙、テキスタイル、プラスチック、コイルコーティング、ガラス業界など、インライン測色の意味を解説 エックスライトのインライン測色ソリューションを使用すると、さまざまな業界のメーカーは、生産全体を通じ、色の正確性と一貫性を評価でき、ISOのコンプライアンスを追跡できるようになります。インラインシステムは、製品の製造中にリアルタイムで色を監視し、製品が仕様外に逸脱し始めた場合に、オペレータに警告を出し、製品が無駄になる前に修正を行うことができます。 トラバースビームに取り付けられた非接触式インライン分光測色計ERX145はシートの左側、中央、右側を自動的に測定します。 エックスライトのインライン測色ソリューションは非接触分光測色計とESWinソフトウェアを使用しています。多くの装置は、スタンドアロンのラボユニットとしても機能しますが、システムには分光測色計をラインに設置するための移動フレームとロボットアームが含まれることがあります。用途やニーズに応じて、エックスライトのインライン測色ソリューションはプロセスコントロールシステムと連携し、リアルタイムのクローズドループの色補正を実現する...

Do you get a different feeling in a room full of warm, natural colors…  …than you do in a white and sterile office?  Has a building ever “spoken” to you? Color is an Integral Part of our World It's a visual language that everyone understands; a sensory perception that affects our emotions in many ways. Although it is often subconscious, the impact of color plays a fundamental role for interior and exterior architectural paints and coatings elements. ...

Virtual reality has re-imagined the art of apparel and footwear design. 3D design programs like MODO, KeyShot, CLO, Browzwear, Optitex, and Lectra augment the creativity of color and material designers to virtually construct patterns and render realistic 3D garments.  This is exciting technology for brands that want to reduce waste for a greener footprint and accelerate design to keep up with fast fashion. However, designers are notoriously tactile. They need to touch, feel, and gain a...

When choosing a food product, consumers demand consistency in both taste and appearance. While a lighter batch of oranges may still produce a delicious juice blend, a pale color can jeopardize USDA approval and leave consumers questioning the quality. Unfortunately for food and beverage manufacturers, the color of food – especially drinks like fruit juice and blended cocktails – is one of the most difficult things to control during production. Here’s why. 1. Liquid is hard to...

There’s been a lot of research around the role color plays in how we expect food to taste. The fact is, we judge flavor by the color of the food or drink, even before the first taste. We expect red foods to taste sweet like strawberries or cherries. White should taste like vanilla, and green is probably limey and tart or minty. Color cues can even determine whether we take that first bite. Most of us won’t even consider trying a food like mashed potatoes or pumpkin pie if it is ...

Controlling color on cylindrical-shaped items like cups, cans, and tubes is a challenge because it’s hard to properly align the measurement device with the sample. Many printers and manufacturers cut a piece from the finished product and lay it flat to take a measurement. While this method works, each sample takes time to cut, wastes product, and risks the safety of the employees who are cutting the samples.  A Faster, Safer Solution X-Rite’s Cup and Cylinder Fixture works ...

With so many requests for innovative bases, transparency, and special effects, formulating color for paint, coating, and plastic applications can be a challenge. To keep up, formulation software needs to be innovative, too. We recently launched version 10 of our Color iMatch formulation software, and it is our smartest version yet. It allows you to select cost-reducing parameters, such as lowest cost or fewest colorants, and will determine the best formula for your application. It work...

As we move through spring and into summer, we’re revisiting Pantone Color Institute’s Spring/Summer 2019 Fashion Color Trend Report. This season’s report features the top 12 stand out colors as well as current takes on four classic neutrals.    Images extracted with permission from PANTONEVIEW Colour Planner Spring/Summer 2019.    According to Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, “This new mindset underscores a...

Hitting offset lithographic color targets isn’t always fast or easy. The manual process of measuring color bars and making ink key adjustments takes time and opens the door to operator error. Meanwhile, the press is running (and wasting) paper and ink. To achieve accurate and repeatable color, printers need to convert their printing operation to an efficient manufacturing process and drive efficiencies in all phases of their operation. For many, a closed-loop automated solution is the...

For the last few Decembers, we’ve provided you with a list of “top color measurement blogs” for that respective year. As we reviewed this year’s list, we noticed that your favorite/ the most-read blogs could be categorized into a few buckets. So, without further ado, here’s 2018’s top blog topics!  2018’s Most Popular Color Measurement Topic: Tolerancing Not to our team’s surprise, Tolerancing – what it is/what it means for your busines...

Each year, Pantone announces its highly anticipated “Color of the Year”. The selection is intended to serve as a strategic direction for design and color-conscious industries as well as a conversation piece around our culture, where it is going and what we collectively need…and it certainly gets everyone talking about color!  Color is no longer just something we see and appreciate - it enhances and influences the way we experience life. Color, as a strategic element of d...

Like geographic coordinates – longitude, latitude, and altitude – L*a*b* color values give us a way to locate and communicate colors. What’s the history of L*a*b*? In the 1940’s, Richard Hunter introduced a tri-stimulus model, Lab, which is scaled to achieve near uniform spacing of perceived color differences. While Hunter’s Lab was adopted as the de facto model for plotting absolute color coordinates and differences between colors, it was never formally accepted as...

If you’re measuring wet and dry paints, plastics, cosmetics, or small and odd-shaped samples, you’ll want to take a look at our new MetaVue VS3200 non-contact imaging spectrophotometer. It’s the perfect choice for industrial applications in coatings, plastics, food, cosmetics and more. Today we’ll demonstrate the power of its smart spot and on-screen targeting features and explain how it can integrate seamlessly with your formulation, quality control, and performance opt...

A senior design leader at a large beverage company recently shared his thoughts on the definition of Design Thinking on LinkedIn, asking other members of the community to contribute their own thoughts alongside his. Hundreds of comments ensued. The post appears to be part of a multi-week campaign to position Design Thinking as a way to approach business problems and garner attention from business executives. And we know that this attention has been hard to capture. A survey of over 600 designers...

For over a decade omni-channel has been a term used to describe digital and physical marketing. While many have strived to achieve an omni-channel strategy, unifying the digital and physical customer experiences have been an ongoing challenge for marketers. However, that may be changing. Advances in augmented reality (AR) can help to bring these two worlds together. Over the next few years, I believe we will see significant adoption of AR technology by brands and retailers as a way to engage con...

The Pantone Color Institute just announced PANTONE® 18-3838 Ultra Violet as the Pantone Color of the Year 2018! This news is always exciting because it sets the stage for upcoming trends for everything from housewares to fashion to packaging design. In fact, we have already seen shades of Color of the Year used in packaging and graphic design by forward-looking brands in the CPG, luxury, and beauty worlds as well as by personalities and artists seeking to stand out. Part of butt...

If you work behind a paint counter, you know customers can surprise you with interesting and unique objects to color match. Many samples are relatively easy to measure, but when a customer shows up with a curved baseboard panel, a square of shag carpet, or a plush toy, things can get a little tricky. A few years ago, we learned just how challenging it was for our retail paint customers to color match unique samples. We took in a bag with textured and multi-colored items and asked the person behi...

Recently we blogged about how appearance affects color. In this article we look at some of the characteristics that impact an object’s appearance, such as texture, gloss, transparency, and special effects, and explain why it’s crucial to describe appearance in the early stages of the design workflow.  While 3D programs have attempted to address appearance aspects for years, there has been a missing link in virtual product design: the ability to integrate characteristically &ldqu...

You think you’re doing everything right, but your color isn’t consistent. Why? Through the years, designers have used many tools to help them specify color. Color swatches, style guides and product prototypes have been effective, but with the advent of the digital world, these physical tools are no longer enough. To be efficient, designers need to be SPECIFIC. X-Rite Pantone President Ron Voigt recently published an article in MediaPost that explains why. To be effective, designers n...

Appearance is more than simply color. It’s a comprehensive look at everything inherent to each unique material we come in contact with, including texture, gloss, transparency, and special effects. Each of these characteristics plays a part and has an effect on overall appearance and understanding in relation to a single material. Objects may have several elements that affect appearance, such as the material’s surface texture, construction, overall geometry and micro-surface. The environ...

Color is our perception of reflected light across the visible spectrum. When light hits an object, it absorbs some rays and reflect others. The color of light that reflects back into our eyes is the color we perceive. The more light an object absorbs, the darker it appears. With black, very little light is reflected. Pure black in the presence of light wasn’t achieved until 2014 when Surrey NanoSystems announced the invention of Vantablack. This high-tech artificial substance absorbs 99....

I spent a few years working in Paris, where the Seine River has played a pivotal role in the shaping of the city’s personality. As I stayed longer and got to know the city and its people better, one of the things that became clear to me was that the Seine River physically separated two distinct cultures of the city. Image courtesy of www.aparisguide.com The left bank, including the Latin Quarter, Montparnasse, and Sorbonne, is all about creativity, design and ideation. The right bank is more sop...

FUSE 2017 provided a wealth of valuable industry insight by showcasing how today’s brands are not only surviving, but thriving. While each scenario presented unique challenges and obstacles, one constant seemed abundantly clear:  brands must create a human connection between themselves and their consumers. Humanizing brands reinvigorates (or, in some cases, generates) a level of trust from consumers that is currently eroding. Speakers at FUSE highlighted a few specific examples of ways companie...

In an effort to better understand YOU, YOUR business, and YOUR color challenges, we’re inviting you to be a part of the new X-RITE LAB. Our research and design teams are asking for YOUR input as we look for new and exciting challenges to solve. The X-RITE LAB is a group of professionals who are interested in voicing their color challenges and emerging as thought leaders. Regardless of industry, role, or years of color knowledge, we’re looking for individuals whose professional goals resonate wit...

Have you seen the Academy Award-Winning La La Land, where the stars dance through the cosmos and experience alternate realities? Or the commercial, where a famous freestyle dancer slides down the street, up the walls, over the marquee and beyond, transported by his next-gen earphones? Maybe you’ve seen this Russian packaging that superimposes conflicting scales. Surrealism is bleeding into our reality, and I kind of think it’s a zeitgeist. Simply defined, surrealism strives to reconcile our dre...

At X-Rite Pantone, we pride ourselves on our ability to help customers specify, communicate, formulate, and produce consistent color. You’re probably familiar with our major markets, like plastics, industrial coatings, and print & packaging. You may also be aware of the more “common” things we measure, like paint, printed surfaces, and textiles. But, as you look for the emergency exit on a plane, watch a butterfly float by, or choose the freshest package of cheese from the ...

At X-Rite Pantone, we love color, and we’re passionate about helping you get yours right. That’s why we offer a full-service training program, staffed with Color Experts from many of the industries we serve. From beginner to advanced, lowest investment to highest return, we offer a variety of options to teach you everything you need to know to be successful. Are you new to color, wondering where it fits in your business objectives? Do you already have a color workflow, but ...

If you didn’t catch my Industry 4.0: What Commercial Printers Need to Know article, you’ll want to check it out now. Today’s blog is a continuation, touching on the most interesting print color management tie-ins: PQX, iccMAX, mobile control and new materials. Here’s what on the horizon for color-managed workflows. Image courtesy of Esko.com. Print Quality eXchange PQX was a global effort developed by Idealliance, and is now moving to ISO to be issued as a standard. It ...

If you’re a commercial printer who wants to improve color quality and consistency and stay current on industry trends, you need to be aware of Industry 4.0. Industry 4.0 can mean different things to different people, but it generally refers to the fourth industrial revolution, which incorporates trends in automation, data exchange, smart systems, and the Internet of Things. Image courtesy of Christoph Roser at AllAboutLean.com. Today I’ll explain what Industry 4.0 means for co...

Looking forward to the X Games? Kicking off next week in Aspen, the annual sporting competition draws thrill seekers from around the world to participate in Xtreme events, such as skiing, snowboarding, and snowmobiling. Image courtesy of www.bleacherreport.com. Of course, this living-on-the-edge lifestyle isn’t for everyone. Luckily, with X-Rite you don’t have to be a daredevil to enjoy Xtreme color! Here’s a list of our most innovative solutions to help you achieve the greatest possible results...

Earlier this week my colleague, Shoshana Burgett wrote about six manufacturing trends to watch for in 2017. It’s now time to look into my crystal ball and see what trends converters, commercial printers and graphic designers should be following in the next 12 – 18 months. Extended/Expanded Gamut 2017 could be the year where extended gamut printing really breaks out. This year both industry professionals and standards organizations have been taking a look at printing beyond traditional 126...

As we close out 2016, it’s time to look ahead to 2017 and the upcoming manufacturing trends that will influence how we do business in the New Year. With rapidly changing technology, it’s difficult to know exactly what’s coming next, but we can definitely make some predictions. Over the past year, I have interviewed many customers across a variety of manufacturing industries to learn more about their industry concerns, the design and manufacturing challenges they face, and the t...

Our society loves customizing its surroundings. Personalized merchandise preserves memories, and when given as a gift, shows the recipient that you put a lot of thought into the choice. It also creates an emotional bond, and (if done right) encourages brand loyalty.  Image courtesy zazzle.com While the personalized merchandise market used to be dominated by photo books and calendars, advances in technology have opened the door to personalizing a wide range of materials like wood, ceramics,...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! A time to reminisce… to celebrate our successes, and to explore areas that may need a little more attention in 2017. If color accuracy is on your list of things to improve, this article is for you. We’ve compiled a list of the blogs our readers found most helpful and interesting in 2016, so you can start working toward your goal of more accurate color in the New Year. Did your favorite blog make the list? Top 10 X-Rite Blogs of 2016 ...

K 2016 begins today in Düsseldorf and runs through October 26th. As the #1 trade fair for the plastics and rubber industries, it’s a huge event featuring industry news, product demos, and networking. We’ll be in Hall 8b / Stand H65 showcasing our end-to-end X-Rite Pantone workflow solutions to help rubber manufacturers, compounders, masterbatchers, and converters get consistent color in a plastics workflow. Don’t miss your chance to speak with our color experts! (Here...

Tim Mouw is our Manager of Applications Engineering & Technical Support for the Americas. Tim is so knowledgeable about the impact of color in many industries, and his stories always intrigue us. Tim has authored many X-Rite Pantone blogs, including: What is metamerism, and why should you care? Effective ways to measure reflective surfaces What’s sabotaging your sustainability efforts? 5 color evaluation pitfalls to avoid Why is controlling color so hard? We recently sat down with him to...

For many of us, fun in the sun can lead to a summertime tan. The science behind this sun + skin interaction is melanin, a skin pigment our body releases to block the UV rays found in sunlight. The more time we spend in the sun, the more melanin is released, and the darker (or more freckled) our skin becomes. This shift in skin tone doesn’t matter for most people, but for prosthetic wearers even a slight change can be a big deal. Here’s how Royal Preston hospital in the United Kingdom is using co...

Real or fake? When it comes to medicating children, consumers need to know the products they choose are genuine. When you hear the word counterfeiting, do you automatically think of counterfeit money? Unfortunately counterfeiting goes much farther than that. It’s impacting just about every industry worldwide. It is a huge problem for product integrity and results in financial loss. Estimates put counterfeited and pirated goods at some 2 to 2.5% of world trade, with a value of $600 billion or mor...

Extended gamut printing is becoming more and more popular in the printing industry. With Pantone’s new EXTENDED GAMUT Guide, printers and designers have a visual guide to help predict how close of a match is possible when they use 7-color process in place of spot inks.   Ron Voigt, President of X-Rite Pantone, was recently interviewed on the topic by Cary Sherburne, senior editor at WhatTheyThink.  According to Voigt, the EXTENDED GAMUT Guide helps printers visualize how well Pantone...

Color is a critical factor when selecting cosmetics and skin tone products. Women everywhere venture into stores, compare sample after sample trying to find the closest match, and hope for the best. With hundreds of different options, product lines and color palettes, buying makeup can be an expensive and frustrating process. Color technology to the rescue. Today we’ll look at how the CAPSURE Cosmetic spectrocolorimeter and the CAPSUREme mobile app are revolutionizing the way women buy makeup. ...

Pantone®, an X-Rite company, recently announced a pair of complementary shades as its 2016 Color of the Year:  PANTONE 15-3919 Serenity and PANTONE 13-1520 Rose Quartz. The PANTONE Color of the Year announcement is always exciting because it sets the stage for upcoming trends. The Color of the Year selection process is very thoughtful and a lot of consideration is given to the color choices. To arrive at the selection each year, Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institut...

If accurate color is a must in your world, then you know the importance of color measurement instrumentation. Spectrophotometers are used in many industries to identify, formulate, measure and communicate color. They can compare samples and standards to identify even the smallest differences. From concept through formulation and production, spectrophotometers are an invaluable part of any color-managed workflow. But have you ever stopped to think how these devices were developed? Today we’ll tak...

Would you choose a beverage off the store shelf if the same brand sitting next to it was a different color? The Bacardi Bottling Corporation knows the answer is probably no, which is why the company incorporates strict color standards into its Bacardi Mojito production process. Bacardi Mojito is a mix of premium rum, flavorings and special natural ingredients. Since the color of these ingredients can vary, Bacardi bottlers need to continually adjust their recipe to maintain consistent flavor an...