色に関するブログ

蛍光増白剤（Optical Brightening Agents・OBA）（Fluorescent Whitening Agents・FWAとも呼ばれる）を使って、製品をより明るく、より白く見せることができます。 蛍光増白剤を添加すると、製品は明るく見えますが、色の見え方が根本的に変わるため、一つの光源での目視だけでは、色を評価することができなくなりました。蛍光増白剤を含む素材やファブリックは、工場照明の下で、色が一貫して見えても、小売店のLEDや昼光、家庭の白熱灯等、他の照明条件の下では、同じ製品でも、大きく違って見えます。 蛍光増白剤を含む製品の評価をする場合は、蛍光増白剤がさまざまな光源の下で、色の見え方にどのように影響を与えるのかを定量化するために、紫外線の影響を測定できる分光測色計か、UV光源を含む標準光源を必要とします。 紫外線とは？ 紫外線は可視光線（肉眼で見える光）より短い波長のエネルギーで、電磁波スペクトルのごく一部に過ぎないものです。 この図は電磁波のスペクトルを説明したものです。左端のガンマ線から始まり、右へ X-線、マイクロ波、ラジオ波と進んでいきます。紫...

What Do Spectrophotometers Measure? A spectrophotometer is an instrument that measures color by shining a beam of light and capturing the amount of light that reflects back or transmits through to quantify color. Spectrophotometers can provide color data for just about any sample, including liquids, plastics, paper, metal, fabric, and painted samples. Where are Spectrophotometers Used? Spectrophotometers are used in every industry that requires accurate color. From packaging to textiles to be...

Looking for the best color measurement device for your pressroom? To help you decide, let's look at the three levels of process control to evaluate printed color.  The most basic level is a visual comparison. However, since color vision is subjective, visual evaluation can lead to misjudgments, especially between press operators and under a different light source. If accurate color is important, visual evaluation will not be enough. You need to use a device. The next level of ...

X-Rite acquired GretagMacbeth in 2006, making most GretagMacbeth handheld and benchtop spectrophotometers 20+ years old. If you're still using one of these legacy spectrophotometers and color consistency is important to your business, we encourage you to consider upgrading to a new, ISO-certified X-Rite device for the best experience. Here at X-Rite, we continue to research and improve our color measurement technology so our customers can meet tighter color control tolerances. Improved color mea...

COVID-19 has stopped many industries in their tracks, textiles included. Travel bans and shelter-in-place orders are forcing vast, inter-connected supply chains to rethink the way they work.  For brands that were already looking for new ways to achieve accurate color and speed time to market, this could be an opportunity. This global pandemic may help the apparel industry make important decisions to change the way it works – for the better – not only to get through this crisis, ...

Are you wasting too much time and money on incorrect color? Even if you use the best color measurement tools available, your color will still fail without quality control. Quality control (QC) means verifying the color you specify is the same color you manufacture, throughout production. Setting up a QC program can help you accurately communicate color with clients and suppliers, inspect raw materials before you begin working, and verify your color is correct before you ship.   Five Impor...

The two most common spectrophotometers are the 0:45 and the sphere (aka diffuse/8°). We get a lot of questions about which is the best choice. Here’s the difference in how these two devices measure color, and guidelines for when to use each. 0:45 In a “fixed geometry” or “single angle” device, the first number is the starting point of the light, and the second number is where the light ends up after the reflection off the surface of the sample. In a 0:45 ...

Using a light booth to visually judge color is a great start to a successful color evaluation program. It allows you predict how color will look under multiple light sources so there won’t be any color surprises when the light changes over the life of the product. Introducing a color measurement device to capture spectral data is the next logical step. For a really great color program, you need to use both a light booth AND a spectrophotometer. This dynamic duo offers benefits you can&rsqu...

X-Rite’s inline color measurement solutions monitor color accuracy during production. If color begins to move out-of-spec, the system alerts operators to make corrections before any product is wasted. Coil coating is one area where inline color measurement is very effective for achieving the most cost benefit. The coil coating process has been around for more than 30 years, allowing companies to produce durable and attractive products. However, to achieve cost benefit, the focus must be o...