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...

Posted June 27, 2022 by X-Rite Color

2020年、製造業界は仕事のやり方を見直さなければなりませんでした。 世界中でコロナウィルスの影響により、試作品を確認するための移動が制限され、現物サンプルの出荷が遅れました。 多くのメーカーは、生産を継続するためにデジタル・カラーサンプルを使用する方法を模索し始めましたが、 問題はカラーサンプルが正しい見え方を再現できないことでした。 デスクトップアプリケーションPANTORAは、この問題を解消します。 PANTORAを使えば、ユーザーは分光測色値を計測またはインポートし、バーチャル・マテリアルとして保存、管理、表示、編集、レンダリングすることができます。 また、PANTORAはこれらのバーチャル・サンプルをAppearance Exchange File (AxF)フォーマットにデジタル交換し、3Dレンダリングアプリケーションで使用することができます。 現在、PANTORAのレンダリングパートナーはRGBデータのみをサポートしています。 しかし、スペクトルを組み込むための機能が実装されるまでは、PANTORAを使ってスペクトル・データをRGBデータに変換することができます。 ここで...

Posted March 16, 2021 by Matthew Adby

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...

Posted January 14, 2020 by Tim Mouw

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...

Posted November 29, 2017 by Thomas Meeker

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...

Posted October 24, 2017 by Thomas Meeker

We frequently get calls from customers who can’t figure out why their measurements vary, even when they’re using maintained devices. Why would a sample read one way one day, then slightly different another? Many times the culprit is thermochromaticity, and it becomes an even bigger problem as the seasons change. Every kind of material changes color with temperature. These changes cause the material to exhibit a shift in reflected wavelengths of light, which can alter our perception....

Posted September 19, 2017 by Mike Huda

Did you read our blog: Are You Using The Right Tolerancing Method? If not, check it out. Today we’re taking the topic one step further to investigate how tolerances are chosen in different industries. A pass-fail tolerance is the amount of color variation that is considered commercially acceptable. In part, tolerances are driven by customer expectations. While color tolerances are very tight in the automotive, plastics, and paint & coatings worlds, they can be much less strict in other...

Posted May 02, 2017 by Mike Huda

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 ...

Posted December 13, 2016 by Tim Mouw