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A recent amendment to the EU Directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment will remove the current exemption for mercury to be used in a number of types of fluorescent lamps for special purposes by 24th of February 2025. These bulbs are defined under clause 2(b)(4)-I of the EU REACH directive. After the expiration date, the sale of new equipment including fluorescent technology under this exemption will not be allowed in Europe. Th...

Does your quality control program include visual evaluation? If not, it should. Using the SpectraLight QC as part of a color evaluation workflow. No matter your industry, judging color is more than just measuring samples with a color measurement device. Just because a spectrophotometer says your color is within tolerance, doesn’t necessarily mean it will look right to the human eye. To minimize customer rejects, your color control process needs to include visual evaluation in a light boo...

As the temperature of light changes, so does our perception of color. As I mentioned in our last post, light plays a huge role in the way we perceive color. Today we’ll look at the science of color in manufacturing and photography; specifically how an object’s reflective and absorptive properties and viewing technology can impact the colors we perceive. To reflect or not to reflect… that is the question. The colors an object absorbs and reflects is determined by its material – is it metal, plas...

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...

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...

표면 상태는 때때로 색상 인식에 큰 영향을 미칠 수가 있습니다. 예를 들어 광택이 나는 잡지의 지면에 조명이 직접 비치는 경우, 색상을 선명하게 보기 위해서는 잡지를 이리 저리 기울여 반사각을 변경해야 제대로 보이는 경우가 있습니다. 마찬가지로, 거친 질감이 있는 표면은 동일한 물체의 매끄러운 표면과는 또 다른 색으로 인식 될 수도 있습니다.  분광 측색 장비는 기본적으로, 측정하고자 하는 대상의 표면에 빛을 비추고 그 반사된 빛을 기반으로 색상의 스펙트럼 값을 분석합니다. 따라서 올바른 측정을 위해서는 기기 및 적절한 측정 모드를 선택하는 것이 매우 중요합니다. 장비 및 측정모드의 적절한 선택은 색상 샘플이 허용오차를 통과하거나 실패하는지 여부 및 육안 관찰 검사와의 상관 관계와 직접적인 관련이 있습니다.   적분구 방식의 분광 측색 장비는 페인트, 코팅, 플라스틱 및 직물 산업분야에서 측정 장비로써 널리 사용 되고 있습니다. 그 이유는 바로 측정 대상...

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...

Black Friday. Not only is it the much anticipated start to holiday shopping, it’s also a day manufacturers have been preparing for all year long. Whether mass-producing holiday cards, candy canes, plastic toys, or festive clothing, accurate color is a must. Manufacturers can’t ship two of the same toy if they won’t match on the showroom floor, and holiday sweaters that are a shade off will end up at a discount store instead of a fashion boutique. Perfection is especially import...

No matter the industry, our customers are all working toward the same goal: Achieve accurate color and keep production moving. Even in the best conditions, color data can be a challenge to capture and share. COVID-19-related travel bans and social distancing guidelines are making it harder than ever.    Today we’ll share three easy ways to remotely share color data so you can achieve your color goals without shipping physical samples or making onsite visits. The Benefits of Digit...

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...

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...

식료품을 고를 때 소비자들은 맛과 외관이 일치되기를 원합니다. 더 밝은 색의 오렌지로도 맛있는 오렌지 주스를 생산할 수 있지만, 보다 옅은 색은 USDA 승인을 위태롭게 하고 소비자들은 품질에 대해 의문을 품을 수 있습니다.  식품 및 음료 제조업체 입장에서도, 특히 과일 주스와 혼합 칵테일과 같은 음료의 경우 생산 중에 통제하는 것은 가장 어려운 작업입니다. 그 이유는 다음과 같습니다.  1. 액체는 측정하기 어렵다. 불투명한 물체의 색상을 측정하는 경우, Spectrophotometer는 물체의 표면에 빛을 비추고 반사되는 빛을 통해 색상을 측정하게 됩니다. 하지만 반투명한 액체에 빛을 비출 경우 빛은 표면에서 반사되지 않고 물체를 통과해 버립니다.  2. T측정장치는 시료와 접촉 할 수 없다.  Spectrophotometer가 음료와 접촉할 경우 샘플을 오염시키고 광학부에 잔류하여 측정값을 왜곡하고 계측기를 손상시킬 수 있습니다....

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 ...

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...

Your customer rejected your latest shipment due to color.  You checked the color before you sent it and it passed tolerance…  You did everything the same way last time and it passed tolerance…  So why did it get rejected now? We get this question from our customers all the time.  The Dreaded “Error Stack” Color rejections create waste and increase production costs. Unfortunately, there are a lot of variables that contribute to the color you produce,...

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....

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...

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...

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...

Many companies spend a lot of time and money on color measurement instruments and software but forget about the importance of lighting when approving products for shipment. When used properly, spectrophotometers and color management software can tell you if your colors are within tolerance, and they can also manage gloss and metamerism (see explanation of metamerism below). However, you could still be sending out unsatisfactory parts if they don’t look right after they’re assembled, once they hi...

From laundry soap to paper to socks, it seems that manufacturers everywhere are trying to achieve the brightest whites, and consumers are certainly buying in. These companies use chemical dyes called OBAs to make their whites “whiter” and stay ahead of the competition. OBA stands for optical brightening agent. You may also have heard it called FWA (Fluorescent Whitening Agent), optical brightener, fluorescent dye, or even just whitener. An optical brightening agent is a special type of dye that ...