GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — October 18, 2016 — X-Rite Inc. and its subsidiary Pantone LLC will debut the new Ci7860 benchtop sphere spectrophotometer at this week’s K 2016 in Düsseldorf, Germany. The newest member of X-Rite’s Ci7x00 family of benchtop spectrophotometers, the Ci7860 is the industry’s most advanced color measurement instrument. It reduces the margin of error when communicating color specifications for plastics, coatings or textiles across the supply chain and ensures the highest level of color accuracy and control throughout the entire production process.
X-Rite created the Ci7860 in response to feedback from consumer brands seeking a new level of color consistency. These companies have recognized the growing importance of color in consumers’ purchasing decisions. Visible variations in the color of products and packaging can impact both consumers’ perceptions of quality and retail sales. In response, brands are establishing stricter standards to minimize color variation in their products. Achieving these standards consistently, however, can be a challenge.
A typical production workflow includes many potential opportunities for color errors. Variations in the production process itself, from the composition of raw materials to the environmental conditions under which a product is produced, are one source of error. Differences in color measurement procedures are a second source. Inter-instrument agreement – the accuracy and consistency with which various color measurement devices read a color sample – can also contribute to error, particularly in workflows where the first two sources have been carefully controlled. The Ci7860 was specifically designed to minimize the contribution of inter-instrument agreement to color variation, ensuring the most accurate and consistent color control.
The new Ci7860 has an inter-instrument agreement specification of 0.06 average Delta E*; this represents a 25 percent improvement over other sphere spectrophotometers. As a result, the Ci7860 enables brands to create the most precise master color standards and communicate these digitally, in place of physical samples, to supply chain partners. Suppliers can use the Ci7860 or other devices in the Ci7x00 family to verify that both samples and the final product are achieving customers’ strictest color tolerances.
“Color errors can occur at any stage of the design and production process and can quickly add up to put your final product out of specification, creating significant production delays, waste or rework,” said Chris Winczewski, Vice President of Product Marketing, X-Rite Pantone. “The improved inter-instrument agreement of the Ci7860 ensures a higher rate of accuracy throughout the production process, reducing a key source of potential color error. By using Ci7860 benchtop spectrophotometers, brands and their suppliers will achieve the ultimate in color measurement accuracy and repeatability.”
In addition to improved inter-instrument agreement, the Ci7860 provides:
- A complete audit trail, allowing users to record and reference all measurements as well as the temperature and humidity conditions under which measurements were taken.
- An on-board camera captures images of every sample along with details of the settings and time of measurement allowing process control professionals to easily audit for invalid measurements and sample defects.
- Support for legacy data to ensure that the Ci7860 fits seamlessly into existing operational environments.
- Calibrated UV to help measure and control optical brighteners used in paper, textiles, plastics and paint and coatings.
- Four aperture sizes for measuring total transmission of translucent and transparent samples. Four standard plus one optional 3.5mm aperture sizes for measuring reflection of opaque materials.
- Conformance with industry standards including CIE No 15, ASTM D1003, ISO 7724/1.
The Ci7860 is on display at K 2016 in the X-Rite booth located in Hall 8b, Stand H65.
Posted October 18, 2016
Source: X-Rite
