Simply put, the color cycle is as complex as it is encompassing. To a designer, color speaks to aesthetics and identity. To a manufacturer, color is precise and tangible. Designers want flexibility and creativity while production needs an exact target and direction to deliver first-run quality.

The latest advances in color technology utilize the power of today's best web-based solutions to address such diverse approaches to color and to capture its complexities in ways never before possible - completely, accurately, electronically.

The new electronic medium that leading color developers have embraced provides a comprehensive and inclusive framework that affords everyone throughout the supply chain the opportunity to benefit from shortened time to market, costs reductions, and the overall improvement in color quality. How? In general, the new, web-based color communication system delivers correct color approval throughout a supply chain not by duplicating efforts, but rather by streamlining and enhancing color processes already in place. The specifics of how the latest electronic color communication system optimally works is illustrated by the following:

1. An OEM or component manufacturer selects a color standard and measures it on a spectrophotometer (color measuring instrument).
2. The color standard then appears as a digital image on the computer monitor, which has been calibrated for color accuracy.
3. The standard is then electronically sent to the supplier, where trial color samples are produced and measured on a spectrophotometer.
4. The supplier then electronically sends back its digital sample of the best possible color match to the manufacturer where it is compared to the standard on the calibrated monitor. If the match is not accepted, more color matching is requested and is done by the supplier and digital samples are sent until the manufacturer approves the color match.
5. The manufacturer then receives the final lab sample, usually in less than half the time of a "traditional" color matching trial and error process.

Perhaps the most powerful, inclusive aspect of the new electronic environment is the fact that color now can be communicated digitally and assessed visually. Receivers of a virtual color sample get more than a set of numbers - rather, the receiver sees precisely the color on screen that corresponds to the colorimetric data. Similarly, visual tolerances can be evaluated and set realistically. Everyone, for example, can see how far a particular spectrophotometer reading - such as 1CMC unit - is from a particular color standard.

How smart is your software?

As mentioned, the electronic color channel does not completely change the traditional method of color control as much as it streamlines and enhances it. Toward that end, the new system utilizes familiar tools such as the most advanced color-measuring instruments (spectrophotometers) as well as the latest color management software (visit www.datacolor.com). Yet, in keeping with its overall goal of color process enhancement, the most effective color communication system takes advantage of the latest innovations among these color control devices and incorporates them within its wholly innovative virtual color environment.

Color matching is a prime example. The goal, of course, always is to be on-target, on-color without the need for correction. Yet hours of production time can be spent bringing batches on shade without the appropriate tools to accommodate the real-world variables that make up colorant conditions. Different gloss levels between batch and standard, for instance, can all too easily translate into expensive rejections, particularly in darker colors. And these variables are compounded with the rising popularity in special-effect pigments that more and more manufacturers are choosing to capture discerning, high-end buyers. Mica-based pigments, which create pearlescent and iridescent finishes, add depth and richness to the appearance of a surface by manipulating the behavior of light reflected from the surface. Iridescents actually change hues and shift shades in order to create their unique coloration. In other words, the very characteristics of these high-end coatings that make them in demand are the exact same aspects that make it so difficult to produce in a first-run match.

The good news is that the color-matching technology incorporated into today's color communication system can now accommodate even high-end coatings such as metallic-based and pearlescents. To be sure the system you are evaluating delivers these benefits, look for color matching software that can deliver:

Significantly reduced color-matching times. Some, such as Datacolor's Pearl color matching software (visit www.datacolor.com), exhibit first-shot matching rates of up to 90 percent and lab trial reductions of 50 percent. ü
Reduced raw material costs. Check out specific functionality rather than general claims; for example, how well does the software provide the ability to store recycles as formulas and colorants. Is it automatic? How can operators characterize recycles? By a single measurement or is it a more complicated process?
Quick and complete color specification and communication with customers and suppliers. Examine how the color matching software works with other systems such as color quality control as well color-measuring instruments. Is it seamless? Can you link all key parties effectively in a comprehensive network of color management?
Minimized waste and downtime. Pay particular attention to how the software allows operators to bring the most difficult to match colors, such as metallics, on shade in production. Are "adds" to batches automatically calculated? What about the corrected formula for new batches? Make sure operators can perform invaluable functions such as previewing the effects of "adds" of any colorant to a batch prior to production.
Increased productivity. No matter how sophisticated, any color matching system is limited in effectiveness if it's hard to learn and cumbersome to use. Look for software that takes advantage of the best of today's computers and features built-in user friendliness. The software also should be backed by comprehensive training and support.

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