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Color Management Solutions for the Paint & Coating Industry

Color is vital to the quality of paint and coatings, particularly within industrial, automotive and transportation, marine, and decorative applications. To match colors and meet color quality standards more efficiently, Konica Minolta Sensing Americas offers high measuring instruments , performance software and controlled lighting solutions for the paint and coating industry. These solutions allow users to accurately evaluate and match the color and appearance of paint and coatings in a more streamlined process internally and throughout the supply chain. As a result, consistency can be maintained and color quality standards can be met with less waste, time, and effort.

Frequently Asked Questions

How are paint colors measured?

Paint colors are measured with spectrophotometers that quantify how a painted surface reflects light, converting that information into standardized color values that allow manufacturers to objectively control, communicate, and reproduce color consistently throughout production.

Which instruments support multi-angle measurement for effect pigments?

The CM-M6 is a portable multi-angle spectrophotometer especially designed for color measurement of metallic or effect paints, such as pearlescent coatings, which can exhibit a noticeable visual change with specific angles of view. It uses a new, patented double-path illumination system with directed 45° illumination and 6-angle observation from two sides to accurately measure painted parts at the automotive production floor.

What is the inter-instrument agreement across your instruments?

The inter-instrument agreement for our flagship spectrophotometer, the CM-3700A Plus is 0.08 DE. For other benchtop spectrophotometers such as the CM-36dG, the inter-instrument agreement is 0.12 DE. Newer portable spectrophotometers such as the CM-17d offer improved inter-instrument agreement at 0.12 DE. Colorimeters, such as the CR-400, have a higher inter-instrument agreement of 0.4 DE as is a reason why these instruments should be used in a quality control environment and not for critical color control.

What aperture sizes are available, and are they automatically recognized?

All of our portable spectrophotometers can measure color with an 8mm aperture. Select models can offer both 8mm and 3mm apertures, the latter used if the measurement area is small or non-homogenous. Our benchtop spectrophotometers can range from 4mm, 8mm, 16mm, to 25.4mm. In general, the larger the aperture the more accurate the measurement.

Does the software support the specific color difference equations we use?

Yes, all of our software support the standardized color difference equations used in the paint industry.

What is the recommended factory servicing interval, and do you offer on-site certification?

We recommend having your Konica Minolta Sensing Americas factory calibrated and certified. We do offer on-site certification for some of our benchtop instruments. However, this should be verified with our Service Team.