In textile designing, colour is the basic aspect of consideration, then comes quality and other things. A person gets attracted towards what he sees. This is why to attract a buyer, it is important to have good aesthetics. And a regular buyer can very well understand the consistency and the continuity of colour in a product. Colour has many aspects further to consider that might affect the uniformity. While choosing the raw material and during production, it is important to keep a close tab on following things:
- Lights of the surroundings
- Difference of vision of observers
- Difference in size
- Texture of surface
- Difference of direction and angle
When There Are So Many Things Contributing in Colour Disparity, How Can We Make the Perfect Selection?
Well, when human observation is not sufficient, equipment should bring into use. Colour matching cabinets (CMC), spectrophotometer, gloss meters are some commonly and popularly used devices. While spectrophotometers and gloss meters are high-end instruments, CMC is a very simple to use and basic device. The operator of CMC does not require special skills. In fact, CMC was designed with an objective to eliminate the requirement of special skills and making accurate observations at the same time.
What is a CMC?
It is a simple cabinet equipped with 5-6 lights. Then what makes it so special?
According to the different testing standards, the number and type of lights are chosen. Some of the light sources used are;
- D 65 – Artificial daylight – 2 Nos. (6500 K, CIE D 66, Average North Sky Day light)
- INCA A – Incandescent Light – 1 Nos.
- TL 84 Light – Point of Sale – 1 No.
- UVB Light – Ultra Violet – 1 No.
- CWF Light – Cool White Fluorescent – 1 No. (4150K, office light wide band)
- UL 30 Light – Ultra Loom 30 – 1 No
To perform the test, the sample is taken and observed in different lights one by one. The sample can be analysed with a reference to the master or can be observed for behaviour in a different light. During the analysis, any lights in the room or lab should be turned off. This reduces any interference of auxiliary light.
Why is it Important to Test Samples in Different Lights?
It does not require to have a keen observation to understand that a colour appears differently in different lights. This phenomenon is called Metamerism and it is the biggest challenge in the textile industry. To overcome this, colour matching cabinet plays an important role.
Presto is the leading manufacturer of CMC in India and supplies in different parts of the world. For more information, contact us.