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#Vastech 8 color machine how to
#Vastech 8 color machine software

"Color Spectrophotometers: Meeting Manufacturers' Needs.", November, 1999.

If there were 100 interference filters, but the computer could only read 15 of them, the information from the highly functioning machine wouldn't be interpreted as accurately.

#Vastech 8 color machine software

Computer software also determines accuracy. The smaller amounts you can break the wavelengths into to measure, the better.

Spectrophotometers typically have between 16 and 31 filters, with 31 being the most accurate. Typically, color matching is about 90 percent accurate, and accuracy really depends on the model of spectrophotometer and the computer software that goes with it.

These newer models use LED lights that project a hot, strong beam of light that easily reaches the sample while also rejecting ambient light in the room, which can get in the way of an accurate reading. Older models of spectrophotometers are limited to samples that can fit in the little clip attached to the machine, but newer models have developed technology that doesn't require the sample to be in contact with the machine, so you could bring in a lamp or a door. The photo diode converts the information to an electronic signal, which is then sent to computer software that formulates the exact amount of pigments needed to make the match. The wavelength representing the correct color match passes through the correct filter and is then picked up with fiber optics and piped to a photo diode. This increases the accuracy of matching the sample because absorption can interfere with readings. Nowadays, spectrophotometers in paint matching use interference filters, where only the color of the sample reaches the filters - all other wavelengths are reflected away. The apple will absorb all of the other colors, but will reflect red back to you. An example of this is if you were to shine a white light on a red apple. Seth Joel/Photographer's Choice/ Getty ImagesĮarlier spectrophotometers used transmission filters, which meant the wavelength that matched the color sample would be reflected through the filter, and all of the other wavelengths would be absorbed. The visible light spectrum ranges from the reds at 400 nm to the blues in the 700nm range, and the most efficient wheels have filters that handle intervals of 10 nm each. Each filter is programmed to allow a specific wavelength of light to pass through it, and each wavelength is within a particular range of nanometers. Visible light is measured in nanometers, which is a tiny unit of measurement in the metric system, equal to one-billionth of a meter. The wheel is a highly efficient color analyzer, consisting of a number of interference filters and powered by a stepper motor, which is known for its precision. This light is reflected off the sample back into the machine and onto a small wheel. A clip located on the outside of the machine holds the paint sample to be matched, and white light is flooded onto the sample.

Interference filters powered by stepper motorīecause it's made up of all of the colors in the visible spectrum, white light is the illumination source used in a spectrophotometer, in the form of a tungsten bulb or in more advanced models, a Light Emitting Diode (LED).

So how could you possibly expect to find that color you're looking for? There could even be 10 different shades of blue-green. So describing something as green or even blue-green isn't going to be specific enough if you're trying to find the exact color. A color can be described by how pure or desaturated it is, as well as its value or lightness. Colors are actually waves of light, and each wavelength has a value that makes it different from the rest. You can choose from cornflower blue, midnight blue, blue-gray, blue-green and the list goes on. Who knew there were so many different shades of green?Īs we learned from our big box of Crayolas, purple isn't just purple and red isn't just red. You head over to your local paint store and come home armed with a pocketful of paint chips, thinking surely one of the colors will match, but no luck. Or perhaps you moved into a house with a paint color scheme that you love, but it needs some touching up.

#Vastech 8 color machine how to

Maybe you've created your own custom color from paints lying around the basement, only to find that you can't figure out how to replicate it.