Color Matching Cabinet TU300A/B/C/D

What is the main difference between the ISO 105 and AATCC TM 16 standards for testing light colorfastness?

The main differences between the ISO 105 and AATCC TM 16 standards for testing color fastness to the light are shown below in Table 2.

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How to use the color assessment cabinet correctly?

What is the Color Matching Cabinet？

The Colour Matching Cabinet also called the color viewing light box or color matching box is a light booth for color matching. It can be easily felt in our daily lives that under different lighting conditions, the color of an object would appear to be different to us to a certain extent. This is because different light sources own their own radiating energy. When the light hits on an object, different colors would be reflected and appeared.

A similar situation applies to the manufacturing industry. For example, even though quality assessors have done their job to make sure that the color of the product is right, complaints from customers regarding the difference in color are still received. Sometimes it can even lead to the request for a refund or return for the product and this would bring negative impacts on the reputation of that company.

To solve this problem effectively, the easiest approach is to do the color assessment test through the color assessment cabinet and color matching cabinet under the same source of lighting with the controllable requirements. For example, use the popular white light source- the d65 light box for the test. Otherwise, the test would be meaningless and untrustworthy.

How to use the color assessment cabinet correctly?

Objective Angle

Below are the features that a color assessment cabinet should bear. Note that the angle of observation affects the result of quality assessment directly and there are only two angles of observation that can be used. And, they are:

1. The zero-degree light source, observe at the 45-degree angle(0 °-45 °). i.e. The light source shoots perpendicularly on the specimen or at a zero-degree incident angle, and the observer should observe at the 45-degree angle.


2. The light source at 45 degree

The light source at 45 degrees and observe at the angle of zero (0 °-45 °). For this setup, the use of a 45°fixed angle table is involved so that the light source shoots on the specimen at the direction of 45 degrees, and the observer should observe at the angle of zero degrees (perpendicular to the specimen).

Positioning of the specimen for the 45°light source test

Note that for whichever approach from above, the specimen should always be placed at the center of the color matching light box to reduce the effect of the outside light source on the result. Besides that, when it comes to comparing the colors of two or more objects, the most important thing is to avoid stacking the objects. Instead, place them side by side to do the comparison.

The working principle

When we are hanging out in the shop, we are prone to buy something unnecessary due to the special lighting. But when we get home, we will find that the clothes fail to look as good as in the shop. This is caused by the difference in colors when they are exposed to diverse light sources. This is what we call the Metamerism effect. And as for the goods with high requirements, especially for export products, the inspector also makes high requirements of colors. One of them is the color difference checked in the specified standard light source, such as the thread and fabric used in making the garment.

Generally speaking, the Colour Matching Cabinet is a combination of various light sources, such as simulated sunlight D65, D75, D50, light TL84, CWF, and U30 in the showroom of the supermarket and horizon. But they must have won the recognition of a large-scale international agency, such as Walmart or testing organizations.

Maintenance

1 there is a warranty period for the Colour Matching Cabinet is one year( but man-made damage or lamp aging is not included)

2 The running time and times of turn on/off will affect the life of lamps. If there is a need to turn on/off the lamps in short a time, we suggested keeping them on. In theory, the lamps startup one time equal to running for one hour of the lamps.

3 The lamps used in the cabinet are different from the ordinary lamps used in our daily life. Therefore, when the lamps need to be changed or replaced, please buy the lamps from a professional franchiser. If the inner board of the color box is damaged and fails to absorb the light, you need to change it in time.

4 when the inner panel is stained, wipe it with a piece of clean and soft cloth which is dipped in an alkaline cleaner of a lower degree.

5 Keep the inner frame clean and dry so as to avoid damage to the light-absorbing coating when detecting the sample and the weakness of the color effect.

6 when the lamp is used for a long time, the two ends of the lamp will become black and aging, which should be replaced in time to ensure that it can work without any error.

Note:

1 Strictly follow the instructions and pay attention to the warnings that are listed in the operation manual.

2 It is a must to use the color box in a stable voltage environment. And when there are thunderstorms,  the color box should stop working without any connection to the power.

3 Don't open or close the color box frequently. Besides, try to avoid repeated switching between multiple light sources as more as possible. The above is beneficial to extending the lifetime of the lamp.