A Major Step Forwards in Colour Measurement Quality Assurance

New product available now

Manchester based colour software specialist ChromaShare Ltd recently announced the launch of CS Audit, a spectrophotometer verification system which complements their SmartClient colour management technology.

CS Audit addresses one of the key issues holding back some from embracing instrumental control of colour: a concern about the accuracy of the data provided by third parties. CS Audit is a system for monitoring the quality of the data produced by the spectrophotometer used to measure colour by a dyehouse or vendor. It does not alter the data in any way, but records the quality status of the instrument at the moment the measurement was taken and makes this information available to the person receiving the measurement. Because the status is stored on the ChromaShare secure server, it cannot be tampered with, giving the recipient of the measurements full confidence in the data they receive.

CS Audit appears as an icon on the computer controlling the spectrophotometer. At regular intervals the user is prompted to measure a set of high quality calibrated ceramic tiles. These readings are then compared with the accredited tile data to determine spectrophotometer accuracy. The colour of the CS Audit icon changes to indicate the current instrument status; 'Excellent', 'Good', 'Acceptable' or 'Out-of-tolerance'. Full details of the test results, together with historical data, may be viewed as a series of reports, accessible from any location via a web browser. All this is achieved without interfering with the normal systems used by the dyehouse to read and manage colours, so the company's existing software investment is protected.

Dr Andrew Bennett, Managing Director of ChromaShare, said:

CS Audit is a real breakthrough for the industry as it provides unprecedented ease of use for the important, but previously difficult, challenge of maintaining confidence in spectrophotometer performance across organisations. With CS Audit suppliers can avoid instrumental errors while giving vendors added confidence in the readings they provide."

Retailers and vendors using CS SmartClient have the added benefit of instantly seeing the instrument status for any reading supplied to them by a CS Audit user. In addition, the reporting facilities within SmartClient enable them to view the status of all instruments within their supply base in real-time, as well as providing a fully auditable record of historical performance. In this way device accreditation becomes a seamlessly integrated part of the colour workflow.