PAINT AND COATINGS MANUFACTURING: TESTING EQUIPMENT Black is difficult to measure due to the low amount of reflectance from the coating. Normal L*a*b* numbers capture the visual appearance of the coating for non-black colours. CFCM: Can you explain Jetness Measurement and the importance of it in production? Ray Roby (RR): Black has been and still is one of the most popular colours and is always a challenge to measure properly. In the development of black colours, the depth is objectively evaluated with a Jetness index based on colourimetric data. Black is difficult to measure due to the low amount of reflectance from the coating. Normal L*a*b* numbers capture the visual appearance of the coating for nonblack colours. Therefore, for black measurements, new instrumentation and equations are required. Also, ensure that your spectrophotometer is enhanced to measure the deepest blacks with accuracy. CFCM: How does the signal to noise ratio change with darker colours? RR: Signal to noise ratios do change when measuring dark colours. The very low electronic noise of these instruments is consistent and always there, however it impacts the repeatability with reflectance values below one. When we put the instrument in Jetness mode the instrument increases the light intensity and increases the exposure time to allow more signal to be detected. Used effectively with the Jetness scales we can see how minor differences in per cent reflectance can be quantified and meaningfully communicated. CFCM: What testing instruments do you provide and how does this technology master the measurement of Jet-Black colours? GS: The instruments that we provide for the measurement of Jetness are the spectro2guide pro and the Colour2View Pro. These instruments are specifically designed to reduce the signal to noise ratio and provide the best visual to numeric evaluation of the black colours. These instruments have a special Jetness mode and September/October 2023 29 SURFACE VERIFICATION POWERED BY FREE SHIPPING ACROSS CANADA! Authorized Elcometer distributor in Canada SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS SINCE 1972 when activated they have an increased sensitivity to samples with less than one per cent reflectance. This allows for reliable and repeatable measurement to be made and then the user can use Jetness, Blackness and Undertone equations to accurately communicate what is visually seen with a flood light or highpowered flashlight. Without the extra powerful lighting it is difficult to see any differences. 'S COATINGS INSPECTION ADHESION TESTINGhttp://www.testcoatings.ca