Here’s a rundown of some of the latest color-matching innovations that can help increase shop throughput, enhance profitability and increase customer satisfaction of refinish repairs
Digital tools for achieving fast and accurate color matches have made significant advances in recent times—and that’s great, given how essential an efficient refinish process is to the overall key-to-key productivity of a production-minded collision center. Here’s a rundown of some of the latest color-matching innovations that can help increase shop throughput, enhance profitability and increase customer satisfaction of refinish repairs.
Sophisticated spectrophotometers
The increased use of sophisticated mica and pearl colors by OEMs, and how the actual color can vary from vehicle to vehicle—along with how the perceived color can vary depending on viewing angle—makes identifying the correct color on the first attempt a significant challenge for the human eye. Enter the “electronic eyes” of refinish spectrophotometers, which have made significant inroads since their introduction in the late 1990s to today where they are fast replacing more traditional aids like color chip books and variant decks. The PPG DigiMatch™ spectrophotometer reads a customer’s vehicle color from multiple reflective angles, taps into a formula database and quickly finds the right match. It even provides texture information, and the ability to compare the color differences between two adjacent parts. This is but one innovation in the revolutionary PPG LINQ™ digital ecosystem.
Virtual sprayout cards
As a new color visualization tool, PPG VisualizID™ software displays a realistic 3D rendering of the spectrophotometer reading in comparison to the best match from the color formula library. Technicians can manipulate a “virtual sprayout” in a variety of ways to confirm that the color is the correct match. Given that effect pigments have a different appearance depending on the viewing angle, users can view the rendering from flip and flop angles as well as manipulate the light source. The app also provides a blend view to replicate a panel gap, as well as an edge view comparing the two colors being directly next to each other without any gap. Digital color visualization truly is a significant breakthrough to save time in color mixing by reducing the chances of human error in the formula selection process, and by reducing the need for creating actual sprayout cards.
Cloud-based digital color software
Thanks to advanced algorithms and the speed of cloud computing, technicians now have access to the very latest prime and variant formulas automatically. Moreover, cloud-based computing allows for a variety of connected and wireless solutions, including small, smart hardware devices providing direct wireless connectivity. Using the PPG MagicBox™ smart device, the technician can now communicate directly with the spectrophotometer and connect to the mixing scale without the need for a PC. This is a great way to free up space in the mixing room.
The automated mixing system
No doubt the future of color mixing has arrived with the PPG MoonWalk® automated mixing system, designed to replace the manual mixing process. It’s a remarkable innovation that can virtually eliminate human errors in the mixing room, while achieving exceptionally accurate color mixes.
Creating an automatic color mix is simple. After retrieving the formula, the technician loads the required toners onto a dispensing rack. With the push of a button, the MoonWalk® system first double checks barcodes to ensure the correct toners are loaded. Then the system automatically dispenses the exact amount of each toner, down to the 100th of a gram. To further eliminate waste, the system is designed to ensure all of the product is used, down to the last drop. In addition to the savings in paint consumption, studies have shown that automated mixing can achieve a significant increase in mixing room efficiency. The PPG MoonWalk® mixing system was designed specifically to take the Envirobase® High Performance waterborne basecoat system to the next level of color accuracy and performance.
The right refinish system matters
Efficiency, tough durability and ease of use—just three of the reasons the Envirobase® High Performance paint system is the trusted choice of more than 40,000 body shops worldwide. The Envirobase® paint system supports fully digitized repair processes, and is compatible with every tool in the PPG LINQ™ digital ecosystem.
By replacing traditional repair processes and incorporating the latest innovations, this advanced system helps increase key-to-key productivity by up to 15%, making it the perfect solution for modern collision centers. For more information, visit envirobase.com.
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