The world around us is filled with colors. And since color influences our purchasing decisions for cars, home appliances, cell phones, clothes, etc., the range of color variations to set products apart is constantly increasing. Even in the food industry, color control has become an important element. Because of this, the places where color-measuring instruments are used are shifting from just the development and quality control divisions to the production line itself, and from just product manufacturers to makers of parts and materials, and this shift is accelerating.

In 1982, Konica Minolta Sensing introduced the Chroma Meter CR-100, an epoch-making compact handheld tristimulus colorimeter1. Since that time we have continued to support color control in both R&D and on production lines in a variety of fields, including the automotive, electric appliance, paint, plastic, food, architectural materials, and textile fields, wherever color control is essential.

Now, continuing our long history of innovation in color measurement, we are proud to introduce the CM-700d and CM-600d, two spectrophotometers2 that offer the same high performance as our previous models in compact, lightweight, highly portable bodies, with a wide range of functions to meet customer needs and offer excellent operability and maneuverability.

These models are approximately 25% smaller in volume than our previous models as well as approximately 20% lighter, and employ a vertical format that is easy to hold with good stability to provide a higher level of ease of use. In addition, they are equipped with Bluetooth wireless communication functions, enabling wireless transmission of measurement data, etc. to a computer, mobile printer, etc. This gives them greater maneuverability for measurement work on location and on production lines without the limitations of conventional communication cables.

Although the main purpose of colorimeters is to measure the colors that we as humans sense with our eyes and accurately express those colors as numerical values, reversing the process and understanding what those numerical values mean in terms of colors that we see requires a lot of experience. The CM-700d and CM-600d are equipped with color TFT LCDs that enable color patches to be shown for each measurement to allow immediate, intuitive operation.

Color-measuring instruments are now widely used in a diverse range of industries, requiring measurements of various subjects from large 3-dimensional shapes to dusts and powders and from solids to liquids. Plus, on large shapes for example, it may be necessary to measure the colors of several different areas, including flat areas, protruding areas, and sunken areas. The measurement tips of the CM-700d and CM-600d are narrow, so there are fewer limitations on what can be measured. In particular, the CM-700d allows the measurement area to be switched between Ø8mm and Ø3mm to enable measurements of even smaller areas. (The CM-600d has a fixed measurement area of Ø8mm.)
Plus, various optional accessories are available, such as a target mask with glass over the measurement aperture, a granular-materials attachment, a dust cover, etc. to enable measurements of a wide variety of subjects including pastes, powders, and wet surfaces.

Konica Minolta Sensing will continue to offer products and services to meet the diverse needs of various customers, utilizing the optical design technologies we have cultivated throughout our history together with our long experience offering color measurement and management systems.

*1

Tristimulus colorimeter: A simple type of color-measuring instrument that utilizes 3 sensors (red, green, and blue) to correspond to the sensitivities of the human eye.

*2

Spectrophotometer: A color-measuring instrument that utilizes numerous sensors to measure light intensity at each wavelength, enabling high-accuracy, high-performance color measurements.