My spectrophotometer is getting old. I need a new instrument and software for evaluation and formulation of color paints and ceramics. What recommendations can you make?
There are several companies currently manufacturing spectrophotometric hardware and color matching software capable of replacing your system. Several of these are linked on our lab’s sponsors page. The companies most likely to have systems with the flexibility you require are BYK-Gardner, HunterLab, DataColor, and GretagMacbeth. Minolta and X-Rite also manufacture instruments, but I am not sure they have software for your applications. Unfortunately, I am not aware of any “consumer’s report” on this instrumentation, however I can say that the quality of all of the instruments is very high and likely substantially improved from the time you purchased your system. I would recommend looking at options from all of the manufacturers and making your decision based on the availability of instruments that can measure the variety of samples you have, the capability of their software for your applications, and the ability to transfer any necessary data from your old system.
