AGS showcases new colour management tech for auto sector

Advanced Graphic Systems (AGS) the colour matching solutions company, unveiled its latest offering in colour management technologies at the Automotive Engineering Show, Chennai in association with X-Rite. AGS says for the first time in India they have introduced X-Rite’s Total Appearance Capture (TAC) ecosystem, Virtual Light Booth (VLB) and the next-generation MA-T family (MA-T6 and MA-T12), multi-angle spectrophotometers for characterising effect finishes.

AGS will leverage its strong pan India presence and distribution network to market these offerings in the country.

Total Appearance Capture (TAC) ecosystem is an appearance measurement solution that brings a realism and efficiency to the capture, communication and digital presentation of physical materials in the virtual world. It enables designers, 3D artists, material specifiers and marketers to digitally design products that have the exact same visual characteristics as their physical counterparts. The technology captures physically accurate material measurements and appearance properties, reducing the need for manual adjustments to scanned materials, and improving design and approval cycles.

Part of the company’s TAC ecosystem, the Virtual Light Booth (VLB) allows designers, material suppliers and marketers, for accurately and efficiently visualising and compares the 3D digital material renderings. The renderings are presented side-by-side with physical samples in an environment that controls all parameters influencing the perception of appearance. This ensures a consistency between digital prototypes and final physical products.

The company claims for the automotive space, the TAC ecosystem will reduce design time by around 50 percent, thus accelerating speed-to-market and reducing waste throughout the design-to production process.

The new MA-T family of portable multi-angle spectrophotometers includes the MA-T12, a 12-angle device, and the MA-T6, a six-angle device. These devices are the first instruments to combine colour imaging and multi-angle spectral measurement to quantify colour, sparkle and coarseness. It will allow customers to more precisely define and control the extreme effect finishes that is used commonly in the automotive industry and help reduce defects and achieve more efficient quality assurance.

The combination of a colour camera and up to 12 angles of measurement provided in the MA-T family gives manufacturers and their supply chain partners an entirely new level of sophistication in the definition and measurement of effect finishes that include aluminium’s, pearls or special effect pigments like Xirallics.

For many effect finishes, measurement of colour alone is no longer sufficient to completely characterise these materials, or to ensure consistency across adjacent parts, such as car bumpers and body panels. It says the MA-T family delivers results that is more closely to the approximate to the way the human eye perceives colour. This will help manufacturers set, communicate, and ensure conformance with global standards for effect finishes – encompassing colour, sparkle and coarseness – to achieve a new level of consistency and harmony.

V.C. Gupte, head - Colour Business, Advanced Graphic Systems said, “At AGS, it is our endeavour to bring world- class products to India. X-Rite is a global leader and with these innovative products we are helping diverse industries take the technological leap of automation for better results. The new technology applied in both the machines deliver projections that are almost the way a human eye perceives colour and texture. Exquisite features like these will enable manufacturers to ensure the quality control, reduced re-work while accelerating time-to-market.”

Thomas Dlugos, director, Sales – OEM, X-Rite says, “India is a fast developing nation with a huge potential where the manufacturers are striving to achieve global standard quality. We have witnessed growing demand for colour management solutions especially in the Indian auto sector. In the automotive field, colour is one of the pivotal components that drive consumer’s decision making process.  Today’s auto manufacturers make every effort to ensure colour harmony in finishes across every surface.  . We are excited to launch X-Rite’s most advanced colour management technology in India with Advanced Graphic Systems, our longstanding partner, to help manufacturers deliver the highest level of colour consistency and product excellence while improving design and production efficiency.” 

AGS currently operates across India, with its distribution and service centres located at more than 20 locations. It has partnered with several leading brands namely Arvind Mills, Birla Century Mills, Asian Paints, Berger, Kansai Nerolac, Vardhman Textile, Raymond, Bombay Dyeing, Pragati Offset, Parksons Packaging, DIC, Sakata, Huber, Flint and Toyo among others.