Scientists devise eco-friendly textile technology in Bangladesh
Scientists at the Applied Chemistry and Engineering Department in Rajshahi University (RU) have developed an environment-friendly technology that can be used by Bangladesh’s textile industry. The technology will play a role in creating an environment-friendly apparel sector. The textile industry damages environment because its uses huge quantity of water.
The team was led by Dr. Mohammad Taufiq Alam. In a study, Alam revealed that textile industry in the country consumes double the water used by the people of Dhaka city. The textile industry also pollutes the environment. “We have invented a technology that is ‘eco-friendly’ or ‘environmentally friendly’. It will be less harmful for the environment and 45 per cent of water will be saved,” Alam said. Alam and his team had been working on the technology for the past four years. The technology involves an “enzymatic method”. Enzyme is a protein molecule that works to increase the speed of production at any level.
“Once these proteins go into the environment they would be very useful both for the environment and fish. This is why it is ‘environment-friendly’. In this case, the quality of goods and prices will be taken care of,” Alam said and added that before the colouring of the clothes, a textile engineer’s first job is to remove the oil layer from the production line. For that, there is an enzyme for oil hydrolysis. Oil becomes fatty acid when it is hydrolysed. Fatty acids are very beneficial for animals and birds.
However, before the clothes are dried, the clothes have to be a little white. The device to measure the whiteness can be observed by researchers for a certain amount of time. Many researchers can carry such research work at 51.05 per cent to 51.75 per cent. “But, through our ‘Enzyme Activator’, we were able to go up to 90 per cent of the research work. Scientists think that this is the highest level achieved,” Alam said.
Regarding the weight of the cloth, Alam said, “If we lose less cellulose in clothing, the weight is also reduced. And in our ‘Enzymatic Method’, the weight of the clothes will be reduced. We hope the textile industries will be benefited from our technology.” He added, “Foreign buyers buy clothes from our textile industry by weight. Apart from this, many clothes have to be of light shades. If we do light shades, then the cloth gets a kind of yellowish look, which cannot be seen with naked eyes.”
As a result, foreign buyers do not want to take those clothes. “But if we use these enzymes (which is 90 per cent), then there would not be any yellowish tint in that cloth. In this case, they (the textile industries) will be benefited greatly,” he added. Alam and his team have used the technology successfully in several textile factories of Bangladesh over the past few months. Apparel companies have expressed interest in testing the technology.
Juki presents latest software and machine for better productivity and labour saving at private show
Juki Corporation, founded in 1938, is a Japan-based world-leading comprehensive manufacturer in the field of industrial sewing machines having the users in about 170 countries and regions. The industrial sewing machinery major recently organised an event at Fortune Inn Grazia, Noida on December 8, 2018 with a view to showcasing the latest industrial sewing machines and to unveil the cutting edge technology for sewing operations. The event witnessed many new product launches and JaNet Live Show. Juki’s new JaNet system enables quick problem solving, skill up support, reduction of set-up work, quick response for maintenance, visualization of factory.
At this occasion, the company also conducted a seminar about, “Production Improvement and Automistaion in Sewing.” The Chief Guest for the event was Resheb Chand Jain, Chairman, TT Limited. Apart from these, many senior Juki officials including Katsumi Nihei, President & Managing Director of Juki India, Officer in JUKI HQ & President of JUKI South East Asia and Shinetsu Ishida, Chief operating officer JUKI India Pvt. Ltd. were also present at the event.
Besides, representatives and heads of its agent companies including Raghav Sharma, Director, IIGM Pvt Ltd. and Prabhat Chakrabarthi, Director Capital Apparel Technologies also graced the occasion with their presence. According to the company, the one-day event attracted more than 400 visitors including 150 customers from Delhi NCR, and got good business. Some of Juki customers who attended the event were Shahi exports, Orient craft, Orient Fashions, Richa Global, RMX Joss, PriEmpro and many more.
The Juki Corporation has been conducting various exhibitions and events around the world. At Noida event, the company highlighted its various technologies: JaNet (Juki Advanced Networking System), Auto Bottom Hem, Auto Sleeve Hem, Auto Polo Placket Making Machine and new devices for improved production.
Juki’s JaNeT software control system which enables greater workflow efficiency became the major attraction at the event. JUKI Advanced Network System is a real time production data monitoring system. In this all machine related information and production related information will be collected through WIFI based system. The complete sewing production and as well as bottle neck points will be notified in real time. It will help user to identify the problem points in the sewing floor to take necessary remedial actions.
Basically, the new JaNeT system from Juki is, in essence, an artificial intelligence operative. The computational software has been developed to interlink Juki’s digital technologies – each of which are currently confined to an individual production process. The thinking behind this is that, instead of employing 20+ machines to produce a garment in its entirety, the company can now condense this workflow into fewer (around 7 to 10) highly connected and more versatile machines that complete production both more efficiently and cost effectively.
Besides, the other machines displayed at the event were all its latest Advanced Digital Machines, where all the settings of the machine will be controlled by means of panel. The digital machines comes with NFC enabled (near field communication) which helps user to take machine setting data to mobile and the same setting can be transferred to other machines. It helps in saving machine setting time during style change. Juki also exhibited automatic machines for Shirts, Jeans, Trouser and knits too. Due to the lack of skilled man power it is very important to go with automatic machines where productivity and quality is been attained.
Sustainable solutions for denim processing
As the supply chain needs continue to change, both brands and consumers alike are looking for more sustainable options without sacrificing the look and feel that consumers love about their favourite pair of jeans. It is possible to achieve the same designs and overall look of denim while saving water, energy, time and/or chemicals throughout the process. This article explains the differences between traditional and new technologies for stonewashing, washdown effects, whisker effects and sanding.
Stone Washing
Traditional Method – Pumice Stones
Pumice Stones are used for stonewashing denim to give a faded, worn-out look to the fabric- The stones are washed with the denim garments together in large washing machines
- Pumice stones can cause damage to washing machines through wear and tear
- It can also be challenging for workers to remove the residue, dust and sludge that the stones produce after washing
- There is a higher labour cost involved with Pumice Stones, since the stones and particles must be physically removed from the pockets of garments after stonewashing.
New Technology -Nostone®
- Tonello created abrasive stainless-steel drums in collaboration with Levi Strauss & Co. The panels can be fastened to any of Tonello’s machines. They are removable, so the machines can still be used for normal washing/ dyeing processes
- There are different levels of abrasion with the NoStone® technology that are determined by the fineness of the texture on the plates
- The time in the machine also determines the level of the stonewash effect
- The NoStone® process reduces water consumption, production costs, emissions, waste, processing time and manual labour
Washdowns
Traditional Method – Bleach
- Bleaching is a step in denim finishing that is used to decolorize indigo. The level of discoloration to the fabrics or garments depends on the amount of bleach used, the temperature, and duration of the wash process
- The most widely used chemicals used in the industry are sodium hypochlorite, calcium hypochlorite, hydrogen peroxide, and potassium permanganate
- Consistency can be challenging to achieve, and there may be variation in the appearance of multiple dye lots
- The chemicals involved with bleaching can cause corrosion to machines, weaken the fabric, and high exposure can be harmful to workers.
New Technology – Ozone & Enzymes
- Ozone is a powerful bleaching agent that is generated from oxygen. Ozone works quickly and requires fewer rinses compared to other bleaching methods. At the conclusion of the bleaching process, any remaining ozone is converted back into oxygen and water
- Enzymes can be used as an alternative to harsh chemicals used during the bleaching process. Enzymes known as laccases alter the indigo dye through oxidation. Only the dye and appearance of the fabric is changed, so the fabric quality, strength and elasticity remain unchanged
- Enzymes can also be added in combination with the NoStone® technology, previously mentioned, to accentuate the effect of the NoStone® process.
Whisker Effect
Traditional Method – Potassium Permanganate
- Potassium Permanganate (PP) is an oxidizing agent that is used for local bleaching/finishing on denim
- PP spray is used on jeans to lighten a specific area and create whisker effects on denim
- PP spray can have harmful effects on workers by irritating and burning the skin and eyes when workers come into direct contact with it. Without safe ventilation systems and equipment, factory workers can be at risk for short-term and longterm health issues when working with this chemical.
New Technology – Laser
- Another technology available to mimic the finishing effects of Potassium Permanganate is a laser
- Available from both Tonello and Jeanologia, the laser machine can create vintage effects, whiskers, patterns, patches, and even intentional holes and tears in a garment
- The laser technology uses less water, chemicals and energy to create a wide variety of denim looks. Laser boosters can be applied to the fabric in order to intensify the effect of the laser to mimic heavier bleaching applications.
Potassium Permanganate Alternatives
- Other chemical systems have been developed which do not release Manganese, a non-biodegradable heavy metal, into the environment
- These potassium permanganate alternatives are often non-toxic or significantly less toxic to the environment than potassium permanganate and provide a verysimilar bleaching effect as potassium permanganate.
Sanding
Traditional Method – Manual Sanding and Sand Blasting
- Manual sanding is used to create faded areas by physically scraping the surface of denim garments with a variety of tools
- Manual sanding can also be used to create rips and other worn effects in localized areas. This process is labour intensive and inconsistent
- Sand blasting uses compressed air to forcefully spray sand at the garments
- Sand blasting is extremely hazardous to workers, which has led many organizations to ban the technique.
New Technology – Laser
- Laser, as mentioned above, can also be used to mimic hand sanding and sandblasting.
- The laser can be pre-programmed with patterns that can mimic exactly the desired look achieved through manual sanding and sandblasting with significantly less labour and physical hazards.
Source: Cotton Incorporated’s CottonWorks™ program
EFI launches Next-generation Reggiani BOLT Textile Digital Printer
EFI™ is a global technology company, based in Silicon Valley, and is leading the worldwide transformation from analogue to digital imaging. The company is passionate about fuelling customer success with products that increase competitiveness and boost productivity. To do that, it develops breakthrough technologies for the manufacturing of signage, packaging, textiles, ceramic tiles, and personalised documents, with a wide range of printers, inks, digital front ends, and a comprehensive business and production workflow suite that transforms and streamlines the entire production process.
The brand-new, next-generation, single-pass EFI™ Reggiani BOLT textile digital printer from Electronics For Imaging, Inc. was launched recently during an open house event at the EFI Reggiani facility in Bergamo, Italy. The advanced, ultra-high-speed digital single-pass printer has the potential to revolutionise the textile printing market, providing users with high uptime and reliability, outstanding performance, superior printing uniformity and accuracy, long printhead life and minimal maintenance needs. The EFI Reggiani open house created huge interest in global textile market opportunities, with nearly 300 customers and journalists attended to see the new BOLT in action.
“The innovative development of our new single-pass printer comes from Reggiani’s speed of innovation in digital textile printing, its 70 years of history, and our proprietary knowledge of high-volume analogue rotary printing,” said EFI Reggiani Vice President and General Manager Adele Genoni, while speaking to Apparel Views Editor Arvind Kumar during the event. “Our EFI colleagues’ proven, worldwide expertise in single-pass technology and, most importantly, EFI Reggiani’s serious commitment to listening to and addressing our textile customers’ needs, have allowed us to achieve incredible results with our newest print technology. The EFI Reggiani BOLT re-writes the rules of digital textile single-pass printing, delivering superior throughput and quality with a highly competitive return on investment for customers. We are excited to bring this technology to our customers and see their businesses succeed and grow.”
Highlights of the event
The event began with a panel discussion on the future trends in digital textile single pass and about BOLT the next generation textile single pass. This created huge interest in global textile market opportunities, with nearly so many customers and journalists attending the same. During the session, speakers including Ron Gilboa (Group Director Production Technology- InfoTrends), Mark Hanley (President – IT Strategies), Michele Riva, Sales & Marketing Director and others from EFI Reggiani team discussed the benefits & future prospects of next generation Textile Single Pass technologies, and its comparison with analogue printing method. Also discussed was the growing market of digital textile printing worldwide. This was followed by an interactive question and answer session.
Later, a workshop was organised on ‘Terra pigment solution for a green, fast and competitive process’ and ‘The spectacular COLORS your creativity desires’. This was followed by the factory visit wherein EFI customers and journalists were given opportunity to experience the whole EFI Reggiani Digital Product Range in action at EFI Reggiani Demo Centre. Here they witnessed live demo of Reggiani Power Digital Printer for Direct Printing on Fabric and Paper, Reggiani Terra Solution – Digital Printers for Direct Printing on Fabric, Reggiani Colors – Digital Printer for Direct Printing on Fabric etc. to name a few. At the end, new Reggiani BOLT printer in action was unveiled to the industry.
Cutting-edge printhead technology and highperformance ink delivery
The BOLT offers an innovative, low-maintenance, fast-startup recirculation printhead that delivers better, more-uniform printing with superior uptime. Thanks to its cuttingedge printhead concept and high-performance ink delivery system, the BOLT has throughput speeds of up to 90 mtr per minute (more than 8,000 sqmtr per hour) at a 600 x 600 dots per inch (dpi) resolution. It features high-end greyscale imaging in drop sizes from 5 to 30 picolitres, and also provides premium-quality 600 x 4,800 maximum-dpi resolution printing, allowing customers to address the full range of design needs. The printhead has been developed in partnership with a leading printhead manufacturer, and will be available exclusively for EFI Reggiani.
High-end capabilities, with reduced downtime
The EFI Reggiani BOLT meets growing requirements for high-quality, ecologically sustainable digital textile imaging in apparel, décor and other markets. Paired with an EFI Fiery® digital front end (DFE) print server offering unique, high-speed processing capabilities on demand, the BOLT printer is a robust, industrial platform designed for 24/7 operation and continuous productivity that drives high-volume throughput while reducing the cost per metre. Additional new features and enhancements on the printer include:
Enhanced maintenance features – The printer’s contactless wiping system prolongs printhead life and quality. Plus, the printer comes with an assisted alignment system for its test calibration scan unit, and features extractable printing beams for easier maintenance.
Extended colour gamut and superior image quality – Thanks to EFI expertise in colour management and flexible colour configurations, customers can easily reproduce a wider variety of work, including designs featuring plain colours, geometric patterns, fine lines, deep blacks and smooth gradients.
Proprietary IP combining digital and rotary technologies – One or more analogue printing stations, which may be easily connected as an optional feature, can be integrated into the digital printer for special effects.
Efficient, high-powered EFI Fiery technology
The Reggiani BOLT is a Fiery Driven™ printer, featuring an EFI Fiery DFE with RIP and colour management technologies running on Fiery XB bladed hardware for maximum performance. Fiery technologies for the printer give textile printing businesses the ability to successfully produce highly challenging jobs with the finest detail, demanding colours, smooth gradients and more. EFI colour scientists developed special algorithms and custom screening for this Fiery system to deliver vivid print results, including high saturation without losing detail, and superior colour even when using the fastest print mode.
Fiery technologies for the new Reggiani BOLT printer also will include a 1-year subscription to EFI Fiery DesignPro, a powerful textile and fashion design suite that runs inside designers’ Adobe® Creative Cloud® applications. Fiery DesignPro reduces the time needed to create colour books, repeats, colourways and prepare files for production to minutes instead of hours. Together, the new Reggiani BOLT single-pass printer and Fiery technologies address key market trends as customers face pressure for faster time-to-market, quick fashion cycles, shorter print runs and more customisation.
EFI Reggiani high-speed innovation in digital printing for textiles. The BOLT printer is the newest in an important series of EFI Reggiani innovations. In the last 15 months, the team has developed a totally renewed range of digital scanning printers with cutting-edge technologies, launching a new model every quarter to offer customers solutions to whatever their requirements may be for easily scalable textile printing. The list of EFI Reggiani advancements includes two recent launches – the COLOURS digital printer, which provides unparalleled performance with up to 12-colour printing, and the TERRA pigment ink with binder solution featuring inline polymerisation, a process that speeds up customers’ printing with one of the industry’s greenest production technologies.
Some other highlights of the technology are
Fabric in-and outfeed systems, based on EFI Reggiani’s proprietary knowhow, allow complete flexibility and high performance in fabric management- Precision conveyor belt enables to reach top speed without compromising on printing accuracy
- Compact printing chamber footprint extractable printing beams ensure easy access to print heads and ink system to the operator
- Plain colours, geometric patterns, fine lines, deep black, smooth gradients…any limit can be overcome thanks to EFI expertise in colour management and flexible colour configuration
- High- efficiency dryer with removable filters based on EFI Reggiani’s expertise. Heavy insulation panels to dramatically reduce heat waste
- Innovative recirculation print head concept, developed with first class print head manufacturer, ensures 3x ink laydown in the same time unit and better printing uniformity.
- High performance and versatile ink delivery system, tailored on print head, overcome printing quality limits, thanks to real time printer start up and minimal maintenance needs
- Contactless wiping system and test calibration scan unit with assisted alignment system make any maintenance operations easier and smoother
- EFI proprietary electronics and software, ensure real time printing and high performance throughout
Jack organises Global Distributor Conference in China
Established in August 2003 in China, Jack Sewing Machine Co. Ltd., started sewing machine business from July 18, 1995. And ever since 2010, the sales amount of Jack is leading in global sales with the absolute advantage of lockstitch, overlock and interlock sewing machine. On October 21st, 2018 the annual Jack Global Distributor Conference was held in Taizhou International Hotel. In the beginning, Ruan Jixiang, the Founder of Jack, delivered a keynote speech on value marketing at the conference. According to him, the strategy of focusing; focusing on small and medium-sized customers, focusing on the lockstitch, overlock and interlock machine, focusing on the development of quality and technology is the way to achieve no. 1 ranking in sales, value marketing, and becoming leading company in the world.
In the new era of intelligence, regardless of the traditional business or the future market, he said that the price war will not only defeat the unbeaten competitors, but also indirectly affect the value of the brand itself, but also bring a vicious circle to the industry. What Jack needs to do is to create value for customers by quality and technology, and let the whole industry move towards benign development. Only by moving towards value marketing can we go closer to Jack’s first brand of global sewing equipment.
Later, at the meeting, he shared the contrast between smart sewing and traditional sewing for the dealers present. For example, the sewing machine A5 with short trimming(no need to cut again), the technology not only solves the difficulty of recruiting labour for the garment processing factory, but also brings high sales volume and high quality reputation to the clothing brand.
The consumer demand for improvement, for quality is increasing, and intelligent sewing products can help Jack in the value war from price war. Jimmy, General Manager of the sewing machine department, brought the industry analysis to overseas distributors, and made in-depth description from the macro trend, market customers, sewing industry and Jack’s own aspects.
In November 2015, the supply-side reform was formally proposed. With the implementation of the national environmental protection tax collection policy, environmental protection and safe production became the threshold of the manufacturing industry in China, including clothing. The elimination of backward production capacity was accelerated.
The continuous deepening of supply-side reform has improved the market concentration degree of the industry. The growing market share of leading enterprises represents new opportunities for Jack. He pointed out that, with a global perspective and an overview of the development trend of international clothing, garment factories need more advanced equipment as consumers purchase more frequently and demand higher quality of clothing. In such a context, Jack is the market leader in terms of user awareness and data in both the brand and the product.
Presently, Jack company’s sales account for a very high share in more than 105 industrial sewing machine factories in China. The sales performance is far ahead, which will accumulate more potential energy for Jack and its dealers. Then, by presenting data comparison of the sales performance of sewing machine enterprises in the first half of 2018, he helped distributors to further understand Jack’s influence in the field of sewing machines in China and even the world, and anticipated the huge potential and development scale of the sewing machine market.
He said that from the acquisition of Germany’s Bullmer in 2009 to the acquisition of Italy’s VI. BE. MAC this year, Jack has entered the stage of multi-brand operation and multi-industry production supply chain coordination. Jack has not only brand, product, capital, but also product, technology, quality, service and personnel. With 9 R&D centers, 1000 R&D teams, and 14 offices in over 130 countries around the world, we provide local services and technical support, provide win-win global co-operation opportunities and realize the aspiration of “co-construction, sharing and win-win.”
Victor, Vice General Manager of international trade department, reported on the theme of innovation channel and value creation. At the conference, he showed Jack’s promising market and business development in the world in 2018, as well as the great success of Jack’s products in all markets around the world. He listed a number of statistics to prove that Jack is covering around the world. The reasons for Jack’s good performance overseas are explained in detail in the aspects of product, service, training and brand:
In terms of training, the training mode of “technicians going out to overseas markets” and “overseas technicians invited to China” are combined, as well as the cooperation made with training schools. The quick service is more and more in-depth for users. After the service training for agents and sub-dealers, the service starts to develop to the terminal and facilitates sales. Many countries have regular service day to train terminal operators and so on.
Jack’s success in 2018, he said, depends on the strong support and hard work of his family of dealers around the world. Meanwhile, the work priorities of 2019 were elaborated in detail, including increasing investment in brand publicity, product innovation, channel construction, professional training, etc. It aims to face customers with the most valuable products and services, and build core competitive advantages to make dealers successful.
Many overseas distributors have made very infectious sharing for us, telling us how they get acquainted with the sewing machine industry and Jack, as well as their market situation, company situation and successful experience. At the end of the meeting, Vincent, the Vice Chairman of Jack, gave summary for the meeting. He once again emphasized the importance of value marketing. Not only the agent but also dealers have value marketing abilities. Agent also need to help dealers to get this ability of value marketing, stimulate the potential of dealers, and achieve greater victories.
At the same time, he also emphasized the customer-centric aspect; helping customer to success is the most essential part of any business, the reason is very simple, but not everyone really understands, and not everyone can practice it. As a dealer, do you understand the pain points of customers? How do you manage your time and how much time is it spent on your customers? These are questions worth thinking by all the dealers. Finally, he said that Jack is committed to helping dealers grow, helping dealers develop distributors, and better serve their customers to achieve their success.
In order to thank the distributors for their dedication in the past year, the conference honored outstanding teams and individuals who have made outstanding contributions and presented awards. A total of 67 distributor families received different categories of awards.
Jacks lays foundation stone of new manufacturing unit
Jack focuses on industrial intelligent sewing machine, automatic cutting machine and motor & control box. It is the only intelligent manufacturing complete solution service provider integrated pre-sewing equipment and mid-sewing equipment in the global sewing equipment industry. Jack has more than 5,000 agents and service center in more than 120 countries.
Jack’s overseas acquisition co-operation began in 2009. German Automatic cutting machine Bullmer company enjoys the “Mercedes-Benz” reputation in pre-sewing industry and has more than 80-year history, which became a member of Jack in that year. In July, 2017, Jack acquired Italian MAICA, which is the onlyprofessional manufacturer to produce shirt automatic equipment in the world for more than 40 years. The acquisition of VI.BE.MAC marks Jack’s globalization made another historic progress. VI.BE.MAC with 38-year history is the leader of industry sewing machine for jeans. However, many factors constrain the development of VI.BE.MAC. foreign markets. In the Asian market, especially in the Chinese market it faces challenges from other peers.
Today, Asia is the main production area of jean clothing. China, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, etc., are the big countries in jean clothing production. And China is the world’s largest denim clothing production base. The company, who owns the Chinese market, is equal to half the sky in the jean clothing production market. Jack’s co-operation with VI.BE.MAC. will achieve this possibility. Both the companies have same target that not only provides products but also offer the solution to meet customers’ need. After the acquisition of VI.BE.MAC., Jack will give full play to advantages in supply chain, production, technology, channels etc.
The acquisition of VI.BE.MAC marks Jack’s globalization made another historic progress. Taking this further, Jack Sewing Machine recently laid foundation stone of its high-end intelligent sewing equipment manufacturing unit in Juhai Avenu, Taizhou, China. The ceremony was led by Heye, Director, China Sewing Machinery Association (CSMA) along with the Chairman of Jack Group and Mayor of Taizhou city, in the presence of some of the Government officials from the region.
The land, covering around 7.6 lakh sq mtr area, was recently allotted to Jack by the Taizhou Government. Apart from the manufacturing base, it will also witness the start-up activities of the provincial and municipal major projects related to the sewing industry. The manufacturing base will take about 3 years to get completed and after the completion of the project, it will have an annual production capacity of 2 mn sets of intelligent sewing machines and 1,00,000 sets of intelligent special sewing machines.
The high-end intelligent sewing equipment manufacturing base is an important measure for the company to expand and upgrade to become a complete service provider of intelligent equipment. As per the company, manufacturing will be completely robotic right from loading, unloading to assembly of parts of sewing machines.
According to Jixiang Ruan, Jack Stock, founder, “We share with VI.BE.MAC.’s philosophy and values and are grateful to the mutual knowledge in these years. After the acquisition – due to the added value that Jack can bring in terms of supply, production and distribution in China and in the world, with its more than 5,000 sales and service channels in more than 120 countries – we will share with VI.BE.MAC. an even wider market. Moreover, thanks to the brand, the experience and the technological know-how of the VI.BE.MAC. Units, we will enrich the automation of our products with the aim of quickly entering the market for the denim clothing automation, establishing a position of leadership in this area.”
The new manufacturing base will be helpful to reduce the cost of manufacturing of MAICA and VI.BE.MAC. Also, Jack will be producing its future high-end ‘A’ series lockstitch machines in this facility.
Industry-leading technology behind Ci7x00 Family of Spectrophotometers
The Ci7x00 is the flagship family of bench top spectrophotometers in X-Rite’s broad portfolio of colour solutions. Offering the highest level of both accuracy and consistency in measurement, the Ci7x00 family has set a new standard for colour control across formulation, production and quality assurance. This technical paper provides detailed insight into the technology powering these revolutionary products.
A Legacy of Innovation
The technology powering Ci7x00 instruments is the product of decades of innovation in colour measurement. X-Rite’s CE7000 benchtop spectrophotometer, launched in 1989, used a photodiode array for measuring colour. When the CE7000 was introduced, the photo diode array offered the best design and performance options available for measuring light and processing colour.
In the 1990s, X-Rite started to investigate the use of two-dimensional charge-coupled device (2D CCD) arrays as light detectors in instruments. These types of imagers provided low noise and excellent linearity and opened the door to the design of a multi-channel benchtop spectrophotometer— the Color i7. This pioneering product achieved a new level of performance, and provided simultaneous measurement of specular included (SCI) and specular excluded (SCE), along with the reference channel, to enable tightly coupled real-time correction of illumination uniformity.
X-Rite’s legacy of innovation continued in 2015 with the introduction of the Ci7x00 family. These instruments combine the latest advances in 2D CCD array technology with sophisticated processing capabilities to deliver the industry’s most accurate and repeatable colour measurement yet.
The powerful array that makes it possible
At the heart of a Ci7x00 instrument is a highresolution spectrometer that couples an aberration-corrected diffraction grating with a highquality 2D CCD that is suitable for scientific instrumentation. The all-reflective design provides exceptional control over stray light, resulting in minimal spectral and spatial cross-talk in the CCD detector. This enables remarkable measurement purity, which leads to excellent dark and light repeatability and colour accuracy.
The Ci7x00 family’s 2D CCD array allows simultaneous, full spectral imaging of multiple measurement channels: Reference channel, SCI, and SCE. Since all measurement channels are imaged simultaneously with the reference channel on the 2D CCD array, any changes to the instrument’s light source or drift in wavelength can be detected in realtime and corrected in all measurement channels. Additionally, with the measurement channels being imaged together on the same physical 2D CCD array, the correction of errors from electrical noise and drift is greatly simplified.
In the instruments, each channel is connected by glass optical fibres to the input slit on the spectrometer. The spectrometer maps the spectral dispersion of each channel in one direction on the CCD, with the spatial dispersion mapped in a perpendicular direction to create a 2-dimensional reading. In the spectral direction, a wavelength sampling interval of just over 1nm/pixel spreads the spectrum across hundreds of CCD pixels, and produces a calibrated output range of 360 to 780nm—the most expansive wavelength range on the market.
State-of-the-art data processing and correction
In addition to its advanced 2D CCD array, the Ci7x00 instruments use multiple data processing techniques to achieve accuracy and precision. Wavelength bands are over-sampled both spatially and spectrally to provide more than 750 CCD pixel samples per wavelength per flash. Each measurement is executed through multiple flashes, which creates a “super pixel” with an effective dynamic range that exceeds that of a typical photodiode array. This results in a 20x improvement of resolution and signal-to-noise when compared to common one-dimensional technologies.
Signal-to-noise is also effectively managed through over-sampling. A dark blue repeatability test best demonstrates the Ci7x00’s advances in this area. The Ci7x00 series outperforms other manufacturers as well as our own previous benchtop spectrophotometers on this test. The system also incorporates colour balance filters to flatten the input light at the detector so that dynamic range is carefully managed in order to optimize signal-to-noise in the CCD. This provides low noise at all wavelengths, and clean signal detection without saturation, leakage, or crosstalk between pixels. The Ci7x00 series also implements a continuous wavelength calibration in real-time that is used to re-align the spectrum with the factory reference spectrum using no moving parts. Along with other corrections, it is this innovative whole-system design approach that allows the leading Ci7x00 device, the Ci7860, to deliver industry-leading repeatability of <0.01 E and inter-instrument agreement as tight as =0.06 E.
Finally, measurement accuracy can be affected by the amount of optical power being instantaneously delivered to a sample by the illumination system, especially while measuring certain fluorescent materials. Photodiode array-based spectrophotometers typically take a measurement with a single high-powered flash. Measurement differences caused by this over-powered illumination can temporarily alter some samples, resulting in colour measurement errors up to 1 E. X-Rite’s Ci7x00 spectrophotometers use multiple lower-power flashes during a colour measurement to help minimize and control this error. These are light conditions that more closely match the way the human eye sees these special samples.
Streamline your workflow
Establishing and achieving the strictest colour standards requires accuracy and precision at each stage of the product development process, from formulation to final production to quality control.The Ci7x00 series solution offers the unique ability to maintain an audit trail, ensuring data traceability and integrity of standards throughout production. In the event that a product falls outside of a specified tolerance, this traceability allows for quick identification of the sources of error. Users can easily review measurement and process variables, including temperature humidity, and even a picture of the sample being measured, during each step of the production.
The Ci7x00 family’s advanced technology for accurate capture and data processing also allows operators to achieve a new level of efficiency in controlling colour. Simultaneous SCI and SCE data capture eliminates the need for multiple measurements as well as the effort and potential error associated with adjusting the instrument’s mechanical set-up between measurements. This is particularly valuable for the measurement of samples exhibiting gloss and texture. The ability to combine measurements of reflection and transmission also allows colour experts to gather accurate data for colour and translucency in a single operation.
The Ci7x00 family offers users additional measurement flexibility with optional UV wavelength cut-off filters, four transmission apertures (25 mm to 6mm) with active laser targeting, and up to five reflectance apertures (25 mm to 3.5 mm).The 2D CCD arrays used in the Ci7x00 family have enabled the design of industry leading instrumentation with unmatched accuracy, repeatability, and inter-instrument agreement. Customer workflow is simplified with simultaneous measurements of SCI and SCE, and operators will be able to meet their customer colour requirements with less rework and wasted material. This makes the Ci7x00 an unparalleled tool for a wide range of industries.
