How tight a colour tolerance fits a cosmetics carton beside a swatch
When a cosmetics carton sits beside a swatch, the tolerance is the step the customer signed, not what looks close on the press. Measure on the agreed light and backing, with the instrument on the same place.
When a cosmetics carton sits beside a swatch, the tolerance is the step the customer signed, not what looks close on the press. Measure on the agreed light and backing, with the instrument on the same place. If there is no written Delta E, do not invent a number. Keep the swatch and the current sample together and ask the customer.
Why it is judged this way
A brand colour is often held in a very small range, while other colours on the carton can be looser. Measure the brand colour on its own. Do not replace it with the average colour of the whole sheet. A camera screen does not replace a spectrophotometer. When the two disagree, the agreed instrument decides, and the difference is written down.
What to compare
| What you see | What to call it | What not to do |
|---|---|---|
| The brand colour is outside the signed tolerance | Stop | Pass it because it looks right on the screen |
| The contract has no number | Keep the samples and ask | Let the operator set a Delta E |
| Only the background texture differs a little | Use that colour's tolerance | Hold the whole sheet to the brand-colour tolerance |
At job change or when a roll is opened
- Confirm the reading is the same place and the same conditions as the signed sample.
- Read the brand colour on its own, not the average of the whole image.
- If there is no tolerance number, stop and ask. Do not release first.
