PRODUCTION PROCESSES

Producing a color sample is a real art, which puts together talent, sensitivity, high skill and an obsessive attention to details. It means being able to reproduce on paper in the most accurate way a color, which was originally developed on a different support, such as metal, wood, plastic, cement and plasterboard. The accuracy of the reproduction is the key point, as it involves not only the shade, but also the structure and the brightness of the original color.

This process includes two main phases: the color matching and the production on industrial scale.

Color matching

Color matching takes place in our two laboratories where our colorists, who are all professionals with unique skills and knowledge, reproduce the customer’s original reference on paper, using either customer’s original paint or one of our own painting systems, which we put at their disposal.

We provide our colorists with cutting-edge electronic devices for color research and analysis, but the last decision belongs to our colorists, using the human eyes as the ultimate tool of color matching.

The outcome of color matching activity is then submitted to customer approval before the production on industrial scale commences.

Scale production

Two manufacturing processes are at the disposal of our customers: the coating system and the spraying system. Coating is the most common process for color sample production, having the advantage of being very flexible, both in terms of the painting products that can be used and the size of the color sample. Most of all the coating process is very competitive in economic terms, being also able to provide a fair level of color accuracy, with particular reference to solid colors.

The spraying system fills a generational gap. It is an innovative system, specifically developed with reference to metal colors. It is therefore the best system for Car Refinishing customers, who deem the color sample not as a simple marketing accessory, but as a proper working tool, able to determine the success of a product line and essential for body shops activity.

The perfect accuracy of the sprayed color sample is due to the fact that the spraying process basically copies the same process used for painting cars in the assembly line. The homogeneity and hiding of the colour is achieved by spraying on paper three layers of base toner and one of clear. The whole process takes place in a fully automated plant without interruption. The consistency of production is warranted by taking all the main parameters under strict control, such as paint viscosity, air pressure, drying temperature and humidity.

The final product, either coated or sprayed, is finally submitted to the customer, who checks it against the lab match and the original reference. Samples from different parts of production are compared in order to check the consistency of the whole production run.