SKZ research project on tolerable surface color deviations
Humans react very sensitively to the smallest differences in color and surface texture of plastic parts lying next to each other. A new research project is investigating visually tolerable deviations in color and surface texture.
In order to minimize iteration loops on the subject of color and surface structure in the manufacture of plastic products, the SKZ Plastics Center and the Department of Psychology at the University of Würzburg are collaborating in the recently launched "OF-Harmony" research project. The aim is to develop a practice-oriented approach to solving the influence of surface structure on perceived color harmony. Today's quality assurance includes standardized color measurements and the determination of color deviations between standard and sample. However, the final approval is often done visually by colorists, such as those trained for many years by the market leader SKZ, or by designers, since the influence of the surface texture on the color impression cannot be correctly reproduced with the usual measuring devices. Special measuring instruments for surface analysis frequently provide various characteristic values, but correlation of these measured values with human perception has not yet been possible. A metrological and visual equality is not yet achievable for the characteristics brightness, color and gloss in the case of deviating surface structures. Therefore, it will be investigated for the first time whether surface parameters can be found that are associated with the visual acceptance of two surfaces.
Within the scope of the research project, which is scheduled to run for two years, practical instructions for adapted coloration in the case of deviating surface structures are to be derived, which can be implemented directly by the companies. Interested companies are invited to contact the SKZ or the University of Würzburg to accompany the project free of charge and to benefit from the results at an early stage. Project 22811 N of the research association "Fördergemeinschaft für das Süddeutsche Kunststoffzentrum e. V." is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection through the German Federation of Industrial Research Associations (AiF) as part of the program for the promotion of joint industrial research (IGF) based on a resolution of the German Bundestag.