Spies Hecker is celebrating the twentieth anniversary of its pioneering involvement in the field of electronic colour measurement.

It is now twenty years since Spies Hecker offered bodyshops its first colour spectrophotometer and today the brand remains at the forefront of this technology using its practical experience to continually support its customers in their day-to-day work.

“From the first spectrophotometer, our focus was on simplifying and speeding up the search for formulas with a view to improving bodyshop efficiency,” says Anthony Cashel, Marketing Manager for Axalta Coating Systems. “Another benefit of using spectrophotometers, even 20 years ago, was their reliability. The first generation Spies Hecker ColorDialog spectrophotometer, a cutting-edge piece of equipment, allowed bodyshops to use the most up-to-date technology.”

To date, around 5,000 Spies Hecker ColorDialog spectrophotometers are in use throughout Europe, Middle East and Africa and the figure for Spies Hecker in Germany alone is over 1,400 devices. The most recent generation device, ColorDialog Delta-Scan, is now able to read paint effects and will eventually be connected to the new web-based formula software, Phoenix.

For Spies Hecker customers, the spectrophotometer era began in 1995 with the ColorDialog MA 64. This was a five-angle measuring device that worked in conjunction with special Color Unix software. It soon became apparent that only three readings were necessary to determine any given colour. In 2003, the three-angle spectrophotometer ColorDialog MA 90BR was introduced.

The constantly growing numbers of variants and effect colours demanded further device developments and by 2005, Spies Hecker had launched the ColorDialog, which was equipped with the latest LED optical technology. This spectrophotometer could be connected to the Spies Hecker CRplus formula software.

The brand’s very latest colour spectrophotometer, ColorDialog Delta-Scan, has been available since 2014. It measures colours and effects using innovative photo optics in a single work step. Using the CRplus formula software and the new web-based colour software, Phoenix, the readings can be quickly matched to the corresponding formulas.

“The touch screen makes ColorDialog Delta-Scan even more user-friendly than its predecessors,” says Anthony, adding, “ Once readings have been taken, the mixing formula is calculated on the computer using, for example, the PC desktop system ColorTint HD. Refinishers can then transfer the formula to the digital scales for mixing.”

The ColorDialog and ColorDialog Delta-Scan spectrophotometers are available to purchase from www.spiesheckerwebshop.co.uk, where more information is also available.