Top Ten Tips for using your light cabinets effectively

To ensure that you are using your light cabinets as effectively as possible have a look at our Top 10 Tips below. The location of your light cabinet is key; I don’t mean your Country location because the tips apply if you are in China, Bangladesh, USA or anywhere else in the World. It is important to locate your Colour Assessment Cabinet in the correct setting in your office or laboratory and to use and maintain it as recommended. 1. Site the Cabinet at the correct height for viewing, if you are of average height and are assessing colour when standing the bench height should be set at 925mm to produce the correct angle for viewing the object without the glare of the lamps interfering in your view. We do supply benches at this height to fit all the widths of our viewing cabinets and they can be purchased separately if required. 2. Site the cabinet away from direct lighting, do not face a window and if your room does have windows ensure these are fitted with blinds which can be closed during colour assessment periods. If you have overhead strip lighting then ensure that this light does not spill into the cabinet. Light spill can be checked by looking at your cabinet when the interior lighting is switched off, you can then see what proportion of the cabinet is in darkness. If there is a problem of ambient lighting spilling into the cabinet then we recommend that a procedure is written to include switching off the bank of lights near to the cabinet or installation of a neutral grey curtain around the cabinet to remove all ambient light. 3. Alternatively if ambient lighting is a problem in an open plan office consider locating the cabinet in a side room or storage cupboard which can be painted with neutral grey walls and remain dark. 4. View the product at the correct angle – use an angled table if specified by your customer or if you feel it would help. Suitable for use with VeriVide's Colour Assessment Cabinets (CAC), the Fixed Angle Table standardises viewing geometry to an optimal angle of 45 degrees. This is available to purchase separately as is the Tilting Table which as the name describes can tilt to the required angle. The Tilting Table is particularly useful for viewing shiny objects as the table can be tilted to remove the white specular light reflection which can be observed when light hits something shiny or reflective. These have been used to view ceramic or slate tiles, vehicle paint finishes, foils and other surface coatings, glossy plastic and even satin ribbons. 5. Wear neutral clothing when viewing at the light cabinet to avoid reflection of any bright colours you are wearing back into the cabinet which would interfere with the colour of the product being viewed. WHICH OF THESE IS THE BEST FOR STORAGE? 6. Please do not use your light cabinet as a filing cabinet! It should be empty of everything except the colour standard and the samples that you are viewing. If you have colour submissions presented on photocopy paper we recommend that these are removed from the paper before assessment as the fluorescence of the white paper will provide a distraction to your eyes when viewing. Likewise your mobile, cup of coffee or the memo you have been reading will also provide a distraction and affect the light reflection around the cabinet. 7. Keep the interior of the cabinet clean, it should be wiped regularly with a soft dry cloth as should the lamps (but ensure they are switched off and have cooled down before touching them!) 8. Replace lamps annually or after 2000 hours of use whichever is sooner. The colour performance of the lamps will drop off after this time even though the lamps will continue to illuminate for many more hours and so you may make a different decision on a colour to that of your supplier if they have recently replaced the lamps and your cabinet has old lamps or vice versa. 9. Thoroughly clean and repaint your light cabinet annually to maintain the interior surfaces. A worn interior or one which has ink or dye spots or scratches will not maintain perfect reflection of the light. We can supply a Maintenance Pack with all of the materials you need. – photo from accessories datasheet? 10. Or if you don’t wish to complete the annual maintenance yourselves you can book this from the manufacturer VeriVide Ltd. We have a service team who can complete the work for you if you are located in the UK and many of our resale partners around the World can also offer this service. - See more at: https://www.verivide.com/article/top-ten-tips-for-using-your-light-cabinets-effectively#sthash.CfuQ7uV7.dpuf

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