Applied Vision Corporation can help beverage can makers identify the causes of color nonconformity and decoration defects that result in rejected or hold-for-inspection (HFI) product. Today's consumers prefer more elaborate multi-colored can decorations and fillers, in response, demand absolute consistency from can-to-can. More than ever, canmakers must strive for perfection; brand image is driving renewed interest in color conformity. By investing tens-of-thousands of hours in research and development, Applied Vision has designed intuitive camera-based tools for making color measurement and decoration inspection easy for canmakers - technology that can result in smaller HFI piles and larger profit margins.

For practical purposes, it has long been difficult to measure color accurately and consistently because of the inherent limitations of the human eye (poor judge of color) and photo-sensor/spectrophotometer-based devices (small aperture; cannot see patterns; difficulty with process colors). Camera-based KromaKing colorimetric tools from Applied Vision, however, can measure color with the near accuracy of a spectrophotometer and - unlike these devices - can also register patterns, interpret process colors, image cylindrical shinny surfaces and provide full coverage of cans (a wholistic view) for the purpose of making simultaneous measurements in multiple regions of interest.

"You make color measurement easy for people by giving them the right tools to do it, and then you make those tools affordable and easy-to-use," said Amir Novini, president and CEO of Applied Vision. "We've developed the technology and refined the methods over many years, and now offer a complete solution for meeting the demand for 100% color and decoration consistency."

The KromaKing suite of products for decoration and color inspection of two- and three-piece cans employs Applied Vision's proprietary Global Colorimetric Standard (GCS) technology and includes:

• Offline laboratory sampling system with complete coverage of the label, providing true vision colorimetry with NIST-traceable results,
• Decorator blanket inspection covering 100% of production at line speeds for process monitoring,
• High-speed online system (600-3,000 cans per minute) for sampling ~10% of each can 100% of the time for color drifts and process problems covering the entire surface of the manufactured cans in random orientation in just a few seconds of production,
• Low-speed online system (<300 cans per minute) for 100% coverage of cans at production speeds for decoration and color inspection,
• Mixed label inspection (MLI) and
• Flat-sheet decoration inspection sampling blanks for color, decoration pattern and registration verification.