Linshang LS178 Spectrophotometer

Product Introduction

The small-aperture split-type multifunctional spectrophotometer, with a 1 mm measuring aperture, is ideal for measuring the color of small workpieces and irregularly shaped materials. The probe and main unit are designed separately, making it easy to align the probe with small objects. The probe can also be inverted, with the measuring aperture facing upward, allowing small objects to be placed on the aperture for measurement without affecting the reading. It has a 3.5-inch IPS color display and capacity touch panel, which has an excellent operating experience. The instrument integrates multiple color charts and can quickly match the measured color to the closest color code. It also has a color difference comparison function, where the color difference threshold can be set and a variety of color difference formulas can be selected to achieve rapid QC testing. The instrument can also connect to an APP for color measurement and sharing. It is also equipped with powerful PC software to meet various needs of customers. The instrument meets the requirements of grade 1 colorimeter in the Chinese JJG 595-2002 Colorimeters and Color Difference Meters, employing a full-spectrum LED light source and advanced spectral sensor.

Standards for the product

• JJG 595-2002 Colorimeters and Color Difference Meters
• GB/T 3978-2008 Standard illuminants and geometric conditions
• GBT 7921-2008 Uniform color space and color difference formula
• GB/T 11186.1-1989 Methods for measuring the colour of paint films--Part 1: Principles
• GB/T 11186.2-1989 Methods for measuring the colour of paint films--Part 2: Colour measurement
• GB/T 11186.3-1989 Methods for measuring the colour of paint films--Part 3: Calculation of colour differences
• GB/T 39822-2021 Plastics—Determination of yellowness index and change in yellowness index
• GB/T 17749-2008 Methods of whiteness specification
• ASTM E313-98 Standard Practice for Calculating Yellowness and Whiteness Indices from Instrumentally Measured Color Coordinates

Parameters

Features

1. The 1 mm measuring aperture is especially suitable for measuring small, smooth, and opaque objects.
2. The instrument is fashioned with a full-spectrum LED light source and spectral sensor, and it meets the requirements of the national metrology grade 1 machine.
3. Adopt a 3.5-inch capacity touch panel with human-machine interaction interface for convenient operation.
4. Contains multiple electronic color charts, which can quickly match the closest color code with matching accuracy rate greater than 90%.
5. QC testing function: the color difference threshold can be set and a variety of color difference formulas are optional.
6. A variety of color spaces are available, suitable for various needs of color measurement.
7. It can store 1000 colors and 1000 color comparison records with large storage space.
8. It can connect to APP for color sharing.
9. Equip with PC software which has stronger color difference statistical analysis function, spectral reflectance measurement and curve data export EXCEL function.
10. The instrument has a built-in compensation optical path with stable values, allowing long-period calibration.
11. With built-in rechargeable lithium battery, the instrument can measure continuously for 10,000 times under full charge.

Operation

Power on/off

Power on: Short press the power button to turn on the instrument.

Power off: Long press the power button to turn off or press “Power off” in the menu bar. If automatic power off is set, the instrument will automatically power off as no operation time exceeds the set value, when the time of no operation is longer than the set automatic power off time. When the spectrophotometer is connected to the App via Bluetooth, it will automatically power off with no operation over 30 minutes.

Calibration

After entering the "calibration" interface, you can perform calibration operation as the calibration animation, or skip the calibration. It is recommended to calibrate after a long time of no usage.

Diagram Description: A screen showing a calibration prompt. A spectrophotometer probe is shown covered with a black cap. Below the image are two buttons: "Calibrate" and "Skip".

For failed calibration, the possible reasons are as below:

• The standard tile is not closed properly;
• The standard tile needs to be cleaned;
• The attenuation of the light source leads to failure of normal use and it needs to be returned to the factory for inspection and repair.

Measurement

The default measurement parameter of the instrument is "Lab". Users can click the "Param" at the top of the screen to enter the setting interface to select the parameters to be measured (CIE Lab, CIE Luv, CIE LCh, Yxy, CMYK, RGB, WI-98, WI-Gauz, WI-Hunter, YI-98, WI-R457, HSL, HSV, Spectra).

Measurement Modes

To enter the main measurement interface, there are two modes: "Color Scan" and "Color Compare". You can press the button at the bottom of the screen to switch, and the selected mode will turn blue.

Interface Description: Two interface views are displayed side-by-side. The left view, labeled "Color Scan", shows L*, a*, b* values and a "Scan" button. Below this are "Color Matches" listing color codes (e.g., LS 2248 C) with their corresponding Delta E values. The right view, labeled "Color Compare", shows "Standard" and "Sample" L*, a*, b* values, a "Δ" value, and status indicators like "PASS" or "NG". It includes buttons for "Scan Standard", "Scan Sample", and "Color Compare".

Color Compare

In the measurement interface, press the "Scan Standard" button to set the current value as the standard. Press the "Scan Sample" button to use the current value as the sample. If you short press the power button side, another measurement will also be taken, and the current value will replace the previous one. When measuring or adding a standard and measuring a sample, the color difference between the two measured values will be calculated with the following results:

• The difference value: The difference Δ is the sample data minus the standard data.
• Color Bias: When the measurement parameter is selected as Lab, the color bias will be judged by ΔL, Δa, and Δb.
• ΔE value: When the measurement parameter is selected as Lab, LCh, Luv, Yxy, CMYK, RGB, HSL or HSV, ΔE is calculated using the ΔE*ab color difference formula.
• QC test: Suitable for color difference inspection in production process. If ΔE is higher than the set threshold, it will read “NG” and be shown in red; if ΔE is less than or equal to the set threshold, it will read "Pass” and display in green.

The following steps can be performed after completing compare measurement:

• Save: To save the comparison result, press "Save" on the upper right corner. You can choose a default name or name the record manually.
• History: If users need to view the saved results, click "History" to view the records. Records can be paged, deleted, renamed, and searched.
• Save standard: After the user has finished measuring the standard value, if they need to save it for later calling, click "Save standard" to save it. The saved value can be queried in the add standard interface.
• Add standard: After clicking "Add standard", the interface will jump to "Add standard". Click the value you want to add, and the selected value will be used as the standard, and will automatically return to the measurement interface to compare with the current sample or the upcoming sample.
• Input standard: The user can manually input the Lab, Luv, LCh, Yxy, CMYK, RGB, WI-98, WI-Gauz, WI-Hunter, YI-98, WI-R457, HSL, HSV value as standard.
• ΔE Setup: Setting the ΔE formula and threshold for QC inspection.

Color Scan

In the measurement interface, click on "Scan" or short press the button on the right side of the instrument to measure.

Interface Description: The "Color Scan" interface shows L*, a*, b* values (e.g., 70.25, -25.27, 10.00) and a "Scan" button. Below this, "Color Matches" lists three color codes (e.g., LS 2248 C, LS 2459 C, LS 7723 C) with their Lab values and corresponding ΔE values.

Matching colors: According to the selected color chart by the user, the closest three color chart numbers are matched for display.

The following steps can be performed after completing measurement:

• Save: To save the comparison result, press "Save" on the upper right corner. You can choose a default name or name the record manually.
• History: If users need to view the saved results, click "History" to view the records, and records can be paged, deleted, renamed, and searched.
• Color chart: Select one set of color charts for matching, then samples will be only compared within this chart. Three closest color codes will be matched.

Menu bar

In the measurement interface, click the [menu icon] on the upper left corner to pop up the menu bar, with the following options: Language, Calibration, Param Settings, Device Info, Auto Off Setting, Reset to defaults and Power Off.

Language

Support Simplified Chinese and English.

Calibration

Can enter the calibration interface to perform calibration operation of the instrument.

Device Info

"Device Info" displays the basic information of the instrument, including: Serial Number, Firmware Version, and Device Status.

Auto Off Setting

The automatic shutdown time of the instrument can be set.

Reset to defaults

To restore parameters to the factory settings and clear the data in the measurement interface.

Power Off

Press "Power off" to power off the instrument.

Connections

Aviation plug connection

When plugging out the probe, make sure not to violently rotate and pull the connector, but plug out the plug by the way shown in the following diagram.

Diagram Description: Three images illustrating the aviation plug. The first shows fingers pinching and pulling up the plug. The second shows a "Locked state" of the connector. The third shows an "Unlocked state" of the connector.

Bluetooth Connection

App Installation

The spectrophotometer APP supports Android operating system 7.0 and above as well as iOS system 7.0 and above. Choose one of the following methods to install:

1. Scan the QR code on the cover with a mobile browser or WeChat, follow the prompts to download and install Lscolor. The QR code URL is: https://www.linshangtech.cn/a/170/
2. Search for "LScolor" from the iOS App Store or Google Play App market and follow the prompts to download and install LScolor.

Image Description: The LScolor App icon, depicted as a stylized device with a color spectrum.

Precautions: Open the App during the installation process or after the first installation. The mobile phone will prompt for permissions. The customer needs to allow all of them, otherwise the App cannot search for the device and cannot be used.

Device connection

Turn on the spectrophotometer, open the App, and after the LOGO display, enter the "Connect Device" interface. The App will automatically start searching for Bluetooth devices. The searched devices will be displayed at the bottom of the interface. Click the device that matches the SN of the spectrophotometer and wait for the device to connect. Once connected, it will jump to the "Calibration interface".

Precautions:

• If there is a Bluetooth connection error or failure, you can restart the App and the spectrophotometer, or turn off/start Bluetooth in the setting interface and reconnect.
• Click the "Browse" button. If the App is not connected to the spectrophotometer, you can enter the App to view historical data.

APP operation

The APP has the same function of color scan and color compare as the instrument with the same operation. The only difference is that the APP has a color sharing function, and can import and export colors.

Color sharing

There are two ways to share colors:

• Scan a color in the “Color Scan” interface, press the "Share" icon to share the scanned color in image format or data format (the sharing methods are: WhatsApp, Facebook, email, etc.).
• In the "My Colors" folder, select the colors to share and click "Share" icon to share the colors in data format.

Color import

Users can import colors shared by others into their own App, but the colors must be scanned by the same model of spectrophotometer. Both single color and batch of colors can be imported as follows:

Take WeChat sharing and import on Android as an example: find the file to import with a name of "import_mycolor" and long press the file to be imported.

Diagram Description: Two screenshots are shown. The first is a mobile interface displaying file sharing options like "Forward", "Open in", "Add to Favorites", "Recall", "Select", with a file named "import_mycolor141942.CSV". The second screenshot shows a phone screen with "Open with other app" options, including "Reader", "WPS Office", "企业QQ", "QQ同步助手", and an "Once" button. A subsequent screen shows "Import Colors" with options to "Create folder".

If using the iOS system, click the file and download it first, and then select "Open with other app" to realize data sharing.

• If the above interface appears, click "Open with other app" and select the App "LScolor", after confirmation, jump to the import interface and select the file to complete the import.
• If the import has completed, it will prompt "Import successful". After pressing "Confirm", the imported color will be displayed. After the import is completed, the import can be checked as the first record under the folder.
• If the product model does not match, it will prompt "Unmatched device model". Please connect to the correct model before importing.

PC Software

You can use the PC software to connect the computer via USB. The software has functions of color compare measurement, reading compare record, export compare data to Excel, spectral reflectance measurement, qualified number, unqualified number, total number statistics, report generation and printing, etc. For specific operation, please refer to the "Color Haze Meter Software Operation Manual".

Diagram Description: A screenshot of the "ColorHaze Meter V1.1" PC software interface. It displays "Device information" (SN, Firmware Version), "Comparison measurement" settings (Standard, Sample, Δ), "Set display parameter" options (Lab, LCh), "E parameter" settings (E formula, E Thresholds), and a data table with columns for NO, Test Name, DateTime, Standard (L*, a*, b*), and Sample (L*, a*, b*). Buttons for "Scan Standard", "Scan Sample", "Read comparison record", "Export Excel", "Spectral reflectance", and "Write stdcolor" are visible.

Precautions

1. The surface of the measured object should be smooth, flat, clean and opaque within the aperture range; otherwise, measurement accuracy may be affected.
2. When the spectrophotometer has not been used for a long time, it is recommended to perform calibration before using.
3. Please ensure that the sample is evenly colored with a flat and clean surface, otherwise it will affect the measurement accuracy.
4. The calibration cover should be adsorbed to the iron shell of the probe after removal, to avoid fouling of the standard plate.
5. Do not insert any object inside the spectrophotometer to clean it, as this will damage the instrument and affect the measurement accuracy and operational safety.
6. When the instrument is not in use, put on the calibration cover to prevent dust from entering or prolonged humidity, which may affect the measurement accuracy.
7. When the instrument's battery is low, it should be charged promptly.
8. If the instrument is not used for more than six months, regular charging is recommended to prevent battery over-discharge and damage.
9. It's recommended to calibrate the instrument once each year. Shenzhen Linshang Technology Co., Ltd. offers calibration service.
10. Due to color difference in the LCD display, the color displayed on the instrument screen is for reference only.

Locating Plate

In order to meet the requirements for precise alignment of some measurement areas, the spectrophotometer is equipped with a locating plate.

Diagram Description: Three images are shown. The first is labeled "Measurement Area" and shows a circular area on a surface. The second image shows the probe being inserted into a hole. The third image is labeled "Measurement result" and displays readings on the device screen.

Packing List

Service

1. The spectrophotometer has a one-year warranty. If the meter works abnormally, please send the whole instrument to Shenzhen Linshang Technology Co., Ltd. for maintenance.
2. Shenzhen Linshang Technology Co., Ltd. provides users with spare parts and lifelong maintenance services.
3. Shenzhen Linshang Technology Co., Ltd. provides users with the gauge calibration service.
4. Free technical support for long term is provided.

Manufacturer: Shenzhen Linshang Technology Co., Ltd.

Website: www.linshangtech.com