Datacolor Tools is an easy-to-use color quality control application for industries where color accuracy is a critical component of overall product quality. It enables objective analysis, reporting, communication and visualization of accurate color results. By setting pass/fail tolerances you can ensure consistent color quality and remove subjectivity in your color evaluation process.
This solution is designed for color development and quality control specialists in the textile, automotive, paint, plastic, ink, paper, cosmetics and other industries.
Datacolor TOOLS – Evaluate color quality using a range of color difference formulas, graphics, and indices from CIE, TAPPI, ISO, and more.
Datacolor SORT – Advanced shade sorting, clustering, and tapering to manage roll-to-roll color variation in the entire manufacturing process.
Datacolor MONITOR – Measure and report on side-center-side color variation to assure end-to-end color quality.
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Increase your productivity
Increase your productivity
- Streamlined lite mode allows for faster data processing
- High level of flexibility in defining, selecting and working with industry color standards
- Ability to view colors on texture on a calibrated monitor enables full digital workflow
- Seamless integration with Datacolor Match Textile and Match Pigment formulation software
Ensure product quality
Ensure product quality
- Objective color assessment with sample
temperature, accurate colorimetric data, and
a clear visual quality representation. - Open standard QTX protocol enables full color approval tracking and communication
- Confident evaluation with a comprehensive list of illuminants, including latest CIE LED standards
- Support more customers with the ability to
add encrypted color libraries
Simplify your workflow
Simplify your workflow
- Intuitive user interface that is easy to learn and master
- Customizable layout to meet your individual needs
- Easy data navigation with the desktop explorer
Painless transition
Painless transition
- Full backward compatibility – QTX data exchange format is fully backward-compatible with Datacolor Tools 1.x and 2.x.
Easily share and use color standard libraries
Easily share and use color standard libraries
- Encrypt QTX standard libraries and share with clients or suppliers while protecting intellectual property
- Participating companies – Archroma and CSI
Reach out to your standard provider for more information
- Streamlined functionalities in Datacolor Tools lite mode greatly improves the speed and performance
- Suitable for installation in standalone, client-server LAN, or Terminal Server/Citrix environments.
What You Get
Datacolor TOOLS Software License
Requirements
| Processor | Dual Core processor | 1 |
| Memory RAM | 8 GB | 1 |
| Free Hard Drive Capacity | 500 GB | 1 |
| Video Resolution | True Color | 2 |
| CD/DVD Drive | DVD Writer | 3 |
| Available Ports | (1) RS-232 Serial (for older spectrophotometers), (3) USB | 4 |
| Operating System | Windows 10 (32 or 64 bit) | 5 |
| Email (for supported level) | Outlook 2007 or above, POP3 | |
| Authenticated Sybase Database, supplied with the system | Sybase 12.0.1. EBF 3994 | |
| Optional Textile Database for SQL upon request | Microsoft SQL Server 2012 | 6 |
| Server OS | Microsoft Server 2016 |
- Minimum system configurations may limit performance, data capacity and operation of some features. Faster processor, more memory and faster hard drives will significantly enhance performance.
- Accurate on-screen color display requires monitor calibration and true-color video mode.
- Datacolor TOOLS is supplied on one DVD and Sybase 12 is supplied on a DVD.
- Datacolor spectrophotometers use either an RS-232 Serial or USB connectors. Datacolor Spyder5™ requires a universal serial bus (USB) connection.
- Windows 32 bit and 64 bit operating systems are supported. 64 bit hardware running Windows 32 bit operating system is supported. Datacolor Tools is a 32 bit application. Printer port requirements (Parallel or USB…) depend on the specific printer selected.
- Microsoft SQL Server 2012 is supported on Tools textile database.
- Windows Server 2016 is supported.
Features Comparison
| TOOLS Basic | TOOLS PLUS WS | TOOLS PLUS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| General | |||
| LITE Mode | √ | √ | √ |
| Configurable button bars | √ | √ | √ |
| Hide menu bar/button bars | √ | √ | √ |
| Screen forms | Limited set of | √ | √ |
| Print forms | Limited set of | √ | √ |
| File forms | Limited set of | √ | √ |
| Multiple form display | √ | √ | √ |
| Marks & Spencer setup | √ | √ | √ |
| Manual curve adjustment | NO | √ | √ |
| Manual gloss adjustment | NO | √ | √ |
| Color Indices | |||
| Full range of Color Indices including: E313 Whiteness/Yellowness, Berger Whiteness, CIE Whiteness/Tint, Ganz-Griesser Whiteness, TAPPI 525 Brightness, R457 Brightness, GE PQSII Yellowness | √ | √ | √ |
| ASTM Haze (4 measurements) | NO | NO | √ |
| CMCCON97 Color Inconstancy | √ | √ | √ |
| DIN 6172 Metamerism index- additive and multiplicative | √ | √ | √ |
| APHA 10 Scale | NO form but in grid | NO | √ |
| Gray scale color change, Gray scale for staining | NO form but in grid | NO | √ |
| ISO 150-A06 Standard Depth | NO form but in grid | √ | √ |
| Statistics-std deviation, mean avg | √ | √ | √ |
| Tolerances | |||
| CIE L*a*b*C*h* u*v*, CIE 94, CMC, CIE DE2000, GE PQS, M&S 89, FMCII, Hunter | √ | √ | √ |
| Per-standard tolerances | √ | NO | √ |
| Edit temperature tolerances | √ | NO | √ |
| Datacolor, AI and Generic tolerancing | NO creation of new | NO | √ |
| New/Edit/Delete multiple tolerance blocks | Limited selection | NO | √ |
| Plots to support above Tolerances (2D and 3D) and absolute Trend and Histogram (NOt for generic Tolerances) | √ | √ | √ |
| 3 Illuminant Plot display | √ | √ | √ |
| Visualization | |||
| Envision Color Patch (new component) Color patch ( solid ) | √ | √ | √ |
| Color patch ( Image File ) | NO | √ | √ |
| Forms, templates and Business Fields | |||
| Form Editor | NO | NO | √ |
| Text output, Edit boxes, List boxes, Buttons, Plots (new types) | √ | √ | √ |
| User defined fields | √ | √ | √ |
| Date Picker | √ | √ | √ |
| Instruments & Data Management | |||
| Connect a wide range of Datacolor and competitive Instruments | √ | NO | √ |
| Various methods for Standard/Batch entry Manual entry of %R / %T values, Color Coordinates | √ | NO | √ |
| Storing data in the database | √ | NO | √ |
| Swap standard/batch | NO | √ | √ |
| Load standard as batch and batch as standard | √ | √ | √ |
| Save modified Template as new | NO | √ | √ |
| Create custom database fields | NO | NO | √ |
| Use Procedures previously created | √ | √ | √ |
| Save Screen for Startup | √ | √ | √ |
| User Management | |||
| User Management Module | NO | √ | |
| Create a new user | NO (only default ones) | √ | √ |
| Customizing a user profile | NO | √ | √ |
| Links and Output Options | |||
| Direct link to Formulation Packages | √ | √ | √ |
| Direct link to TRACK and/or ENVISION | NO | √ | √ |
| E-mail capability | NO | √ | √ |
| Export to ASCII file | √ | √ | √ |
| Miscellaneous | |||
| Terminal Server or Citrix Environment | NO | √ | √ |
| Dynamic Sorting Module and Side-Center-Side Module | NO | optional | optional |
