Konica Minolta Chroma Meter models CR-400 / CR-410 are the most sold colour measurement instruments in our part of the world.

This follows a global trend of liking an easy to use, robust, reliable, affordable and portable colour tool. Coupled with a wide range of accessories, many objects can be easily managed.

There are so many uses, its quicker to list when you should NOT use it:

If you require detailed spectral data or reflectance curve, the CR-400 series only returns Colour Space values like L*a*b, but no Spectral data.
You can measure opaque liquids, but accurate Transmittance Measurements are not possible.

Because of their ability to measure colour and colour difference quickly and accurately, these make ideal production and point of Quality Check tools.
Customers are sometimes confused however, as which one to choose.

To help with this, here is a basic guideline:

TIPS:
1. You can purchase Two Measuring Heads (CR-400 and CR-410) and ONE DP Processor
2. Both the CR-400 and CR-41o Measuring Heads connect directly to QA Software SpectraMagic NX
3. Both Instruments connect to a Utility Software to export data to Excel Spread sheets.

TRAPS:
1. The CR-400 aperture is Ø 8 mm
2. The CR-410 aperture is Ø 50 mm

Make sure that your object is always LARGER than the aperture. For instance liquids are measure in an accessory Glass Cell designed for use with the CR-410.

NOTE: As the Geometry differs between the CR-400 to the CR-410, the same colours measured on BOTH instruments may return DIFFERENT values. We always suggest a TARGET/SAMPLE comparison, not Absolute Values.

The CR-400 has a better Inter-Instrument Agreement (IIA) than the CR-410.
Both Instruments have a lower Long Term repeatability to a Spectrophotometer. In food QA however, everything is consumed so this is seldom a requirement.