ABB Upgrades QCS Color Control to Stabilize Sheet Color Faster and Mitigate Variability

ABB has launched its latest generation of Color Control with new features that improve overall quality and enable faster color matching, making it easier for operators of all levels to match specifications and eliminate the guesswork normally associated with shading.

ABB’s upgraded automated Color Control for QCS800xA is a powerful tool for paper mills that make colored board, paper and tissue products – from whites and pastels to dark shades – to help reduce color variability, dye usage and costly rejects associated with off-shade production.

The system utilizes the full power of ABB’s unique High-Performance Color Measurement – the first LED-based continuous color measurement device on the market – and combines it with the fastest Multivariable Color Control to establish full shade property insight and traceablity. It stabilizes sheet color faster by using control algorithms, based on advanced models rooted in the Kubelka-Munk theory of paper coloring.

The new functionalities build on a renowned control package, particularly when it comes to more powerful shade change capabilities, including improved dye state visualization, shade change selection and boost control. It features an enhanced operator user interface for faster responsiveness, with less system lag, improved data graphic interactions and faceplate control-state and interlock-condition awareness.

Designed for customers already using ABB’s High Performance Color Sensor and those considering a new/replacement color sensor for Smart Color, this is an important tool for mills facing a challenge in Color Management, whether that be reaching shade targets, facing excessive recalls or reject levels, or spending too much manual resource on color management.

“Our latest innovation in color measurement and control capability allows mills to benefit from a robust and smart system that delivers the best color in all operating conditions,” said Carl-Magnus Tjeder, global product manager at ABB. “Because it only requires one calibration for each dye, which is integrated into the dye management handling system, it also places fewer demands on operators to intervene manually, leaving more time for other, more pressing tasks.”

ABB’s system capability makes for even higher color property awareness because of the higher sampling rate for control. If paired with ABB’s latest color measurement, it provides feedback control with a high signal to noise ratio, hence feedback error is reduced and less noise is fed back through the controller, achieving truer color process control and less noise influence.

ABB in pulp and paper is working in more than 50 countries to provide its comprehensive portfolio of integrated digital solutions, automation and electrification systems, industry-focused products and services to help customers optimize all phases of the papermaking process. The company works across packaging, paper, tissue and pulp disciplines to help drive availability, performance, cost and quality improvements.

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