Color, Gloss e Appearance

Color is one of the most influential factors in how a product is perceived: color can communicate quality, safety, and brand identity at first glance. For this reason, accurately measuring and managing color is not merely an aesthetic consideration, but a strategic factor in ensuring consistency, reliability, and value for your brand. By collecting objective data, it is possible to transform what was once a subjective assessment into a scientific and controllable parameter. This rapid, non-destructive measurement approach opens up new opportunities for quality control, biochemical research, and the development of innovative products. Our color measurement and management solutions help you define precise color standards, maintain visual brand consistency, and ensure the highest quality at every stage of the production process. Turn color into a measurable competitive advantage.

Surface Chemistry

Surface chemistry is the branch of chemistry that studies the chemical and physical behaviors occurring at the interface between two phases (liquid-solid, liquid-liquid, etc.) and is a multidisciplinary field of research that pertains to many (if not all) situations in our daily lives and thus touches virtually every industrial and research sector. Measuring the surface tension of a liquid or the surface energy of a solid, and understanding the polar and dispersive components, are critical factors in defining the characteristics of a product and a surface. This information determines whether they can be used in subsequent processing stages, as well as which surface treatments (for surfaces) or reformulations (for liquids) should be implemented to achieve the desired objectives. With over 20 years of experience in this field, thanks to our collaboration with various partners, we are able to offer a complete range of solutions, identifying the most suitable option among portable and benchtop optical contact angle systems, test liquids, tensiometers, and bubble pressure tensiometers.

Foam Analysis

The importance of foam in a liquid and the requirements for it vary considerably depending on the application. Foam is a desirable feature in shower gels and shampoos, in detergents, in shaving creams, or in beverages such as beer; whereas in industrial processes, it often causes problems and must therefore be avoided. For this reason, the properties of foam—from its formation to its breakdown—are defined and tested during the product development phase.

Fluorescence

Plasma treatment

Plasma is the fourth state of matter: a partially ionized gas in which free electrons, ions, radicals, and excited neutral species coexist. When a process gas (air, oxygen, nitrogen, argon) is subjected to an intense electric field, its molecules become ionized, generating high-energy, chemically reactive species. Directed onto the surface of a material, these species modify its outermost molecular layers without altering its bulk properties. The effect is threefold: micro-cleaning (removal of organic contaminants, oils, and residues), surface activation (introduction of polar functional groups that increase surface energy and wettability), and etching (micro-erosion that increases anchoring roughness). This results in a drastic reduction in the contact angle and a significant increase in surface tension, conditions essential for reliable adhesion. Applications range from structural bonding to painting, from printing to sealing and coating, on polymers, composites (CFRP/GFRP), metals, glass, and ceramics, in the automotive, electronics, semiconductor, medical, and construction sectors. It is a dry process, free of toxic solvents, eco-friendly, and easily integrated into automated production lines.

Surface Cleaning and Inspection

Coatings Sample Preparation

Proper sample preparation in coating testing is essential to ensure reliable, repeatable results that are compliant with regulatory standards (such as ISO or ASTM). In the case of coatings, sample preparation is also influenced by specific characteristics related to the surface nature of the substrate material. The performance of a coating—such as adhesion, corrosion resistance, hardness, and uniformity—depends heavily on either the quality of the substrate surface or the method of application. Inadequate preparation, such as insufficient cleaning, uncontrolled roughness, or surface contamination, can compromise coating adhesion and compromise test results. Furthermore, during preparation for analysis (e.g., cross-sections or adhesion tests), it is essential to avoid alterations to the coating layer, such as delamination or deformation. The thickness and uniformity of the coating must also be representative of the actual process: errors at this stage can lead to incorrect performance evaluations. Careful preparation therefore allows the true properties of the coating to be isolated, preventing external factors or artifacts from influencing the test results.

Plastic Sample Preparation

Proper sample preparation in plastic testing is essential to ensure reliable, repeatable results that are comparable to regulatory standards (such as ISO or ASTM). The mechanical, thermal, and rheological properties of polymers are strongly influenced by factors such as the molding method, molecular orientation, the presence of residual stresses, and environmental conditions. A sample prepared in a non-compliant manner—for example, with imprecise geometries, damaged surfaces, or uncontrolled conditioning conditions—can significantly alter test results (tensile, impact, flexural). Even small variations during the cutting or molding phase can introduce internal defects or anisotropies that compromise data interpretation. Careful preparation therefore reduces experimental variability and yields data representative of the material’s actual behavior.

Coatings Physical Testing

Plastic Physical Testing

In the plastics industry, monitoring physical and mechanical properties is essential to ensuring the quality of the finished product and the stability of the production process. Every polymer must meet precise specifications—rheological, mechanical, thermal, and surface-related—and even the slightest deviation can result in defects, production line scrap, or failure during use. Appropriate laboratory instrumentation allows for the measurement and documentation of critical parameters such as melt flow rate, impact strength, coefficient of friction, thermal shrinkage, bulk density, and environmental crack resistance, ensuring compliance with international ISO and ASTM standards throughout the entire quality control cycle: from sample preparation to the validation of material properties. Whether in R&D laboratories, production quality control, or incoming inspection of raw materials, having the right instruments means achieving repeatable, traceable, and comparable results—the foundation of every reliable quality decision.

Stability Analysis