Novo Shade DUO+ Hiding Power Meter

Novo-Shade DUO+ Opacity Meter, Instantly Measure your Product’s Opacity or your Coating’s Hiding Power

Traditionally opacity testing was performed using human vision by ASTM D344-11. Obviously this led to huge variations in observations. The Novo-Shade-DUO+ was developed as a precise yet low cost inexpensive method to easily and accurately measure Opacity. There is absolutely no need to use a much more expensive spectrophotometer to accomplish this easy task. Opacity is defined as the ratio of light reflected when a sample is placed over a true white compared to a true black as a percentage. For coatings, opacity is the hiding power, or ability to reduce the transmission of radiant energy or light, and/or increase the scattering of light, particularly in white. Thus how well can a coating cover or obscure the preceding layer or substrate. For paper, films, and other translucent solids, it is the ability of the sample itself to block the transmission of light.

Opacity(Y)=( Y_{black backing} / Y_{white backing}) x100

Hiding Power is generally determined by the more expensive pigments such as anatase or rutile TiO₂, and CaCO₃ with high refractive indexes that scatter or bend light. Thus these pigments are used sparingly. Hiding Power and paint Opacity characteristics are also affected by both film thickness and application method. What many experts forget is once all of these procedures are kept consistent, that the final measurement is usually performed by a trained colorist using their vision. Vision and viewing conditions do change as documented in many ways from day to day. The best method is to use a calibrated device to obtain accurate quantitative values not affected by lighting, viewing or human vision. For this reason, the Novo Shade Duo+ was developed as an accurate low cost shade meter to quickly determine hiding power. One does NOT need an expensive spectrophotometer to only measure opacity. The Novo Shade Duo+ Opacity meter is widely used to measure film and paints and other coatings around the world. ASTM D2805 provides a uniform and consistent methodology to obtain standard measurements. Using the Rhopoint Novo Shade Duo+ instrumentation will quickly provide objective measurements unbiased by human vision. ASTM D2805 discusses Hiding Power using Reflectometers such as the Rhopoint Novo Shade Duo+.

Imbotec Group is the most knowlegeable and the ONLY FACTORY TRAINED U.S. and Canadian CALIBRATION and CERTIFICATION Facility for Rhopoint Opacity, Glossmeters, Haze, DOI, RIQ and other Optical physical testing equipment.

Have your drawdown or brushout card completed with a uniform thickness of coating over white and black. In Opacity Mode, place the Novo Shade Duo+ over the finished and dried drawdown card over the white and black patches in turn. The Novo Shade DUO + display indicates the hiding power or opacity within a fraction of a second; the result is displayed as "% Opacity". A value of 100 indicates no difference between the samples over white and black, while a value of 0 indicates no hiding power at all – the white and black are showing through completely.

Samples showing different Hiding Powers on Drawdown Cards

Paint Drawdown Cards

Samples showing different Hiding Powers on Drawdown Cards

Place your sample over a drawdown card with white and black separate sections. Set the Novo Shade Duo+ to Opacity Mode, place the Novo Shade Duo+ over the sample, and measure over the white first and then over black. The Novo Shade Duo+ display indicates the opacity within a fraction of a second. The result is displayed in “% Opacity.” A value of 100 indicates that the sample is completely opaque; the opacity meter cannot see a difference between the area of the sample that is over the white section of card, and the area over the black. A value of 0 indicates complete transparency. The white and black are fully discernible through the sample.

Use a Leneta, Paint Card, Brushout or Drawdown Card with Black and White backgrounds

• Hiding Power of Paints
• Hiding Power or Opacity of Ink
• Transparency of Plastic Film
• Opacity of Paper
• Opacity of any translucent material

• Full Color, Easy to Read Screen with Adjustable Brightness
• Automatic Calibration
• White Calibration Tile in a Magnetic Holder
• ISO Calibration Certificate
• Built-in Statistical Analysis of stored readings, provides Batch Quality Assessment
• Large, clear, easy to read display giving meaningful readings
• 20,000+ Readings per charge
• 17+ Hours of operation per charge
• Automatic power cutoff switches "Off" when not in use to save battery
• Languages in EN, FR, D, NL, SP, IT, TK, CZ
• Download readings for further Analysis
• Replacement white calibration tile available

ASTM D2805-11 Standard Test Method for Hiding Power of Paints by Reflectometry

ASTM D4214-07 Standard Test Methods for Evaluating the Degree of Chalking of Exterior Paint Films

ASTM E1347 Standard Test Method for Color and Color-Difference Measurement by Tristimulus Colorimetry

ISO 2814 Paints and varnishes -- Comparison of contrast ratio (hiding power) of paints of the same type and colour.
This standard specifies the standard method to be used in comparing the contrast ratios given by paint films of white or light colors, of reflectance factor greater than 40 %, dried at normal air temperature and applied at approximately equal wet film thickness to black and white substrates. The wet film thickness selected, approximately 50µm, corresponds to a spreading rate of approximately 20 m2/l. Because different operators using the same film coating device obtain films differing in thickness, this method is not satisfactory as an absolute method for the determination of hiding power.

ISO 6504/1 Paints and varnishes -- Determination of hiding power -- Part 3: Determination of contrast ratio of light-colored paints at a fixed spreading rate
ISO 6504-3:2006 describes methods for determining the opacity (by contrast ratio measurement) given by paint films of white or light colours of tristimulus value Y greater than 25, applied at a spreading rate of 20 m²/L to a black and white chart or to colorless transparent polyester foil. In the latter case, the tristimulus value Y is measured subsequently over black and white glass panels.

BS3900-D4 Methods of test for paints. Optical tests on paint films. Comparison of contrast ratio (hiding power) of paints of the same type and colour.
Methodes d'essai pour peintures. Comparaison du taux de contraste (pouvoir couvrant) des peintures du meme type et de la meme couleur.

BS3900-D7 Paints and varnishes. Determination of hiding power. Kubelka-Munk method for white and light-coloured paints

• Resolution: 0.1 %
• Repeatability: 0.2%
• Reproducibility: 0.5 %
• Range: 0 - 100%
• Angle: 45°/0°
• Battery Type: Rechargeable lithium ion
• Measurements per charge: 20,000+ Readings
• Weight:  790g
• Extended Two Year Warranty

• Replacement white tile in magnetic holder - GM-13515

To Purchase a Novo Shade Duo+ to measure hiding power , please call our sales department:
Toll Free at : 1-866-462-6832.

Imbotec Group is the most knowledgeable and the ONLY FACTORY TRAINED U.S. and Canadian CALIBRATION and CERTIFICATION Facility for Rhopoint Opacity, Glossmeters, Haze, DOI, RIQ and other Optical physical testing equipment.

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Paper available for purchase from ASTM

WHEN LIGHT ENTERS A PAINT FILM, SOME OR ALL of it is absorbed or reflected by the film before reaching the substrate, thereby hiding the substrate to a lesser or greater degree. The light that reaches the substrate is partly absorbed by it and partly reflected back in conformance with the substrate's visual pattern. Reflection from the substrate eventually emerges from the film carrying the substrate reflectivity information perceived as visibility or lack thereof, and referred to as hiding. Opacity may be qualitatively defined as the property of a paint film that enables it to prevent the passage of light and thereby to hide the substrate on which it has been applied. Note that opacity is a film property, whereas hiding power is a property of the whole paint. Hiding is a more general term used frequently to refer to either opacity or hiding power (HP).