TQC Sheen Colorbox LED – Illuminated Assessment Cabinets

Developed by TQC Sheen, our specialist paint and coatings testing brand, the Colorbox LED is a multi-source illuminated color assessment cabinet built to inspect and color match a wide range of materials under standardized lighting.

Used by paints and coatings laboratories, automotive OEMs and their coatings suppliers, textile and knitwear manufacturers, plastics producers, and print, packaging and cosmetics quality control teams, the Colorbox LED helps quality, R&D and operations experts verify color consistency before sign-off.

You can examine inks, paints, plastics, cosmetics, textiles, knitwear, paper and colorants under five LED sources – D65 daylight, D50, TL84 store light, incandescent A and UV – to assess color, gloss, metamerism, structure and surface defects. Microprocessor-controlled flicker-free switching, built-in per-lamp runtime counters and interchangeable power cables mean assessments stay consistent from bench to bench, shift to shift and site to site.

Why it matters

Make color decisions that hold up in an audit. D65 daylight and additional illuminants aligned to ISO 3664 viewing conditions and ASTM D1729 visual appraisal practice mean color pass/fail decisions stay defensible across sites, suppliers and customer audits – not down to whichever light happened to be on that day.

Expose metamerism before it reaches the customer. Viewing samples under D65, D50, TL84 and incandescent A in the same enclosed cabinet reveals metameric pairs – colors that match under one light source but diverge under another – so R&D and color-matching teams catch mismatches that a single light source would hide.

Cut rework, rejects and disputes on the floor. Standardized, flicker-free viewing conditions plus per-lamp runtime tracking mean fewer subjective judgments, fewer batches rejected downstream and fewer color disputes with customers. Operations teams get faster sign-offs and less rework.

Five LED light sources for controlled color assessment

Each Colorbox LED ships with five LED source types so you can switch instantly between the lighting conditions your customers, standards and applications require:

• D65 daylight, 6500 K (CRI greater than 97 RA) – international artificial daylight for paint, coatings and automotive assessment
• D50 daylight, 5000 K (CRI greater than 97 RA) – warm daylight for print, packaging and graphic arts
• TL84 store light, 4000 K (CRI greater than 95 RA) – simulates European retail and shop-floor lighting
• Incandescent A, 2850 K (CRI greater than 95 RA) – simulates indoor and home lighting for consumer products
• UV, 365 nm – reveals fluorescent optical brighteners and whitening agents in textiles, paper and detergents

All LED sources are rated at a lifespan greater than 15,000 hours.

Available Colorbox LED models

Two Colorbox LED models are available:

• TQC Sheen Colorbox LED 60 cm with 45 degree sample table – SKU VF0625
• TQC Sheen Colorbox LED 120 cm with 45 degree sample table – SKU VF1225

Both models ship with 2x D65, 2x TL84, 2x D50 and 1x UV lamps. The 60 cm model includes 4x incandescent A bulbs; the 120 cm model includes 6x.

Replacement lamps, tubes and accessories are available as separate SKUs, including VF0630 / VF1230 D65 tubes, VF0631 / VF1231 TL84 tubes, VF0636 / VF1236 D50 tubes, VF0634 / VF1234 UV tubes, VF0632 incandescent A bulb, VF0635 / VF1235 TL83 warm white replacement tube, VF0603 45 degree sample table and VF0638 US power cord.

Quality color assessment – as standard

The Colorbox LED was designed to support visual color assessment to a number of international standards, including:

• ASTM D1729
• ISO 3664

Color and appearance testing portfolio

The Colorbox LED sits alongside other color and appearance instruments from TQC Sheen. Where the Colorbox LED handles visual assessment under controlled illuminants, the SoloGloss and PolyGloss glossmeters quantify surface reflectance – useful as a complement when both color and gloss have to meet specification.

How TQC Sheen supports Marschall Labs

Read how TQC Sheen instruments support quality and R&D work at Marschall Labs: Marschall Labs case study.

What happens after you enquire

When you enquire about the Colorbox LED, our TQC Sheen specialists will confirm which illuminants your sector and internal standards require – for example D65 and D50 daylight for paints and automotive coatings, TL84 store light for retail and packaging, and UV for textiles and papers with optical brighteners. They will recommend the 60 cm (SKU VF0625) or 120 cm (SKU VF1225) model based on your sample sizes and bench space, and confirm delivery timelines.

For purchasing teams, we provide clear SKU references for the cabinet and every spare lamp and accessory, quotation turnaround and the technical documentation you need for internal sign-off. After you order, the cabinet is delivered on a pallet given its size and weight, and we provide guidance on positioning it away from direct sunlight and strong ambient light so viewing conditions stay controlled. Our team can walk operators through first use – powering up, selecting one or more light sources, and reading the runtime counters – so they get consistent results from day one.

Service, warranty and ongoing support

The Colorbox LED is backed by the Industrial Physics global service and support network. Our teams help with lamp replacement scheduling, spare tubes and bulbs, and technical support – so viewing conditions stay standard-compliant over the life of the cabinet. Because the spectral output of lamps changes with age, replacing lamps at the recommended interval keeps assessments defensible. Every cabinet is covered by a one-year warranty (parts and labour) as standard. Contact our support team to arrange a service or request spare parts.

Operator training is available covering correct use of the 45 degree viewing table, illuminant selection for different sectors, and viewing protocol under ISO 3664 and ASTM D1729 – including neutral surroundings and standardized viewing geometry – so results stay repeatable between operators, shifts and sites. Our global support network means help is available wherever you operate.

Packaging overview:

Please take note of the pictorial symbols on the packaging e.g. weight, lifting instructions and safety. Due to the size and weight of the colorbox LED it will be delivered on a pallet.

Colorbox LED with 60cm tubes

VF0625: 80 x 65 x 29 cm, 36 kg total packaged weight

Colorbox LED with 120cm tubes

VF1225: 140 x 76 x 41 cm, 86 kg total packaged weight

Check for transport damage:

If the packaging is damaged only accept it with a written confirmation from the transporter that the package was damaged at time of delivery

Bulb overview: