Rhopoint ID Imaging Transmission Appearance Meter

ID_detailed_infographic_target graticule

Characterise the transparency of a material in a single measurement
Measures small sample sizes that cannot be measured with a traditional haze meter
Haze measurement correlated with existing standards (ASTM D1003)
Why is ASTM D1003 transparency measurement alone not enough?

Industries & Applications

Glass
Packaging

Extended warranty

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Downloads – Application Notes

The Rhopoint ID – More than just a haze meter

The Rhopoint ID is an instrument that can measure what the eye can see. It quantifies the see-through qualities of materials in a method that can be matched to real world conditions with results highly correlated to customer perception. It also measures small sample sizes that cannot be measured with a traditional haze meter.

The unique Rhopoint ID method fully characterises the transparency of a material in a single measurement.

Measurement parameters:

Haze
Sharpness
Anisotropic Sharpness (Only available with Rhopoint ID-L version)
Clarity
Waviness
Distance Dependent Haze
Visible Transmittance

Benefits of the ID

Comprehensive quantitative evaluation of transparency (Haze, Sharpness, Transmittance)
Full correlation with visual perception, including effects of air gap distance and anisotropy
On-demand ASTM D1003-equivalent haze data
Ability to identify local optical defects
Suitable for plastic films and sheets, glasses, coatings and liquids with thickness up to 35mm
Low cost compared with conventional instruments
Robust design, with small weight and footprint
Rapid data acquisition; no moving parts – suitable for (in-line) process and quality control
Intuitive built-in software for data management and image analysis

Why measure the appearance quality of transparent materials?

Objects made from transparent materials are common in everyday life, clear plastic is used in packaging film and drinks bottles, windowpanes and windshields are made from glass, mobile phones are protected by a clear protective display.

The function of transparent materials is often to form a barrier which allows a clear view of a protected object or a scene beyond it. Manufactured products however, are rarely perfectly transparent-inhomogenieties in base material, surface texture caused during manufacture or scratches and abrasion reduce see-through quality.

As these effects can reduce the perceived quality and functionality it is important that they are accurately quantified. Accurate measurement provides opportunities to optimise materials or processes during manufacture.

Materials with high optical quality have low visual impact on objects viewed through them. The material itself is visually unobtrusive and almost invisible to the observer.

A hazy material causes colour seen through the material to appear washed out or faded. The severity of this loss of contrast is often related to the size of the gap between the object and the material.

A material which blurs the view of objects has low sharpness- this effect can be directional causing a visible pattern to be seen in the material.

Materials with poor optical qualities are visually intrusive and can be described as milky or opalescent. Patterns and texture which may be visible in the material drastically blur viewed objects.

The Rhopoint ID measurement technology (patent pending) was jointly developed with Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich.

Measuring the transparency of materials ensures products are seen by the consumer correctly

Increases quality

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Reduces wastage

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Increases customer perception

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Optimises manufacturing processes

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How does the Rhopoint ID work?

Inside the Rhopoint ID

Light passes through material covering the graticule and reaches the camera where it is converted into a reading.

Step 01

A backlit, high accuracy, reference target graticule functions as the viewed object, creating a highly defined pattern of light intensities with optimally sharp transitions between the backlit and masked areas.

Step 02

The camera works like the human eye quantifying changes in the transmission of the light caused by a test material.

Step 03

Image analysis techniques are used to characterise these effects into parameters which correlate closely with human perceptions.

Measurement Parameters of the Rhopoint ID

Haze

Haze = 0%

Haze = 30%

Haze

Haze: quantifies the loss of contrast for objects viewed through a material.

When a material has haze, it changes the appearance of both the material and any objects viewed through it. This can lead to a reduction in perceived quality.

The product viewed through the material appears lifeless and dull – but details remain sharp
The colour of a viewed object appears washed-out and faded
The material itself appears cloudy or milky.

Measure Haze with the Rhopoint ID to ensure visibility of products are at their best and can be seen properly by the customer.

No Haze

Perception	Description
No Haze	High contrast Colours are vibrant
Perfect Sharpness	Crisp edges No blurriness

Medium Haze

Perception	Description
Medium Haze	Reduced contrast Colours less vibrant
High Sharpness	Crisp edges No blurriness

High Haze

Perception	Description
High Haze	Poor contrast Colours flat
Low Sharpness	Indistinct edges

What affects Haze?

Haze can be affected by factors such as the choice of resin, the moulding process and any surface textures. Haze can be caused by:

Raw material choice

For example, a plastic with an incorrect melt viscosity for a particular process.

Process parameters

Cooling a plastic material too quickly can introduce micro textures onto the surface of the film or structures in the bulk which reduce optical quality.

Machine wear

Wear and tear in moulds, chill rollers and slip dies can induce visible surface defects in the material.

Measuring Haze with the Rhopoint ID

Haze is measured directly by evaluating contrast of black and white areas on graticule
Measurements made with the Rhopoint ID are fully comparable with those made on an ASTM D1003 haze meter
Automatically operates when ASTM Haze platen (8 mm thickness) is placed in position on instrument between the graticule and a sample
Factory calibrated to ASTM standards for a quantitative match.

Sharpness

Sharpness quantifies the loss of perceived detail for objects viewed through a material.

What are the effects of reduced Sharpness?

When viewed through a material with high sharpness, an object appears sharp and distinct. As material sharpness decreases, the object appears blurry and obscured.

High Sharpness (S = 98.71%)

Medium-High Sharpness (S = 76.34%)

Medium-Low Sharpness (S = 49.62%)

Low Sharpness (S = 18.02%)

Anisotropic Sharpness

Anisotropic Sharpness. Only available with Rhopoint ID-L version.

A material can often exhibit optical effects which are directional. These phenomena are often induced in plastic parts by specific processing faults.

Visible texture is a common feature of plastic films and causes a significant reduction in their see- through quality.

Directional Effects

The Rhopoint ID is the only instrument that can measure directional effects in materials using the ID laboratory analysis software.

The images to the right show the visual impact of different ID Sharpness (S) values in vertical and horizontal directions.

Measuring directional effects can be used in advanced optical quality control and for adjusting processing parameters to obtain optimal transparency.

Horizontal

SV = 95%

SH = 70%

Vertical

SV = 80%

SH = 95%

Clarity

ID sharpness gives improved measurement resolution compared with clarity
ID Clarity is fully compatible with existing instruments

Note: Clarity and Sharpness do NOT capture poor optical characteristics associated with wavy/orange peel surfaces.

Clarity

Quantifies the blurriness of an object when viewed through a material, results are proportionate with Sharpness, but the measurement scale is compressed and the measurement resolution is reduced.

Clarity is a scale used by traditional haze and clarity meters. When measured using the 8mm adaptor plate, Rhopoint ID Clarity data conforms to specifications written for these meters.

Inter-instrument Clarity agreement between Rhopoint ID and traditional sphere instruments for commercial plastic films (<1000μm) is typically <0.4% C (SD).

Inter-instrument Clarity agreement between traditional sphere instruments and Rhopoint ID for thick transparent plastic materials (<6mm) is typically <0.5% C (SD).

High clarity

Medium clarity

Low clarity

ID Sharpness measurement

Better measurement resolution than clarity.

ID Clarity

Compatible measurement with existing measurements.

Waviness

What is Waviness?

Waviness is an optical effect caused by large structures (0.1-2mm) on the surface of the material. If the structure is homogeneous it is often described as orange peel – the surface resembles the peel of an orange.

If the effect is anisotropic, visible lines can often be seen when looking through the material.

Unlike sharpness, these larger structures can cause dynamic distortion when the film is moved over a target image/object which has straight edges – the edges appear to distort and wave as the material is moved.

How is Waviness measured?

Waviness measures the visible distortion of the ID graticule edges through the material. W is the standard deviation of the edge deformation in μm.

Waviness homogeneity is assessed by comparing W (average waviness) with WH (horizontal waviness) and Wv (vertical waviness) using Rhopoint ID software available with the Rhopoint ID-L version.

Distance Dependent Haze

Many materials exhibit a variation of transparency depending on whether the material is in contact with a viewed object, or separated by an ‘air gap’ distance between them.

Why is Distance Dependence important?

Matching the material exactly to the application allows quality improvements and production cost savings.

To match a specific material application the Rhopoint ID can measure ID Haze at any distance within 0–40 mm.

Using the ID it is possible to identify the air gap distance at which maximum Haze is obtained (typically <25 mm).

Haze and Distance

The images below show the effect of air gap distance for a hazy plastic film held in front of an image.

Contact
H = 9.99

Haze to ASTM D1003 (8mm)
H_ASTM = 30.98

30mm Distance
H = 76.74

Direct measurement of haze from transmission image contrast

Measured in contact or at user-defined distance between material and object (0–40 mm)

Measures distance dependence on the same scale as ASTM Haze

Direct measurement of transparency via contrast of black and white areas on target graticule

Measure and understand distance dependent haze

Visible Transmittance

When considering how material is perceived by a consumer it is important to consider how bright an object viewed through it will appear.*

Visible Transmission to human observer

Rhopoint Transmittance (TID) quantifies the amount of light passing through the material and reaching the camera/eye of the observer
This measurement describes the brightness/ luminosity of the viewed object and is correlated to how one perceives the quality of the material.

*Traditional hazemeters measure total transmission which is related to light absorption not visual perception

Sealed optics

Touch screen

Large mounting area

Making your measurements easier

The Rhopoint ID has been designed to measure samples for haze, transmittance and sharpness quickly and safely.

No moving parts

Eliminates risk of mechanical failure

Stand-alone instrument

Small footprint reduces space required in laboratory

Lightweight

Easy to move in the laboratory or production line

Resistant and durable

Made from durable, recyclable materials

Rhopoint ID Features

The Rhopoint ID is suitable for laboratory or production use.

	ID-L
Measures Haze, Transmission, Sharpness and Clarity	✓
Operate in stand-alone mode	✓
Measure (ID) with the sample material in contact with test target	✓
Measure non contact distance haze and transmittance up to 40mm	✓
Measure Waviness	✓
Measure curved parts - bottles, tubes and pipes	✓
Detailed analysis software	✓
Anisotropic Sharpness measurement	✓
Live view makes it easy to position test sample and locate specific areas of interest	✓

Detailed analysis software

The Rhopoint ID-L analysis software enables detailed visual analysis of the sample using LIVE VIEW. Statistical analysis of multiple test results is shown for each measured parameter. • Saves all the results as a CSV file

Imports previous CSV results
Saves CSV results and all images as tiff
Imports CSV results and image tiff files

Specifications

	Sharpness	Haze			Clarity	Transmission
Range	0-100%	0-10%	10-100%	0-100%
Resolution	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01
Repeatability SD	0.1	0.05	0.05	0.03	0.05
Reproducibility SD	1	0.2	0.5	0.3
Inter-instrument Agreement Rhopoint ID vs Traditional Haze & Clarity Instrument SD*	N/A	0.2	0.5	0.4	N/A
Effective Operating Range	Materials T > 50%	Materials T > 50%	Materials T > 50%

*Typical values – packaging film <1000µm

Instrument Information	ID-L
Measurement Mode	Contact and Non Contact
Non Contact Distance	Up to 40mm
Material Thickness	<30mm
Software	Rhopoint ID-Analysis
Connection	Ethernet LAN
Spatial Resolution	12μm
Imaged Area	20mm x 20mm
Minimum measurement area (Haze, Sharpness)	6x2mm
Minimum measurement area (Transmittance)	2x2mm
Image Format	16 Bit Tiff
Image Sensor Size	1280x1024
Operating Temperature	10-40°C
Dimensions h x Ø	470 x 125 mm
Weight	3.95 Kg
Packed Weight	6.7 Kg
Power	110/230V

Product	Included Accessories	Order Code
Rhopoint ID-L	1 x USB drive (contains software / manual ) • 1 x checking standard • 1 x calibration certificate 1 x 8mm spacer (ASTM) • 1 x 5mm spacer • 1x LAN cable and 1x USB2 to LAN adaptor	A3100-001

Optional accessories for ID-L	Order Code
Abrasion adaptor	B3100-002
Surface roughness adaptor	B3100-003
20mm distance haze pack	B3100-001
Rhopoint transmission check standard - 25%	B3100-012
Rhopoint transmission check standard - 50%	B3100-011
Rhopoint transmission check standard - 70%	B3100-008

What’s in the box

Included with the Rhopoint ID-L:

1 x USB drive (contains software / manual )
1 x checking standard
1 x calibration certificate
1 x 8mm spacer (ASTM)
1 x 5mm spacer
1x LAN cable and 1x USB2 to LAN adaptor
Order code: A3100-001

Optional extras for the Rhopoint ID-L

	Order code
	20mm distance haze pack 2 x 5mm spacers 5 x 2mm spacers 2 packs of spacers can be combined for a 40mm distance	B3100-001
	Abrasion adaptor Allows Taber abraded samples to be mounted on the Rhopoint ID-L	B3100-002
	Surface roughness adaptor Allows the roughness of the film on each side to be isolated and measured without submersing the material in oil	B3100-003

Order code

20mm distance haze pack

2 x 5mm spacers
5 x 2mm spacers
2 packs of spacers can be combined for a 40mm distance

B3100-001

Abrasion adaptor

Allows Taber abraded samples to be mounted on the Rhopoint ID-L

B3100-002

Surface roughness adaptor

Allows the roughness of the film on each side to be isolated and measured without submersing the material in oil

B3100-003

Please ask for these extras in your quote request

Free extended warranty

Free extended 2 year warranty: Requires registration at www.rhopointinstruments.com/help-services/forms-feedback/instrument-registration/ within 28 days of purchase. Without registration, 1 year standard warranty applies.

Calibration and service

Fast and economic service via our global network of accredited calibration and service centres. Please visit www.rhopointinstruments.com/help-services/calibration-servicing/ for detailed information.