Spies Hecker makes digital colour identification portable and even easier with the Phoenix Cloud. Thanks to a web-based database and a WIFI connection between the different devices in the bodyshop, the entire process - from colour reading and colour search, to selecting the colour formula - can be controlled from anywhere in the bodyshop, even the office.

Colour matching using paint chips is a thing of the past in most car repair shops. Colours are determined with digital measuring devices, and the right mixing formula can be chosen in a matter of seconds using modern colour matching software.

"This digital technology offers a great deal of efficiency and flexibility because it is simple and fast," says Joachim Hinz, Spies Hecker Brand Manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa. "This has a positive effect on the operations of a workshop and makes it easier for refinishers to work."

The central element in digital colour management has, up to now, been a permanently installed computer or a PC system in the mixing room. With the Phoenix Cloud, however, Spies Hecker offers a technically-advanced solution: all the process in colour management can now be controlled via mobile internet-enabled devices.

Digital colour management made easy

This new technology enables all information and work steps converge in Phoenix Cloud. A WIFI network links all the required devices - from the ColorDialog Phoenix spectrophotometer, to an IP mixing scale or IP printer. And the control of the individual devices doesn’t have to be done from the mixing room. Phoenix Cloud works with all WiFI-enabled devices, including PC systems in the mixing room, office computers, smartphones or tablets – what’s essential is WiFI.

Three packages for shorter work processes

Depending on how far along the digitalisation road the bodyshop is, Spies Hecker offers its customers three digital solution packages: ranging from the simple connected variant, called Phoenix Cloud Base, to the partially wireless Phoenix Cloud Classic, and finally the completely wireless integration of all devices via a WiFI network in the Phoenix Cloud Hi-TEC Performance.

Current colour database

With each of the three packages, users access the online colour software Phoenix directly. It compares the colour values read on the spectrophotometer on the vehicle with over 200,000 colour formulas. The database is constantly updated and is always up to date when connected to the Internet, which means formulas of new or unusual colours can be found reliably and accurately.

Another benefit of this Colour Management technology from Axalta is that data can be stored in the cloud and linked to other bodyshop management systems, such as inventory and order management systems.

"We always strive to provide our bodyshops with practical and useful solutions that make work easier," says Hinz. " Phoenix Cloud Hi-TEC Performance, the top-level solution, enables completely wireless networking of different devices for effective colour management."

For further information, visit www.spieshecker.co.uk/phoenix-cloud or contact a Spies Hecker consultant.

About Spies Hecker

Spies Hecker, one of the global refinish coating brands from Axalta, develops optimum and practical paint system solutions that can make bodyshop work easier and more efficient. With over 135 years of success behind it, Spies Hecker’s high-quality product systems, customised service and targeted training demonstrate its partnership with the refinish industry. The Cologne paint brand is one of the world’s leading vehicle refinish brands, and is available in over 76 countries worldwide.

Spies Hecker – simply closer!