This blog is all about the Nix Mini 2, a tool that revolutionises paint colour matching for all painters. We have put together a Nix Mini 2 to let you know about all the benefits you can expect from this tool. We would like to thank Brendan for taking the time out of his day to visit PaintAccess and gives us a demonstration of this exciting tool.
The History of Nix
Have you heard about Nix? The idea for Nix came in the form of a question: why were interior designers still carrying around tote bags filled with heavy fan decks and swatch books from individual brands? Why were professionals in all fields still eyeballing color? Color can be affected by ambient lighting conditions and human error – which can be time consuming and costly. We knew there had to be a way to solve these problems. After consulting professionals in the industry, we validated our idea and knew that there was a need for a better solution.
At the same time, a colleague of Taubmans was doing incredible work at a local hospital with burn victims and patients with other severe skin disorders. Her business was to consult with patients and create custom makeup that perfectly blended with the patients’ natural skin tones.
To support her work, she was looking for an accurate and inexpensive color sensor that would eliminate the need for the costly manual color matching. It would revolutionize her business model while allowing her to help patients from all over the world. We thought this was a noble idea and it inspired us to start full-time research and development on a product that has now become today’s leading color measurement tool.
Six months after their initial funding and countless prototypes later, the final Nix prototype was born. It was through our successful Kickstarter campaign that we were able to fund the production of the first commercial prototype of the Nix Color Sensor.
Through customer feedback and industry advice they were able to optimize our product and software, offering features that were more useful to our customers. With that we were able to release our flagship product, the Nix Pro Color Sensor, to professionals, tech enthusiasts, and designers in over 50 countries world-wide.
Just three years after our initial commercial release, we launched the Nix Mini Color Sensor – the first colorimeter of its kind to offer compact color matching to consumers across the globe. This low-cost device attracted a wider audience and provided infinite creative uses, even winning the German Design Award for high quality product design.
Nix Mini 2
Why is colour matching important?
Colour is something we often take for granted. Whether it be the colour of the sky, the greeness of the grass, or the way colours react with each other, we all see colour in different ways. However, our eyes can be extremely sensitive to subtle variations in colour. While this might not be the case if they are across the room from each other, if items are in our field of vision at the same time, we will often notice a colour difference. Colour can be represented in very different ways depending on the cameras used. That’s where Nix comes in to help cut through the confusion and give you accurate colour matching results.
What are the benefits?
Durable
The Nix Mini 2 is careful in our design so you don’t have to be. Take our state-of-the art technology into any and all environments, and use it to match and identify color.
Portable
Lightweight and wireless, the Nix Mini 2 can fit in your pocket or the palm of your hand. Plus, with no finicky white tiles for calibration, you don’t have to worry about things getting a little messy. Both the Mini and the Pro can easily fit into your pocket! With a diameter similar to that of a large coin, the Mini is ready to travel wherever you need.
Rechargeable
A long battery life allows the Nix mini 2 to be ready whenever you need it. It only takes 3 hours to fully charge with its micro USB charging cable which is compatible with any standard charger. In fact, you can get around 3,000 individual surface scans out of just one full battery. Pretty good, right?
Dependable
Convenient for a painter visiting clients, allows them to find the closest colour paint to existing colour, and colour match to any colour from Australian paint manufacturer. It takes only seconds to scan a colour and find its paint match or identify its digital colour values. You can easily match your colour to any brand of paint.
Clever design
The Nix Mini 2 was designed after pulling all the other models apart and seeing where they went wrong so the Nix could be the superior option. Its clever design means that dust cannot penetrate it.
Accurate results
The Nix Mini 2 gives very accurate results with a match of 99%, which is very impressive especially for its price range at only $200. You can use the built in paint library for colour matching or even use the colour values to have a batch custom mixed to your specifications.
Brand flexibility
You are not limited to one brand, with the Nix Mini you have access to a range of different brands and thousands of colours. By expanding the brand range, you are more likely to find a close match to your shade of paint.
Scan any type of surface
Nix can scan any type of surface, including all types of paints and fabrics. It comes fully calibrated so you don’t have to worry about setting it up to ensure colour accuracy.
Nix Paints App
Downloading the Nix Paints App helps you get started on your colour matching journey. Nix has three apps, including one for digital color capture, one for paint, and one for Pro users with additional info useful for professional paint shops and other applications.
After downloading the app, it will connect via Bluetooth to the Nix Mini 2. By pressing the small paint icon in the top right corner, you can view the paint brands which are available to select from. Once you have scanned the colour, you can see the excellent matches and good matches. After you’ve selected the colour that is the closest match, the Nix Paints App will also show you a helpful colour scheme feature where you can view contrasting colours. A painter can download all the individual colour swatches and store them for all their jobs all in the one place.
Pair with the Nix Digital app for easy and accurate color identification. Scan any surface to find digital color codes (sRGB, CMYK, CIELAB, HEX, LCH(ab), LRV, and Hue) and explore color harmonies (monochromatic, complementary, analogous, triadic, etc.
Nix Mini 2 Competitors
Taubmans
George Henry Taubman, a Sydney sign writer, established himself as a paint supplier/importer in 1897. He grew dissatisfied with the poor range available and 2 years later he began manufacturing his own paint under the Taubmans brand.Since their inception over a century ago, they’ve been manufacturing paint on Aussie shores.
They offer a colour selection of ober 5,700 colours so you’ll find a paint colour you love.
Taubmans ColourSmith
The Taubmans Colour Smith is an alternative tool to the Nix Mini 2. First, you have to upload a photo, select and perfect your paint colour and then give it a name. Skip the trip to the paint store, and they’ll send a sample pot directly to you. The last step is to get your paint on! See how it looks and feels in your space.
What makes Nix Mini 2 different?
By blocking out all ambient light and providing its own light source, the Nix Mini 2 is able to ignore bright light and dark shadows and perform an accurate reading, every time.
Nix Pro 2
The Nix Pro 2 has the same great features as the Nix Mini 2, this time with two cameras for even better performance. Advanced users can customize their scan settings with the ability to set your illuminant and observer angle. Conduct side-by-side color comparisons directly in the app with new or pre-existing scans. Say goodbye to unreliable calibration cards. All Nix devices comes calibrated out-of-box! Easily export your scans to a .csv file for quality control, batch analysis, and record keeping. Nix technology is award winning, recognized by prestigious design councils like Red Dot Awards
