Measuring Color Accurately
Consistent and reliable color measurements are in demand. The need for verifiable color using industry standards is sought after by those in R&D, process development, and production.
Color meters and spectrophotometers provide these unbiased results with comparisons to industry scales, CIE values, and spectral data. Features such as automated analysis and data logging ensure their accuracy.
What’s Your Color?
Color is multifaceted. Hue is the actual color (red, orange, green, etc.) while chroma (saturation) is the vividness or dullness, and lightness is the degree of light. To reproduce a color accurately, find out these three properties.
What about reflectance and transmittance?
Reflectance: The first color scale was created in 1905 by artist Munsell as a color-ordering system before instrumentation existed. This system was based on human perception. The artist assigned numerical values based on the three properties to identify a color. While this method is still used today, instruments now record the same color differences that vision detects.
Reflectance meters are portable and ideal for a quick pass/fail decision in a production environment. They assess color quality control for:
- Corporate logo standardization
- Graphic arts testing of inks and control of printed colors
- Standardizing paint colors, plastic colors, and cosmetic colors
- Printing on textiles, packaging materials, and labels
- Color-finishing foods, clothing, pharmaceuticals, and more
How Reflectance Meters Work
Reflectance meters bounce light off the surface of an item to compare color. The meters also measure a specular component, commonly known as gloss. Gloss is the light reflected from the surface at an angle equal to the incident angle of the illumination—the more light, the higher the gloss. Reflectance can be measured in spherical, 0/45 degree, multiple angles, tristimulus, and other geometries.
Meters now offer software with standard color scales that perform all calculations (CIELAB, HunterLab, CMC, LCh, CIE94, and more). USB ports are available to easily download GLP data sets to a computer.
What about Transmittance Meters?
Early on, beer drinkers would equate a difference in the color of the ale with a watered-down product. Color control became necessary to influence this perception. Colored glass standards became a visual comparison in quality control.
Now, transmittance meters are used instead. They measure color to standardize:
- Beverage color, cooking oils, and more
- The color of water
- Chemical finishes
- Petroleum product colors
In transmittance, the meters pass light through the sample and a controlled source to fall upon the detector. Colored glass is still used to standardize the instruments—so the core of the measurement remains similar to the original concept.
Transmittance meters now offer software with an extensive choice of standard color scales that perform all calculations (CIE, ASTM, AOCS, ICUMSA, Gardner, USP, and more). The meters can also create and store libraries. USB ports easily download GLP data sets to a computer. Many systems also offer heated chambers to better analyze waxes, honey, and higher viscosity materials.
Color Matters
For foods, graphics, paints, and any other product that relies on accurate color, this measurement is crucial. Off-colored water is not appetizing. Thinly-colored beer will cause sales to plummet. Logos shaded incorrectly influence brand identity. The golden arches would not quite have the same impact if they were slightly orange.
To maintain color consistency instrumentation is available—use color meters or spectrophotometers. These units can measure reflectance or transmittance and avoid subjective color comparisons due to human error.
View our selection of color meters, color & gloss meters, and spectrophotometers.
