Effect of the diameter and colour of colorimeter aperture reducing templates on colour coordinate measurements

Abstract

The colour coordinate values measured with the colorimeters presently on the market are the mean of the readings obtained for the surface area covered by the light projection tube. When the colour of the surface measured is not uniform, such as in the case of stone, the larger the tube aperture the more representative is the colour measurement, for a larger area is involved. While this is often an advantage, when the area studied is smaller than the aperture of the colorimeter used, the values obtained include unwanted information. One possible way to deal with this drawback is by using templates to reduce the measurement area. Templates adapted to a Minolta CR-210 colorimeter were tested in the present study. The conclusion drawn was that in addition to being convenient to use, they ensured that the readings matched the original colour of the surface, i.e., the value that would have been obtained without the templates.

Keywords

• colorimetry
• templates
• colorimetric coordinates
• adapters