Handheld
Color Measurement
Instruments
1.) A handheld color measurement instrument is only as good as its last calibration/certification.
- These instruments need to be calibrated regularly. A Spectrophotometer should be calibrated at least once a day to its White reference tile.
- Most manufacturers recommend having your unit re-certified to factory settings once a year or every other year.
2.) Densitometers and Spectrophotometers read color differently.
- Actually, Densitometers do not read color at all! They read the absence of reflected light back to the densitometer unit. That’s why you can read a Magenta and get a density of 1.25 and also read a Cyan and get a density of 1.25
- Spectrophotometers read the actual wavelengths of light in nanometers. These measurements are known as Spectral Information or Spectral Data. From Spectral Data you can calculate every metric commonly used, such as CEILAB, Density, Dot Area, Delta E, etc…
3.) Set up your instruments to industry recommended settings such as FIRST 5.0:
- Density – Status T
- Density Absolute (including substrate)
- Dot Area
- Illuminate/Observer D50-2
- Delta E (∆E) formula - dE 2000
4.) Take all measurements using a common backing material.
- Usually White L* > 92, C* < 3
5.) Keep your instrument clean.
- Handheld color measurement instruments are expensive and have many areas where dust and dirt can compromise the measurements
- Find a clean common place to store the instrument and its calibration plaque