In current colour research, the term ‘appearance’ refers to the perceived colour of an object or surface under different lighting conditions and in different environments. Appearance is about how colours are perceived visually by people and how they are influenced by the properties of light, surface texture and other environmental factors.
1. Colour perception under variable conditions
- Light source: The type of light source (e.g. daylight, light bulb, LED) strongly influences the perceived colour of an object. Different light sources have different spectral distributions, which can influence the colour rendering.
- Ambient conditions: The environment in which an object is located, such as the room background or neighbouring colours, can greatly change the appearance of the colour.
2. Metamerism
- Metamerism refers to the phenomenon where two objects can look the same under one light source but look different under another light source. This occurs when the spectral reflectance properties of the objects are similar but not identical.
3. Colour consistency
- Colour constancy describes the ability of the eye to perceive the colour of an object relatively consistently regardless of changes in lighting or the environment. This is an important mechanism that ensures that we can consistently identify objects under different lighting conditions.
4. Surface properties
- The nature of a surface, such as gloss, texture or translucency, also influences the appearance of the colour. Glossy surfaces can reflect light differently than matt surfaces, resulting in different visual impressions.
In colour research, ‘appearance’ therefore describes the complex interaction between light, surfaces and the visual system that determines the appearance of colours. It is a multidisciplinary field of research that includes both physical and psychological aspects of colour perception in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of the visual world.
And why does this field of research exist? A very classic example:
Customer question: Is the same colour on a proof different on a glossy, matt and satin glossy proof paper?
My answer:
Two answers:
1) No: For printing according to ISOCoatedV2, the specification states: ‘Glossy or matt coated image printing paper >80gr/sqm …’, so you can already see here that matt and glossy are synonymous. The geometry of colour measurement technology in the printing industry (45/0/2°) also eliminates any gloss effect in terms of measurement technology, so high-gloss and super matt are also identical in terms of measurement technology.
2) Yes: In terms of colour perception by the human eye, identical colours can certainly have different effects due to the different reflections of matt and glossy surfaces. And: If you take the gloss into account metrologically (for example with a ball-head measuring device (d8° instead of 45/0/2°), then the colour would of course be measured differently for matt and glossy. However, this is not how the printing industry currently measures colour.
More articles related to this topic:
New PANTONE Formula Guides with incorrect ink formulations
Several errors have crept into the new PANTONE 2023 fan decks. In both the PANTONE Solid Coated and the Solid Uncoated color fans, there are colours for which the new ink formulations are incorrect. In the PANTONE Formula Guide Solid Coated fan 2023, PANTONE 107 C and PANTONE 108 C have absolutely identical ink recipes, as well as PANTONE 113 C and PANTONE 114 C. As the colors differ, this cannot be the correct. Several errors in the PANTONE Solid Uncoated fan 2023 In the PANTONE Solid Uncoated fan 2023 … read more
PANTONE surveys users online about product and service direction
Today I received an email in which PANTONE asked how it should orientate its products and services in the future. The users were asked which countries, industries and company sizes they come from, but also what PANTONE products should look like in the future and what customers would be prepared to pay for PANTONE services in the future. Question: How much can PANTONE services cost? PANTONE appears to be orientating itself on the PANTONE Connect prices: All price queries have the lowest price category < $ 7,- / month, i.e. … read more
New certified proof papers at proof.de
In recent years, various problems have arisen with our previous proof paper supplier. On the one hand, we sometimes had to wait more than three months for paper deliveries; on the other hand, we sometimes had significant problems with batch-to-batch discrepancies, surface defects and much more. After lengthy deliberations, we decided in December to replace all the paper. We therefore received pallets of new paper at the turn of the year, which we are now gradually incorporating into our production. There will be no hard cut, but the new papers … read more
New edition of ISOCoatedV2 in M1 in sight?
Even almost 9 years after the introduction of the successor colour space PSOCoatedV3, ISOCoatedV2 / FOGRA39 is still the most widespread colour space in Europe. We at Proof GmbH count around 200 jobs from time to time for the German Printing and Media Industries Federation, among others. In the last count, proofs in ISOCoatedV2 accounted for around 68% of all proof jobs at our company. This is a clear sign of the continued widespread use of the colour space. ISOCoatedV2: From the classic colour space to the beacon of the … read more
Proofs with Digimarc EAN codes and verification
Digimarc is a digital watermark that can be used to embed information in images, videos or other media. Digimarc watermarks are invisible to the human eye, but remain recognisable to special software or devices. Digimarc is becoming increasingly popular in the packaging sector in particular, as this technology allows the digits of the EAN barcode and more to be applied invisibly to all areas of the packaging. Digimarc and EAN barcode at the supermarket checkout When scanning at the checkout, the checkout staff do not have to search for the … read more
New iPhone colour measuring devices: xade nano+ in test
A new generation of colour measuring devices is entering the market: in contrast to the classic measuring devices, which are available as a fully encapsulated system either as a colourimeter or as a spectrophotometer, and then supply the data to a computer via an interface or app or display it directly, the new generation of colour measuring devices consist only of lighting and software, with the optics of a modern iPhone from Apple being used as the sensor. Until now, there have been two categories of measuring devices on the … read more
Proof.de is featured twice in the “Fogra Aktuell” magazine
In the current issue of Fogra News “Fogra Aktuell” Proof GmbH is involved in two places. Firstly, a summary of the Fogra report on our first FOGRA55 certification for seven-colour printing with extended colour space in CMYKOGV appeared. You can also find more information on our FOGRA55 certification on the Fogra website: https://fogra.org/en/press-releases/fogracert-erste-cpc-zertifizierung-fuer-fogra55-cmykogv-330 and on proofing.de: And secondly, there was a report on the completion of the research project for textile digital printing, FOGRA58, in which we were allowed to investigate and test the proof capability of the new textile … read more
RGB colour spaces explained
RGB colour spaces are colour systems that represent different hues with the three primary colours red, green and blue. RGB colour spaces are used in digital image processing, photography and computer technology to precisely define colours. The most important RGB colour spaces and their special features are: sRGB sRGB is the most widely used RGB colour space and is used by most monitors, printers and digital cameras. It was developed by HP and Microsoft in the 1990s to create a standard for colour representation on the internet and on various … read more
Current Proof Standards 2025
Offset and Newsprint ISO Coated v2 (ECI) / ISO Coated v2 300% (ECI) Profile: ISOcoated_v2_eci.icc Standard for glossy and matte coated paper Paper: Types 1 and 2, gloss and matte coated Tone value increase curves A (CMY) and B (K) as defined in ISO 12647-2:2004 Characterisation Data: FOGRA39L ISOUncoated Profile: ISOUncoated.icc Standard for uncoated white natural paper Paper: paper grade 4, uncoated white offset, dot gain curves C (CMY) and D (K) from ISO 12647-2: 2004 Characterisation Data: FOGRA29L PSOCoatedV3 / Fogra 51 Profile: PSOcoated_v3.icc The successor of ISOCoatedV2 for glossy … read more
Proof GmbH 2021 Certified Again by Fogra with Fogra “Spot cert”
In 2021 proof.de was again Fogra certified including Fogra “Spot cert” certification, i.e. for the display of spot colours such as PANTONE C and U.