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Evaluating Seasonal Effects on Color Perception and the Implications for Color Measurement

Posted on Feb 04, 2026 by HunterLab

A change in season can affect how we perceive colors due to varying cone sensitivity and activation in response to ambient colors. Image Source: Unsplash user Lukasz Szmigiel

By now, the subjective nature of color perception is well-known. Biological, cultural, and contextual factors combine to produces variation in our assessments, experiences, and descriptions of chromatic information. Research shows that even fleeting mood variations can impact our ability to distinguish between particular colors.1 However, there is one color whose perception has been considered remarkably stable across viewers and cultures: yellow. While humans can see red, yellow, green, and blue as discrete colors free from other hues, the specific wavelengths at which people identify unique red, green, and blue vary. The wavelength of unique yellow, however, remains particularly constant across populations. A recent attempt to better understand this phenomenon revealed a new and unexpected source of perceptive variation.

Yellow appears to have unique optical qualities that make perception unusually stable across populations. Image Source: Unsplash user Eric Saunders

Colorimeter vs. Spectrophotometer: What's the Difference?

Posted on Feb 04, 2026 by HunterLab

Modern color measurement technologies go beyond the subjective human gaze and allow us to objectively quantify a rainbow of colors. Image Source: Unsplash user Denise Chan

Color surrounds us every moment of our lives and affects our emotions, behaviors, and beliefs in large and small, conscious and unconscious ways. Color can set a mood, warn us of danger, give us critical information, and even bring us joy. Despite the universal presence of color, describing it remains elusive, in part due to variations in color perception from person to person and in part due to a lack of descriptors for each of the millions of shades seen by the human eye.

Instrumental color measurement moves beyond the limits of human perception and vocabulary and allows us to capture color information as objective data, creating a common language of color that is essential for communication within and between industries around the world. The two most advanced color measurement instrument types are colorimeters and spectrophotometers, both of which use sophisticated technologies to accurately and precisely quantify and define color.

While closely related, these instruments have unique qualities that may make one more suitable than the other for a particular type of measurement.1 Understanding the characteristics of a colorimeter vs. spectrophotometer can help you select the best tool for your application.

Colorimeters are ideally suited for evaluating final color results and identifying unwanted color variations. Image Source: Pexels user Karolina Grabowska

What Is a Colorimeter?

A colorimeter is designed to perform a type of psychophysical sample analysis by mimicking human eye-brain perception, which means its measurements correlate to human perception.. In other words, it is designed to see color the way we do.

Its results are direct and read as tristimulus values. A tristimulus value is one that identifies a color with characters that represent different dimensions of its visual appearance. A tristimulus value may contain values like X, Y and Z or L, a and b. The “gold standard” for tristimulus colors is the CIE Color System, developed by the International Commission on Illumination — the CIE in the title stands for the French version of their name.

There are a few unique components involved in a colorimeter.

Illuminant: The illuminant represents a specific light source, such as daylight or incandescent light, to project consistent brightness onto the object. In a colorimeter, an illuminant is fixed.
Observer: The standard observer offers a specific field of view with which to analyze the colors. A colorimeter usually uses a 2-Degree Standard Observer, which is suitable for color evaluation and quality control.
Tristimulus absorption filter: The absorption filter isolates specific wavelengths to be applied to the sample.

Color Measurement Solutions for Dark Roast Coffee Enhance Flavor

Posted on Feb 04, 2026 by HunterLab

Color measurement solutions like spectrophotometers help you spot the difference between a dark bean and a burnt one. Image Source: MaxPixel user Nikon D7100

Although lighter roasts have a greater number of flavors than dark roasts, the reality is that many customers still prefer dark roast coffee. In fact, an estimated 42 percent of consumers drink dark roast coffee each day, compared to just 15 percent of consumers who drink light roast coffee.1 This is why many coffee manufacturers choose to make both styles of beans in an effort to cover the full spectrum of the market.

However, just because these dark roast drinkers prefer a bolder coffee doesn’t mean that they want their coffee to taste burnt. To cater to the large population of dark coffee drinkers in the United States and perfect your roasts, you need to have a system of color measurement solutions designed specifically for coffee beans. After all, just a few minutes too long on the roaster could mean the difference between a bold, dark bean and a burnt one.

Some beans are so dark in color that it’s difficult to tell whether they’ve been roasted for too long. Image Source: Wikimedia user Dan Bollinger

Color Matching Challenges in Textiles: Detecting Illuminant Metamerism

Posted on Feb 04, 2026 by HunterLab

Accurate color matching is essential to creating high-quality products in the textile industry. Image Source: Unsplash user Charisse Kenion

If you work in the textile industry, you understand the complexities inherent to creating the perfect hues. From raw materials to processing methods, the final appearance of your textiles depends on a plethora of variables that must be closely monitored in order to produce the colors you want. As such, color quality control is a core component of the product development and manufacturing process, helping you ensure that your products live up to your vision.

However, the textile industry faces unique challenges when it comes to implementing robust color quality control systems. One of the most significant challenges is identifying illuminant metamerism, which can be a serious barrier to color matching. Without the ability to control for this phenomenon, your ability to achieve your desired result is compromised, potentially leading to unnecessary waste and reduced efficiency. As such, investing in technologies that can alert you to illuminant metamerism is essential to producing just the right hues.

Changes in light source can drastically alter how we perceive color. Image Source: Unsplash user tu tu

Best Practices for Measuring the Color of Water

Posted on Feb 04, 2026 by HunterLab

High-quality water is essential for health and safety, but it can be challenging to determine its quality. Many of the particles in water are microscopic and should be removed for health compliance and hygiene reasons, such as nitrates and arsenic. Customers rightly equate water clarity with water quality, preferring clear, pure water.

Some people would rather have minerals in their water to prevent it from tasting flat, so you may have to add these in if they aren't already present. When you're measuring water color, striking that balance between turbidity and quality is critical.

Determine the Turbidity in Water

Turbidity is an umbrella term for a lack of transparency in water. When water appears unclear, tiny particles are present — these particles reflect light to your eye or elsewhere, reducing clarity. The less turbidity in water, the more light can penetrate it, giving it a clear appearance. It's important to note that some turbidity occurs naturally, and some minerals can be beneficial for taste. To maintain color consistency, you should measure the color of water throughout the production process.

Best Practices for Measuring the Color of Ground Coffee

Posted on Feb 04, 2026 by HunterLab

The color of finished roasted beans is an important metric in measuring the quality of your coffee. When you test for quality, using a spectrophotometer will give you accurate color measurements for your coffee roast. Additionally, following industry standards set by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCA) can help you obtain a quality cup of coffee.

Measure Ground Coffee Color With Proper Grinding

When it comes to roast profiling, accurately measuring the color of your ground coffee beans is critical. Grind them as fine as possible to know their actual color — improperly grounded beans cannot accurately reflect the color. An improper grinding process, in turn, can give you inconsistent results when measuring the color of coffee beans. Try to follow the same timeline and waiting times when using your coffee roaster for multiple batches to get uniform readings.

Best Practices for Measuring the Color of Citrus Juice

Posted on Feb 04, 2026 by HunterLab

Accurately measuring the color of citrus juice is a balancing act. You must meet the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) standards and produce appealing citrus juices that catch your customers' eyes. For the most accurate results, measure opaque liquids with reflectance spectrophotometers and translucent beverages with reflectance or transmission spectrophotometers.

Ensure the Color of Your Citrus Beverages Appeals to Consumers

Consumers measure the quality of your citrus juice by its color, and with good reason. Natural compounds in citrus fruits give them their unique colors. The carotenoids in orange juice give it its zesty, orange color, while lycopene adds a pink, reddish hue to grapefruit juice. The more of these compounds are in your juice, the brighter in color the product will be, which heightens quality perception.

Interested in a little light reading?

"Evaluating Seasonal Effects on Color Perception and the Implications for Color Measurement"

"Colorimeter vs. Spectrophotometer: What's the Difference?"

"Color Measurement Solutions for Dark Roast Coffee Enhance Flavor"

"Color Matching Challenges in Textiles: Detecting Illuminant Metamerism"

"Best Practices for Measuring the Color of Water"

"Best Practices for Measuring the Color of Ground Coffee"

"Best Practices for Measuring the Color of Citrus Juice"

Evaluating Seasonal Effects on Color Perception and the Implications for Color Measurement

Colorimeter vs. Spectrophotometer: What's the Difference?

What Is a Colorimeter?

Color Measurement Solutions for Dark Roast Coffee Enhance Flavor

Color Matching Challenges in Textiles: Detecting Illuminant Metamerism

Best Practices for Measuring the Color of Water

Determine the Turbidity in Water

Best Practices for Measuring the Color of Ground Coffee

Measure Ground Coffee Color With Proper Grinding

Best Practices for Measuring the Color of Citrus Juice

Ensure the Color of Your Citrus Beverages Appeals to Consumers