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Industries that use raw beeswax need to test the wax for color consistency in order to produce quality products. Image Source: Shutterstock user P-fotography

Raw beeswax is a key ingredient in a wide range of popular products, from lipstick to candles. However, to create products from beeswax, manufacturers have to ensure that the wax is consistent in color and free of impurities. Any variation in color from one batch of beeswax to another could negatively impact the final color of the product.

The primary challenge manufacturers face when working with raw beeswax is that this material is naturally diverse in color; unless the manufacturer consistently sources its beeswax from the same bee farm and controls every aspect of the farm’s environment, the color of beeswax can range anywhere from pale yellow to deep orange in color. To achieve color consistency in their products, manufacturers must, therefore, have strict color quality control protocols in place when using raw beeswax as an ingredient. By testing wax using a spectrophotometer, you can significantly improve the consistency of your products and achieve reliable color results.

The Challenges of Testing Beeswax for Color Consistency

The primary reason beeswax is such a challenging ingredient to work with is that a number of environmental factors can impact the color of the wax.1 All beeswax is white when bees first create it. However, it doesn’t remain this color over time; as the bees gather nectar from neighboring flowers, pollen and propolis (resin from the bark of trees) get stuck to their legs and bodies. This material latches onto the white honeycomb, causing the honeycomb to turn yellow. The darker the pollen and propolis are in a region, the darker the resulting beeswax is.

This is why many manufacturers that use beeswax source their wax from the same farm or from the same general region of the world. The bees in the area are gathering nectar from the same types of flora, so the wax they produce appears roughly the same color. For example, Burt’s Bees sources all of its wax from four farms in East Africa, and as a result, the wax is mostly consistent from batch to batch.2 Additionally, most bee farms in Africa don’t use pesticides and have very little air pollution, both of which can alter the natural color of beeswax. This is why many manufacturers choose to work with African beeswax, as it is considered the purest in the industry.

However, even if you source your wax from the same high-quality farm, there’s no guarantee that your wax will be completely consistent in color. Factors like weather and available food sources on the farm could cause color variations even in wax produced by the same population of bees. For example, if flowers with dark-colored pollen aren’t yet blooming due to poor weather, the bees will produce wax that is much lighter than usual.

This is a problem for your products because it will make them appear inconsistent. In cosmetics products, in particular, customers expect to find the same color and texture every time; if a customer has a favorite red lipstick, any variation in this color will reduce customer satisfaction. Beeswax that’s too dark in color could make a red lipstick appear brown and muddy, and this will negatively impact the customer’s perception of the product.3 This is why, to ensure color consistency, you must test for variations in color between all of your raw beeswax shipments and filter out impurities in the raw wax until it adheres to color standards.

A spectrophotometer that has a large sample platform can measure a greater amount of solid beeswax compared to a spectrophotometer with a smaller platform. Image Source: Max Pixel

Protecting Brand Integrity Through Color Precision

Inconsistent ingredient color can cost manufacturers millions in rejected batches, regulatory setbacks, and lost consumer trust. For global ingredient leader Kemin Industries, ensuring color accuracy is not just an aesthetic concern—it's central to product quality and customer satisfaction. That’s why Kemin relies on HunterLab's advanced color spectrophotometers to protect the integrity of over 500 ingredient solutions across food, pet nutrition, and more.

Operating across more than 20 countries with 15 production facilities, Kemin faces the complex task of maintaining visual uniformity in highly diverse ingredient forms. From powders and granules to liquids and pellets, their customers expect one thing: consistency. And in today's competitive baking and snack markets, even slight color deviations can signal oxidation, processing errors, or shelf-life risks.

The Challenge: Detecting Oxidative Change Before It Affects Quality

Lipid-based oxidation is a persistent challenge in the baking and snack industries. As fats and oils degrade, they visibly darken ingredient color—even before other sensory qualities change. These early shifts can result in customer dissatisfaction or failed quality checks.

For Kemin, early detection of these subtle changes is essential to delivering on their promise of quality. They needed a solution that was:

• Sensitive enough to catch imperceptible color shifts
• Scalable across facilities and ingredient types
• Easy to operate with minimal variability between users

Earth is made up of nearly 71% water, so it is no wonder that scientists have spent a considerable amount of time analyzing this important resource. The analysis of our water system often requires the use of color density measurement to determine exactly what particles make up water supplies. From the massive percentage of water in our oceans, to the more limited fresh water resources we have, color density measurements can be used to effectively analyze the safety and sustainability of the most abundant part of our ecosystem.

Water is one of the most important resources we have here on Earth. Scientists rely on effective research and analysis to provide important data needed for sustainability of our waterways. Image Source: Flickr user Moyan Brenn

Using spectrophotometry for the analysis of biomolecules

The secret to maintaining healthy waterways depends on more than just clean water. Natural water systems are made up of millions of micro-particles that create either stable or unstable conditions. Maintaining healthy conditions depends largely on algae content levels. Algae can tell us a lot about water quality and is often used to alert environmental chemist to potential hazards that may threaten our water systems. In waste water, analysis of algae is often used to indicate the chemical compounds that are present and measure toxicity levels. The color density of the water sample indicates the amounts of algae present, which are directly influenced by the other chemical compounds present in the sample.

Measuring algae in water samples requires the use of color density measurement and analysis to determine chlorophyll content levels. These measurements originally required the use of microscopic technology and the tedious process of counting out the tiny biomolecule particles in order to quantify the saturation of chlorophyll in water samples.

There are numerous methods for analyzing algae content in water samples, but spectrophotometric determination of chlorophyll through light absorption reading and color density measures provided the most effect method of analysis. Image Source: Flickr user Steve Jurvetson

Selecting the right spectrophotometer requires understanding the optical geometries available in to ensure the instrument is compatible with your needs. Image Source: Unsplash user Sean Brown

Spectrophotometers have changed the way color is evaluated and are an integral part of product research, development, and manufacturing across industries and around the world. The advanced spectral analysis made possible by these instruments allows for unprecedented color quality control while simultaneously increasing efficiency and offering significant opportunities for cost-saving. However, the specific type of spectrophotometer you select can have a great impact on your color measurement abilities and results.1 Choosing the correct instrument for your purposes requires an understanding of optical geometries and how they affect your ability to obtain the data you need.

A 45/0 spectrophotometer automatically accounts for geometric attributes like gloss to measure color appearance. Image Source: Flickr user Nick Pateman

At my new quality assurance job, one of our product quality checks is to measure the color of our product and to ensure that we are producing our product that is within a preset acceptable color range. We use an instrument, a spectrophotometer, that reports Hunter L, a, b; XYZ, and L*a*b scales. I’ve always thought that color was measured in terms of RGB, like the way computer monitors and TV screens describe color. I’ve even created custom colors for fonts on my computer by manually adjusting the RGB quantities. Can someone explain why we would measure color using Hunter L, a, b; XYZ, and L*a*b instead of RGB?

It depends on what you want. Do you want White, Yellowish White, or Bluish White?

In simple terms, the primary difference between CIE Tristimulus Scales (Hunter L, a, b; XYZ, and L*a*b scales) and RGB is their purpose within the color world. RGB is a device dependent method of producing color and is not exact enough to be used to describe a color for quality control purposes. CIE XYZ color scales represents the true color of an object, while RGB describes a flat solid color representation of the average color of an object is displayed on a screen. One is used to provide color directionality (RGB), the other is used to precisely quantify a color (Tristimulus values). let’s illustrate…

Let’s take a drive to the Lincoln Memorial

Let’s pretend the Lincoln Memorial is not a physical object but rather a specific color, let’s say white, since in fact it is made of a very specific white concrete. To get there, should I use RGB or Tristimulus values? This will depend on how close to the Lincoln Memorial, or its specific color of ‘white’ you want to get. Using RGB to measure the color white and expecting analytical precision would be like trying to get to the Lincoln Memorial without the exact address and a GPS/map to guide you. While you may know that the Lincoln Memorial is located in Washington D.C., getting to the specific address would be a challenge.

RGB is very much like this in that you might know the general area of red, blue, green, or in this case ‘white,’ but getting to a precise color takes more than a general direction. Much like GPS, which uses three-dimensional physical coordinates that can guide you to within three feet of the desired address, CIE Tristimulus scales provide three-dimensional color coordinates to give you the exact address of a specific color with extreme precision. While RGB might drop you off on the Mall without any further direction, tristimulus coordinates will direct you precisely to a specific color with decimal precision, much like GPS will guide you to the Lincoln Memorial within three feet.

“Amber beer” is a catchall term that refers to any medium-opacity beer, ranging from bright red to caramel brown in color. Image Credit: Unsplash user Julia Nastogadka

I used to believe that all amber beer looked about the same: a bold, almost cranberry-colored brew with a hint of frothy, cloudy opacity. Everything changed for me when I went to my first amber beer tasting. I saw a long tasting table lined from end-to-end in every amber style imaginable, from the bright red ale that I was used to seeing, to the deep caramelized browns of American amber ale. It was clear that the brewers were proud of their glasses — each ale had an unmistakable color unlike any other sitting next to it. When I looked closely at each glass, side-by-side, I could see the subtle differences between them. I saw flecks of gold in one light red beer, whereas its neighbor had deeper, almost rose-like color qualities.

These subtle differences in color and opacity make your brew absolutely unique. That’s why it’s important to measure your amber beer’s opacity and color consistency throughout the brewing process. When it comes to red or amber ale, your color is your signature, and it will keep your customers coming back year after year.

Brewers often find it difficult to measure their amber beer’s color by eye, since this beer style has a wide range of possible color variations. Image Credit: Pixabay CC user PeterKraayvanger

To help photographers and videographers realize their vision, lens filters must be consistent in color and free from contaminants. Image Source: Shutterstock user Layue

Colored lens filters are essential tools for photographers and videographers. These accessories improve the quality of their images and help them achieve the aesthetic they are seeking to create, expanding both technical and creative boundaries. However, this can only happen when the color of the lens is consistent and the product is free of contaminants such as dust or other types of flaws in the glass. If the lens is too hazy or the color is too light or dark, it could compromise the quality of the final image. To prevent this, manufacturers of colored lenses must rigorously test their products for color consistency and clarity throughout the production process. When you perform color quality control tests throughout your manufacturing process, you’ll ensure the integrity of your products, refine your production processes, and help your customers realize their artistic visions.

The Importance of Color Consistency and Clarity in Lens Filters

Different lens filters have very specific uses in photography and videography and are sought out to create unique effects that are not possible with conventional lenses. But if the filter is off in color by even a few subtle shades, it could significantly impact the image’s appearance. This is why color consistency is critical for lens filter manufacturers to achieve.

For example, UV filters for cameras are typically clear, but filters that contain a heavier coating of UV filtration will start to look amber in color.1 In fact, if you want your product to filter out as much UV light as possible, your filter should appear fairly dark. If your filter appears almost colorless, however, it may be a sign that you haven’t coated the filter properly and the level of UV protection may be diminished. This can significantly impact the functionality of the filter and create unwanted—and unappealing—color shifts. For example, on a sunny day when the camera is exposed to a great deal of UV light, a blue haze may appear in the final image if UV light is not properly filtered out. Similarly, skylight filters are typically pink in color because they counterbalance the blue bias that film stock typically has. However, this requires a delicate balance; if your filters are too pink, they will make all of the blue tones in the image disappear, whereas if the filters aren’t pink enough, they won’t effectively counterbalance the blue tones in the film. This is why it’s important to get the color just right on your lens filters.

Unfortunately, achieving the right lens color can be difficult, as you must dye the lacquer the same color from batch to batch and you also apply this lacquer in a consistent layer to create the colored film. If you fail to dye the lacquer properly or you apply the lacquer in uneven layers, it could cause the color of the lens filter to appear inconsistent. Additionally, haze and contaminants in the glass can impact the appearance and functionality of the product. For instance, if you use thick glass, you’re much more likely to have air bubbles or other flaws in the product that will show up on film. If you use colored polarizing filters (made from plastic) that you place between two layers of glass, contaminants may come between the glass and the colored film, resulting in a permanent flaw. Other factors like improper formulation and even the oils from your hands can make the lens filter appear hazy. This cloudiness, regardless of the source, will have an effect on the final image; the unwanted particles in the lens will scatter the light when it hits the lens’ front element, and this could cause a stray lighting effect or result in a blurry image.2

To ensure that your lens is manufactured correctly, you should test your materials for color and clarity throughout the manufacturing process. Using a spectrophotometer, you can ensure that the color of your lenses is consistent from one batch to the next and that your glass is free of any potential contaminants.