Spectrophotometer Setup for Liquids

Spectrophotometer Setup for Liquids

Colour is an essential factor for purchasing decisions and taste perception, so the colour of liquids like orange juice, sports drinks, apple cider and beer will significantly affect your customers’ opinion of your product and whether they would repurchase it.

Colour can be a difficult variable to control during production — natural ingredient colours can vary, causing slightly differing colours. Measuring the colour of your liquid with a spectrophotometer liquid setup will allow you to get accurate and reliable results to boost your quality control.

What Is Liquid Colour Measurement?

Liquid colour measurement is the evaluation of the colour properties of a liquid. Depending on the liquid, it will require different techniques to most accurately measure the colour. Here is how to measure the colour of a liquid depending on its quality:

• Opaque: Opaque liquids allow no light to pass through them. Directional 45/0° reflectance geometry is the best method for opaque liquids since it is similar to how the human eye interprets colour.

• Translucent: Translucent liquids allow diffused light to pass through. Use the transmittance measurement method if you can see slight details through the liquid at viewing distance. Use the reflectance measurement method if you cannot see slight details at viewing distance.
• Transparent: Transparent liquids allow light to pass through uninterrupted. The best geometry for transparent liquids is transmission instrumentation.

Liquid Spectrophotometers Setup for Measuring Liquids

You need a spectrophotometer to measure the colour of a liquid. The spectrophotometer measures the spectral reference curve, which is unique to every colour.

Choosing the right liquid spectrophotometer depends on the property of the liquid since opaque, translucent and transparent liquids each require different methods for colour measurement. For opaque liquids, a light is shone onto the sample, and the spectrophotometer records the measurement and type of light that the sample reflects. For transparent liquids, a light is shone through the sample, and the spectrophotometer records the amount and type of light that passes through.

The recommended spectrophotometer for most liquids is the benchtop sphere. This spectrophotometer has reflectance geometry for opaque liquids and transmission mode for transparent liquids.

Contact HunterLab Today

HunterLab has been an industry leader for more than 65 years, and we are ready to help your business get accurate colour analysis for liquids. For more information about liquid colour measurement, contact HunterLab today. You can also read our blog for more informative posts about colour analysis.