Measuring the Geometric Attributes of Your Products

Consumers have a choice and, when all other factors are equal, they buy what looks best.

All industries are concerned with the appearance of their products. The overall appearance of any object is a combination of its chromatic or color attributes and its geometric attributes (such as gloss or haze). When buyers evaluate a potential purchase, they look at appearance and expect uniformity within any grouping of the same product. If a difference is noted among several items of the same product on display, this difference is associated with poor quality. The visual or instrumental assessment of appearance is a critical step in product manufacturing and release. This application note considers the geometric attributes of samples.

Geometric attributes are associated with the scattering of light off the surface of an opaque object, or within a transparent object. For instance, a flat cotton weave fabric is very different geometrically from a corduroy. A glossy photo print looks quite different than a matte one. There are many geometric attributes and this application note considers the following:

• Gloss, the property of a surface responsible for shiny or lustrous appearance.
• Haze, the scattering of light within the surface of a transparent sample that is responsible for a cloudy appearance.
• Opalescence, the scattering of light in two colors (dichroism)

How does it all work? Let’s start here.

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