Corporate
Shopping
Have you ever compared two garments in a
store and decided to buy because they matched
But when you left the store and went into daylight
they no longer matched and looked quite different
Corporate
Metamerism
Same colors under
department store
illumination
Different color under
daylight
If so, then you have seen an optical phenomenon called metamerism.
Metamerism occurs when you see two samples match under one light
source (illuminant) and not match under another
Corporate
Metamerism
Definition:
If a pair of samples (standard color swatch vs dyed one)
looks identical under a particular illuminant (e.g.D65,A,TL
84, CWF), but different under another light source, the
samples are described as metameric.
This is caused by the different spectral reflectance
properties of the two samples.
Corporate
Reflectance curves of metameric colors
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
400 450 500 550 600 650 700
Wavelength [nm]
Refl
ecta
nce f
acto
r b
eta
Brand standard
dyed sample
The spectral reflectance distribution
of the two samples differ slightly and
the curves cross in at least two
regions.
By illuminating them with different
light sources, the visual differences
between the two samples can be
witnessed and even exaggerated
Corporate
AVITERA SE / NOVACRON FN, Yellow area
1 2
3
1 Yellow SE
2 Yellow FN-2R
3 Yellow F-4G
From D65 to TL84
From D65 to A
Yellow SE and Yellow FN-2R do behave the same way under TL84
and A illuminant.
Yellow F-4G is different and is used to correct metamerism
Corporate
1 Red SE
2 Red FN-R-01
3 Red FN-2BL
From D65 to TL84
From D65 to A
AVITERA SE / NOVACRON FN, Red area
1
2
3
Red SE and Red FN-R-01 do behave the same way under TL84 and A
illuminant.
Red FN-2BL is somewhat different under A illuminant
Corporate
1 Orange SE
2 Cardinal SE
3 Orange FN-R
4 Scarlet FN-6G
5 Brill. Red FN-3GL
From D65 to TL84
From D65 to A
AVITERA SE / NOVACRON FN, Orange, Brill Red area
1
2
4
3
5
Orange SE and Orange FN-R do behave the same way under TL84, but Orange
SE turns to the opposite direction compared to Orange FN-R under A
illuminant which could be an advantage in terms of metamerism.
Cardinal SE and Brill Red FN-3GL have a very similar behavior
Corporate
1 Light Blue SE
2 Blue SE
3 Blue FN-R
4 Brill Blue FN-G
From D65 to TL84
From D65 to A
AVITERA SE / NOVACRON FN, Blue area
1
2
4
3
Light Blue SE, Blue SE, and Blue FN-R do also behave the same way.
Brill. Blue FN-G is clearly different and this is also the reason why this
dyestuff is well known to correct metamerism issues
Corporate
1 Deep Blue SE
2 Navy SE
3 Navy FN-BN
From D65 to TL84
From D65 to A
AVITERA SE / NOVACRON FN, Navy area
1 2
3
Deep Blue SE and Navy FN-BN have the same behavior, Deep Blue SE has
a stronger impact under A illuminant to the green side
Navy SE turns to the opposite direction under TL84 which could be an
advantage in terms of metamerism.
Corporate
Conclusion
AVITERA SE dyes behave very similar under different light sources
compared to our NOVACRON FN and classical trichromatic dyes from
competition, thus we should get more or less the same results
Exceptions are Yellow F-4G and Brill. Blue FN-G which are well known to
correct meatmeric issues.
The ideal, often most robust and fast- trichromy used in dye mills do not
always allow a non- metameric shade compared to such standards, simply
because the initial color choice of a designer is not based on a textile dyers
logic.
Corporate
Designers chose their shades from different supports such as paper, foils or plastic colored with completely different dyes/pigments which have nothing to do with the dyes used in the textile industry
Examples :
From a PANTONE color selector, in which case the color has been obtained by
printing on paper, with a trichromy of:
=> greenish yellow („Lemon“)
=> pinkish red („Magenta“)
=> turquoise („ Cyan“)
This is much different from a typical textile trichromy , usually based upon:
=> golden yellow
=> bluish red
=> reddish or neutral blue or navy
Source of metamerism problems between Brand standard sample and actual dye house dyeing
Corporate
Brand standards made up on a different fabric such as PES, PA or
PAN dyed with completely different dye classes
For cotton color standards production often exotic mixes are used for
dyeing and shading ( turquoise, lemon, bright reds and scarlets ) which
makes it almost impossible to achieve the required metamerism level
with a classical trichromy
Source of metamerism problems between Brand standard sample and actual dye house dyeing