PERCEPTION OF THE MONTH - March 2020

#PoM - The perception of color

The perception of the month Blog Posts are back to inform you about the newest developments, market solutions, interesting applications and fun facts about the hyperspectral community.

In our monthly blog we will try to explain the hyperspectral world to you. The blog appears each month around the 15 of the month.

Every month we will think about real life problems, innovative ideas and interesting experiments which we want to share and solve with our community. This blog is intended to enlighten, inform and surprise. Feedbacks and evaluations are welcome.

#PoM - The perception of color - industrial applications for New-York Fashion Weeks Spring Collection 2020

Recycling of textile materials and therefore analysis of visual color and color variation is an important exercise for industrial applications in numerous markets and industries. The global supply chains rely on accurate information about color and color variation to select appropriate suppliers and partners to advance their high-level standards to potential customers.

Due to the high amount of textile waste and its large environmental impact the need for hyperspectral imaging in the field of textile recycling increases. To bridge the gap between hyperspectral cameras and the textile waste industries Perception Park created the first True Color App for industrial applications. The TRUECOLOR App delivers perfect color control and gives you fast, dependable color answers throughout the production line.

Our TRUECOLOR App provides sRGB, CIE Lab and CIE XYZ color coordinates and therefore goes beyond the range of human vision and measures the color on a molecular level to guarantee the highest color quality.

The first truth of color is that without light there is no color.

There are 3 variables when it comes to color measurement.

Lighting Choices
Material
Observer

The TRUECOLOR App reduces the measurement inaccuracy through accurate observation. The choice of light and therefore the absorption and reflection at different wavelengths influence how the dyes or pigments on the fabric are perceived. There are a lot of potential light sources available for the judgment of the color of a textile product. The standardization of a light sources is commonly known for evaluating the color of textile materials and therefore nothing special in the field of color imaging.

Material can reflect, absorb and transmit light. If you for example see the color red in a textile, it is because as the white light illuminates it and the dyes absorb all wavelengths of light except those that produce the red color. This variable is also impossible to eliminate.

The last variable is the observer. Human color vision has been a primary topic of scientific study since the time of Sir Isaac Newton. The eye is a receiving sphere for light, which enters through the small opening in the front. How sensitive someone is to slight color differences varies from person to person and Perception Park can erase this third variable through our True Color App.

New-York Fashion Weeks Spring Collection 2020

The TRUECOLOR CAM App and New-York Fashion Weeks Spring Collection 2020

This month we want to prove that the True Color App can analyze the hue of the color.

Therefore, we decided to compare the color PANTONE 18-1662 Flame Scarlet from the Spring/Summer 2020 NYFW Color Palette with a random red T-Shirt and a Bikini Slip from H&M.

" According to Pantone Color Institute color experts, colors for Spring/Summer 2020 New York express our desire for a sense of the familiar. Friendly and relatable, a palette of colors that conveys a sense of ease. At the same time, in this era of personalized self- expression, this palette of recognized favorites uses the familiar to take some unique twists and turns highlighting elements of humor, modernity and entertainment.

“Combining our desire for stability, creativity, and more spontaneous design approaches, the color palette for Spring/Summer 2020 infuses heritage and tradition with a colorful youthful update that creates strong multi-colored combinations as well as energizing and optimistic pairings,” said Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute. "

Measurement Setup

Objects:

Red Bikini Slip purchased from H&M
Pantone 18-1662 TCX (Flame Scarlet) Swatch Card
Red Fruit of the Loom T-Shirt

Camera: Specim FX10e (spectral range 400 - 1000 nm)

Holder for measurement: Inno-Spec stepper table

Software: Perception TRUECOLOR CAM App

Used spectral range: for the color measurement the spectral range was limited to 400 - 750 nm

Conclusion

Data from True Color App
	L	a	b	R	G	B	X	Y	Z
String	51.31849	59.87965	2.819772	0.829992	0.270353	0.466517	32.55907	19.56304	19.70149
Pantone - Flame Scarlet	46.03102	54.44924	-4.35495	0.730075	0.24656	0.459473	25.28986	15.29644	18.50664
Random T-Shirt red	39.57731	44.2845	-11.841	0.592184	0.235158	0.441962	17.36103	11.00602	16.75137

In conclusion the complexities of color makes color perception difficult. The analysis of color depends on the light sources, the used material and the observer. To optimize the color measurement one should always try to control as many variables as possible.