Lab 5.1 CIELAB Color Difference
Purpose: Learn how to calculate CIELAB color difference Using CIE L*a*b*C*H* Coordinates
Procedure:
Defined by the Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage (CIE), the L*a*b* color space was modeled after a color-opponent theory stating that two colors cannot be red and green at the same time or yellow and blue at the same time. As shown below, L* indicates lightness, a* is the red/green coordinate, and b* is the yellow/blue coordinate. Deltas for L* (ΔL*), a* (Δa*) and b* (Δb*) may be positive (+) or negative ( -). The total difference, Delta E (ΔE*), however, is always positive.
ΔL* (L* sample minus L* standard) = difference in lightness and darkness (+ = lighter, – = darker)
Δa* (a* sample minus a* standard) = difference in red and green (+ = redder, – = greener)
Δb* (b* sample minus b* standard) = difference in yellow and blue (+ = yellower, – = bluer)
ΔC* (C* sample minus C* standard) = difference in chroma (+ = Higher chroma, – = lower chroma)
There are four colors in the table below, one Standard and three batches.
Colors | L* | a* | b* |
Lab Standard | 71.2 | 12.8 | 32.8 |
Lab Sample 1 | 71.1 | 18.7 | 31.8 |
Lab Sample2 | 72.5 | 13.8 | 31.0 |
Lab Sample 3 | 68.5 | 13.3 | 15.5 |
Now calculate CIELAB color differences for these colors and include all highlighted lines (steps) if possible:
Lab Sample 1 vs. Standard A
Lab Sample2 vs. Standard A
Lab Sample3 vs. Standard A
Which batch has less color difference compare to Standard A?
Fill in the below table with all data.
Colors | L* | a* | b* | ∆L* | ∆a* | ∆b* | ∆C* | ∆H* | ∆E* | The description of the difference in L*, a*, and b* |
Lab Standard | 71.2 | 12.8 | 32.8 | |||||||
Lab Sample 1 | 71.1 | 18.7 | 31.8 | |||||||
Lab Sample 2 | 72.5 | 13.8 | 31 | |||||||
Lab Sample 3 | 68.5 | 13.3 | 15.5 |
Examples of calculation:
LAB 5.2: Compare your results of CIELAB and Calculate CMC and CIE2000 DE:
Step 1: visit the website:
http://www.brucelindbloom.com/index.html?Calc.html (Links to an external site.)
Step 2: Fill the table in below:
Colors | L* | a* | b* | CIELAB (1976) DE |
CMC (2:1) DE |
CIE2000 (1:1:1) DE |
Lab Reference | 71.2 | 12.8 | 32.8 | |||
Lab Sample 1 | 71.1 | 18.7 | 31.8 | |||
Lab Sample 2 | 72.5 | 13.8 | 31.0 | |||
Lab Sample 3 | 68.5 | 13.3 | 15.5 |