Color Analysis (Minolta) Test

Method description

The Minolta Colorimeter is a reflectance spectrophotometer that calculates color appearance parameters from the reflectance spectrum. The instrument reports color appearance in the *L,a*,b* color scale. L* is the luminosity function, indicating how dark/light the sample is on a scale of 0 to 100. The a* scale reports intensity of red (+a*) or green (-a) color components. The b scale reports the intensity of the yellow (+b*) or blue (-b*) color components.

Acceptable matrices

Most solid and liquid food and non-food materials can be tested.

Unacceptable matrices

Materials that are hazardous when exposed to open environment.

Equipment

Minolta Model CR-410 Colorimeter

Method reference

N/A

Reportable unit

Tristimulus L*,a*,b* color scale

Sample size requirements

50 cc by volume

Information required by submitter

Any special handling requirements should be submitted with the samples.

Additional information

This method and the Hunter Colorimeter method are similar and report using the same scales. However, the optics of the instruments differ, resulting in slightly different interpretations of the reflectance spectra. The result is that the two instruments will provide slightly different color values on the same sample. This may be important if data is compared to previous results generated by other laboratories.