Spectrophotometers are a commonly used tool and valuable technology for color measurement. Companies that purchase color measurement equipment can measure the tristimulus values of their sample on the CIE color model.
What Are Tristimulus Values?
The Commission Internationale de l'éclairage (CIE) color model is a color space model that accurately represents every color perceivable to the human eye. The CIE color model plots tristimulus values on a 3D space, which creates a unique color when combined.
Tristimulus values are the CIE reference stimuli in a trichromatic system that mimics human color perception. They are essential for color language because these measurements communicate precise color values without human subjectivity.
This system instrumentally determines the amount of red, green, and blue stimuli under standardized conditions to mimic how the human eye sees. The three values can be expressed as X, Y, and Z coordinates on a graph. The Y value represents the sample's luminance, and together, they represent the sample's color.
With the CIE color model, colors can be accurately expressed, communicated, and reproduced.
