European practices and philosophy in industrial colour‐difference evaluation

A survey has been made of the use and methods of Instrumental colour difference measurement in quality control of colour within Europe. Several colour differnce formulae are in use. The performances of the most used formulae, namely CIELAB, CMC, BFD, M&S, and Datacolor, are compared. The degree of implementation of colour difference measurement in the textile, leather, automobile, and coatings industries is summarised. The use of new computer graphics to ensure continuity of colour from batch to batch and the alternative methods of colour sorting to minimise colour differences between batches are described.