Metamerism happens when the two objects with the same color appear identical under one light source but different under another light source. For example, the shirt and pant which appear to have similar shade of black under the retail store lighting looks dark blue and greyish black respectively under sunlight. This phenomenon is mainly caused by the variations in pigments and color formulation.

Because of metamerism, achieving accurate and consistent color in products is a challenge for manufacturers, especially for those whose products are assembled using various parts from different suppliers where each of them has their own color formulation. Any mismatch in colors will not only generate unnecessary rectification cost, it will also affect customers’ acceptance. To reduce or prevent these issues, it is important to evaluate the color of the objects to identify metamerism.

Instrument such as spectrophotometer that is equipped with spectral power distributions of a variety of illuminants would be needed to identify metamerism. A spectrophotometer also has the capability to display spectral reflectance curves which enable user to see exactly how the colors of the two objects are different. Objects are considered metameric when their spectral curves intersect each other at least three times.

Konica Minolta Sensing offers a wide range of spectrophotometers, both portable and benchtop to cater different needs and requirements. And using it with a color quality control software, SpectraMagic NX, user will be able to view the metamerism index (MI). The MI is a numerical indication whether objects are metameric.