Understanding Colour
Colour does not exist: true or false?
Arguably true. Colour is a sensation, like taste, and so exists only in our brains. We may believe that we all see exactly the same colours - but we can't prove it.
The colour of an object depends on the light that illuminates it, though most colours are determined by their appearance in daylight. For example, a car that is bright red in daylight may appear brown under sodium street lighting – yet it’s still ‘officially’ a red car.
Our perception of colour can also be affected by secondary factors such as background colour, sample size, and our age, mood and health - even our medication. And it can be altered profoundly by defective colour vision, which affects eight per cent of males and 0.4 per cent of females.
Colour and quality
Colour perception therefore varies from person to person, and it is estimated that we can each discriminate among an astonishing 7-10 million colours - which explains why it can be so difficult to get two or more people to agree that a particular shade is 'right' or 'wrong'.
What does this mean for industries in which colour is important? It means that they either accept shade variations, or strive to remove as many of them as possible. And the consumer verdict is universal - we prefer our colours to be consistent, accurate, and reliable.
The outcome: precise colour rendition has become a key measure of product quality.
The need for technology
The only way to achieve high levels of colour consistency is to use technology - first to help us make our own visual assessments, but increasingly to automate the process so that it is faster, more accurate and less prone to human error or disagreement.
And that brings colour-based industries to VeriVide - a company whose technology and products make it possible for industries worldwide to meet the colour and quality standards that we all now take for granted.
