Optimization of the method for color measurement and color-difference calculation of holographic prints with light pillars

To determine the methods of color measurement and color-difference calculation for holographic prints with light pillars, 94 pairs of holographic prints constituted by 17 different products were collected. A set of color-difference comparison experiments was organized by 64 observers with normal color vision, and a total of 86 groups of visual judgments were gathered. The CIELAB and CIEDE2000 color-difference values were calculated on the basis of the analysis of the microstructures of gratings distributed on the holographic paper. The performances of the original formulas were evaluated in terms of the standardized residual sum of squares index, and then they were optimized considering the power function effects (a, b factors) together with a contribution from lightness (k_L factor). Meanwhile, the color-difference threshold of the holographic prints was estimated with a goal to minimize the number of wrong decision in the visual experiment; therefore, the values were set as 2.50 and 2.00 for the original CIELAB and CIEDE2000 with the consistency of 91.5% and 98.9%, respectively. The results can also provide guidance to evaluate the color quality of the holographic prints with light pillars in the packaging and printing industries.

Evaluation of threshold color differences using printed samples

The performances of uniform color spaces and color-difference formulae for predicting threshold color differences were investigated based on visual assessments of 893 pairs of printed color patches under a D65 source. The average ΔE(ab,10)* of the pairs was 1.1 units. A threshold psychophysical experiment was repeated three times by a panel of 16 observers with normal color vision. The experimental data were used to evaluate nine color-difference formulae and uniform color spaces using the standardized residual sum of squares (STRESS) measure. The results indicated that all formulae and spaces performed very similarly to each other, and outperformed CIELAB for threshold color differences. The chromaticity-discrimination ellipses were used to compare with previous results from small color differences [Color Res. Appl. (2011), doi:10.1002/col.20689], and they agreed with each other, except for the purple color center.