The effect of texture structure on instrumental and visual color difference evaluation

The influence of fabric sample surface texture on visual and instrumental color difference evaluation was investigated. A set of seven differently-textured samples was knitted using colored yarn in six different color centers. The color differences between the standard jersey sample and six other textured samples were evaluated by instrumental method and by visual assessment using the gray scale method. A strong inconsistency was found between the two methods with a mean PF/3 value of 35.8, which was significantly larger than the inter-observer errors in the visual assessment by student and professional panels. The CIEDE2000 formula was incapable of providing a good color difference prediction for the textured samples measured using a D/8 spectrophotometer in the specular excluded mode.