Color coding

 

Most industry standards, color management, and quality control solutions commonly use CIE Lab color space. 
CIE LCH describes the same space using polar coordinates (radius and angle) — which is much more intuitive for humans. 
 

 

Simplified LCHab notation to code samples is the most straightforward system ever!

 

CH.L

L → Lightness — integer of the L (Lab or LCHab) 

H → Hue bin — one of 36 10°-wide segments of the color wheel.

C → Chroma N, 0-9 (tens of the C value)

 

 

LCHab  →  CH.L

 

The following diagram helps understand colorimetrical coordinates conversion (one-way) to ChromaSpot code.

 

1. Chroma (C)

determines sample saturation that translates Chroma value based on the simple remember principleNeutrals (shades that seem very neutral) and Grays that can have visible color shade are "isolated" from all other samples where one digit almost directly corresponds to the Chroma's decimals. 

2. Hue angle (H°)

is a range of hue angle values where the color wheel is split into six sectors with three subsectors. Such a rule makes a single subsector 10° wide. 

3. Lightness (L)

Lightness is exactly the integer of L from LCHab (or Lab). The third parameter starts from the dot. 

 

The theoretical range is 0–100. However, ChromaSpot Library is based on physical color samples that are manufactured (mostly printed) and then measured in reflectance mode using a spectrophotometer.

 

Naming Samples

 

Neutrals — grays where C < 0.5

Neutrals have very short code that consists of the letter N and an integer value of "L" only.

 

Example:

N.36
It is a Neutral gray (C<0.5) where the L value is rounded to 36.

  

Color samples (when C > 0.5)

 

Example:

1Y1.78 

Where:
1 — specifies Chroma as a range 0.5–10 - pale color
Y1 —  hue in bin 60°–70°
78  — Lightness rounded to 78

 

The plain English names

The plain English names are assigned to the selected samples for more accessible color communication.
Any color can have a plain English name that exists together with Code.

 

Example:

8R4.52 Signal Red 

This is 8R4.52 with a unique in-the-system "Signal Red" name.

 

The plain English name is limited to 20 characters and should use a common vocabulary, disregarding any trademarks or patented or infringing names. Naming is open to the users - proposed names require approval from the committee. 

 

Support for various Languages. 

Color names are related to language and culture. Seeing the value in differences, the ChromaSpot project allows different names to be used for other regions. The same color samples will always have the same codes. However, you can indicate the region and use natural language names that facilitate communication interchangeably or in addition to the codes. For the system to be unambiguous, names must be unique between languages. Then, even without specifying it clearly, the color will be recognized. It is planned to create a version in different languages: Spanish, German, Italian, and Polish. More can be added when users organize local committees that can handle naming.