OTD News NIST Calibration Service for Color A new reference instrument for measuring the surface color of materials with high accuracy has been developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Optical Technology Division. The Division now offers a calibration service for 0 degrees/45 degrees industrial color standards under Special Test number 38060S. Because color often plays a major role in the acceptability of a product, this service is designed to meet a demand for improved measurements and standards to enhance the color matching of products. The new calibration service is NIST's first for color measurement in many years, a response to needs articulated in recent reports of the Council for Optical Radiation Measurements. This new service complements ongoing services in reflectance, transmittance, and specular gloss. Customers are expected to send samples (typically colored tiles) to NIST for measurement, and then use these samples as standards to calibrate their own instruments. Contact: Dr. Maria Nadal A picture of the colorimeter. OTD Home Page   |   Site Comments Online: March 2003