Assessment of the results of different color difference formulae under different illuminants by wash fastness tests

Abstract

This paper focused on the assessment of the results of two color systems (CIELAB and Hunter) and five color difference equations (CIELAB 1976, Hunter, CIE94, CMC and CIEDE2000) under different illuminants (D65, A, F11 and F2) on disperse dyed nylon fabrics after wash fastness tests. Nylon fabric samples were dyed with four disperse dyes of different hues (red, blue, yellow and black) and later they were subjected to multiple wash fastness tests in order to obtain a controlled color loss. The changes in the color coordinates of the original and washed samples were evaluated by the color difference equations' under different illuminants. The results showed that yellow-blue color coordinates computed according to CIELAB and Hunter systems differed from each other at a great extent and color difference equations performed different from each other in the different hue zones of the CIELAB color space in accordance with the illuminants under which the computations were made. The highest color difference results were obtained according to CIELAB and the lowest color difference results were obtained according to CIEDE2000. Red and black hues had the highest, and blue and yellow hues had the lowest color difference results according to all formulae and illuminants.