Color Measurement on Metalized Substrates

Types of instruments
There are two primary types of spectrophotometers used in the printing and packaging industries today: traditional 0°/45° (or 45°/0°) spectrophotometers, and spherical (or diffuse/8°) spectrophotometers. While a third type of instrument, called a multi-angle spectrophotometer (MA) is also available, an MA is better suited to larger scale, industrial production applications where it would be typically used for measuring metallic inks or paint. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on traditional 0°/45° or 45°/0° instruments (45° instruments) and spherical (or diffuse/8°) instruments.