FAQ: “Do you offer a Munsell HVC color conversion in your EasyMatch QC software?”
The Munsell HVC or Hue Value Chroma color scale is a visual reporting scale based on paint and plastic chips not as precise as colorimetric scales such as L*, a*, b*. The HVC values are the designation of the nearest Munsell Color chip that matches a sample color.
Think of color communication as being at 3 levels:
- Word descriptors – “What is Salmon Pink?” Words often mean different colors to different people and it is both a subjective and imprecise means to communicate color.
- Visual Color Standards – These usually feature color chips of some type like Munsell, Pantone, Natural Color Systems, RAL, Fed Std 595c.The best ones cover most of color space and are arranged in a systematic manner. These visual color standards do provide a physical representation (paint or plastic chip) of the color. The chip chosen is closest to the target color but there may be a visual difference such as when surface characteristics differ. Although still subjective, these visual color standards are better than words as a color reference.
- Colorimetric Measurements – Measure the actual product in a precise and objective manner using colorimetric instruments and color scales.
FAQ: “Is there an easy way to report Munsell HVC values for my product colors?”
HunterLab does not offer a Munsell HVC Color conversion in our software, but there are other options.
Wallkill Color offers two cost effective options for reporting Munsell Color:
- Free Excel file of 2352 Munsell colors with corresponding color values that you can search to find the nearest Munsell color and report it.
- A software conversion program available for reasonable $ where you can enter or cut-and-paste colorimetric values from EasyMatch QC and have the program report the corresponding Munsell color values.
Another good site by Bruce Lindbloom for visualizing the display of Munsell Colors as a visually uniform color space.
