The Amber Project: A Survey of Methods and Inks for the Reproduction of the Color of Translucent Objects

Unlike regular pigments based on selective light absorption, the so-called “effect pigments″ are based on the phenomena of structural color, or selective reflectance. Structural color has appealing aesthetic qualities, such as angle-dependent hue, and is able to produce lightfast colors. When used as a pigment, however, the gamut of the print is more limited, the color is difficult to measure, and therefore color management and preprint process become challenging. The aim of this paper is to compare the behavior of effect pigments in the processes of lithographic and screen printing with standard pigments used in so-called process inks, and to analyze their optical properties when used on their own or in combination with absorption pigments. An image of amber beads was printed as screen prints and lithographs. Three sets of inks were used: Set one: Standard process inks in the colors cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK); set two: RGB inks formulated with Merck Spectraval™ pearlescent pigments which allow additive red, green, blue printing on a black substrate; and set three: golden inks formulated with pigments from the Merck Iriodin™ and Pyrisma™ effect pigment range. The image was printed on white and black paper. The optical appearance was assessed visually, and spectra and color coordinates were measured.

Method for the numerical evaluation of the color rendering quality of matrix photodetectors

To objectively evaluate the color image of an architectural object when changing its spectral quality and luminance in lighting, it is necessary to ensure its accurate fixation. The measurement of the color coordinates of an object provides the fully capture of its appearance, but this does not allow to get an adequate evaluation of the visual impression without visualizing the lighting scene. This requires a thorough procedure of reproducing the same color coordinates for each point of the image and the object with the same angular coordinates. In this work, an attempt is made to develop a numerical criterion for evaluating the quality of color rendering of the camera as a fixer of color visual impression of the selected scene. The development of a numerical detailed method for evaluation of the quality of color rendering of cameras will allow capturing more reliably such a subjective concept as the correspondence of the visual impression of the real scene and the image file of this scene. The digital format, which contains information about the object, avoids the problems associated with aging of the image. The proposed method of developing ways to numerically evaluate color distortion in photography is considered on the example of digital cameras Nikon D300s, Sony DSC-H5. The described approach for the case of known spectral characteristics allows to unambiguously link the calculated reaction of the camera with the chromaticity coordinates of spectrally pure colors. Modern methods of evaluating the quality of light sources (IES TM-30-15) allow evaluation of the direction of the shift. The proposed indicator – graph E (λi) numerically characterizes the difference between the reaction of the camera and the reaction of the human eye and does not give an idea in which direction there is a difference, conditionally red or blue image compared to the natural scene, but is the simplest and most understandable to the untrained user. It is shown that with an accuracy of measuring spectral characteristics of 1% for the considered example with Nikon D300s, this indicator at different wavelengths is calculated with an uncertainty of not more than 0.002.

Investigation of CIE color spaces for differences in color differentiation thresholds in different regions of the color locus

The equidistance of the color space plays a significant role in determining the color difference in color transmission systems. Strictly equal contrasting color spaces can be considered only those color spaces in which equal changes in the visual perception of color are provided with an equal change in the color coordinates in this color space. Currently, the International Commission on Lighting (CIE) has adopted a number of color spaces called equal-contrast. The article presents the results of the study of color spaces adopted by CIE for equal contrast, i.e. on the differences in the thresholds of color differentiation in different areas of the color locus. The article investigated such color spaces as CIE 1931 (RGB), CIE 1931 (x, y), CIE 1960 (u, v), CIE 1976 (u*, v*), CIE LAB (a*, b*).

The Influence of Drying Temperature on Color Change of Hornbeam and Maple Wood Used as Surface and Inner Layers of Wood Composites

The thermal treatment of wood changes its structure due to the degradation of wood polymers (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin), so the physical properties of wood are either improved or degraded. Color changes apply not only to natural wood, but also to such wood composites for which some amount of glue is used in their construction (e.g., plywood, blockboard or laminboard). This article is focused on the analysis of hornbeam and field maple wood color changes influenced by drying temperature. Two types of drying modes were used: hot-air mode where the temperature of the drying environment was 60 °C, and high-temperature mode with a drying temperature of 120 °C. The drying mode was divided into two phases depending on the moisture content of the wood. The compared woods had similar values of color coordinates at the beginning of drying. During hot-air drying, the largest changes in color coordinates occurred during the first 24 h. The total color difference between the color at the end and the beginning of drying was 7.3 for hornbeam and 11.1 for maple. The overall color difference between the compared woods was minimal. During high-temperature drying (120 °C), the color changes of the dried woods were more pronounced. In the case of maple wood, there was a very significant change in color and the value of ΔE* was twice as high as for hornbeam. The total color difference between the color at the end and at the beginning of drying was 8.7 for hornbeam and 18.9 for maple.

Analysis of chromatic aberrations influence on operation of the tunable AOTF-based source

Developing a source with the possibility of tuning in wavelengths based on an acousto-optical tunable filter (AOTF), an essential factor is the ability to provide accurate color coordinates of the simulated color (in the case of developing a color standard for colorimetry) or the required wavelength (in the case of an application for spectral studies). As shown earlier, the choice of the principal layout – confocal or parallel beam path - primarily determines the dimensions and efficiency of using the luminous flux. However, these schemes also need to be analyzed for color or wavelength fidelity, considering other components used in the scheme. The analysis performed allows to identify the optimal scheme to ensure the required color reproduction accuracy and establish the requirements for correcting chromatic aberrations of the components.

Physical and mechanical properties of the surface of pine wood modified with an organomineral composition

The percentage of wooden buildings damaged or even lost due to the lack or insufficient technical measures for their preservation is growing every year. This fact makes it mandatory to treat the surface of wood building materials with protective and decorative agents. Within the framework of this study, a multifunctional protective composition for wood was developed that can increase its physical and mechanical properties. Modification of the wood surface with organomineral compositions leads to an increase in its density, hardness and strength. The hardness of the treated wood is 24% higher and the compressive strength along the fiber is 20% higher than that of untreated wood. After treatment, the surface of the wood darkened and slightly yellowed, which does not prevent its use in the construction and reconstruction of buildings. The results of measuring the color coordinates of the surface of the modified samples indicate the stability and durability of the developed protective coating even after 4 months of exposure to atmospheric conditions. Judging by the slight return of the color coordinates of the treated wood back to values of the original wood, it can be concluded that the composition is partially washed out.

New Laccase-Mediated System Utilized for Bio-Discoloration of Indigo-Dyed Denim Fabrics

In this study, indigo-dyed denim fabric was decolorized by washing and printing with separate and simultaneous applications of laccase enzyme, sodium hydrosulfite, and cellulase enzyme. In this regard, the surface reflectance and color coordinates of the discolored fabrics were analyzed, and SEM photographs of the treated fabrics were prepared to analyze their surfaces. Finally, the effects of the discoloration process and materials on various parameters of the treated samples were investigated, including moisture content, creaserecovery angle, air permeability, and abrasion resistance. The color experiments showed that the discoloration mechanism with the combined use of laccase enzyme, sodium hydrosulfite, and cellulose enzyme had a significant effect on the improvement of the lightness (L*) of the samples, as the lightness of the treated samples was improved by 101.18 percent and 55.79 percent in both printing and washing, respectively. Furthermore, examination of specimen color coordinates revealed that the hue of the treated samples was changed to blue and green, and the purity of color (C*) was improved. The increased moisture content and air permeability of the treated specimens suggested that the comfort of the jeans clothing provided by these treatment methods had improved. As a result, it should be noted that the mediating action of sodium hydrosulfite was significantly influential for discoloration of denim with the laccase enzyme.

Color Tuning of 2-Color Based White Organic Light-Emitting Diodes with Undoped Ultra-Thin Emission Layer

In the research of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), the OLEDs that are fabricated via conventional doping methods have complicated structures and fabrication processes. To overcome these limitations, the ultra-thin emission layer (EML) method, which adopts a simple structure has been effectively used in the research of OLEDs. However, studies on white color OLEDs (WOLEDs) fabricated using the ultra-thin EML method are scarce. In this paper, we report the results of color tuning for the realization of WOLEDs based on an ultra-thin EML structure. The WOLEDs were fabricated and evaluated based on a two-color dopant system (sky-blue dopant and yellow dopant). The fabricated WOLEDs exhibited color coordinates of the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) 1931 from (0.287, 0.436) to (0.486, 0.483) according to the thickness ratio of the two dopants. This result suggests that the WOLEDs color tuned with multi-color dopants can be fabricated based on the ultra-thin EML method, and the development of WOLEDs with high efficiency and stability can be attained in the future.

The Geometry of Colors in Van Gogh’s Sunflowers

“Paintings fade like flowers”: van Gogh’s prediction on the impact of age on paintings came true for most of his paintings. We have studied the consequences of this aging on the Sunflowers in a vase with a yellow background series, namely its original, F454, and two replicates, F457 and F458, at the van Gogh’s museum in Amsterdam, which van Gogh painted using the original as a model. The background and flower renditions in those paintings have faded and turned brown, making them less vibrant that van Gogh had most likely intended. We have attempted to restore van Gogh’s intent using a computational approach based on data science. After identifications of regions of interest (ROI) within the three paintings F454, F457, and F458 that capture the flowers, stems of the flowers, and background, respectively, we studied the geometry of the color space (in RGB representation) occupied by those ROIs. By comparing those color spaces with those occupied by similar ROIs in photographs of real sunflowers, we identified shifts in all three color coordinates, R, G, and B, with the positive shift in the blue coordinate being the more salient. We have proposed two algorithms, PCR-1 and PCR-2, for correcting that shift in blue and generate representations of the paintings that aim to restore their original conditions. The reduction of the blue component in the yellow hues has lead to more vibrant and less brownish digital rendition of the three Sunflowers in a vase with a yellow background.