Super Black — Gloss Calibration Standard
In this example, our sample is the black Gloss Calibration Standard.
The glossmeters are calibrated using reference standards, usually made from highly polished, plane, black glass. In this case, it is dedicated to a 75° instrument and has 95.8 GU.
Why measure black glass?
Piano Black is one of the finishing, and this check aims to learn which instrument best measures black and super black objects. In the last couple of years, we see that what is black has been redefined. Vantablack, Black 2.0, Black 3.0, ... are examples.
It is important to consider that this is an extremely glossy sample. Most instruments used in this case are NOT dedicated to measuring such objects. Based on presented results, we should never judge instruments in general - we are presenting what happens when the Instrument needs to be chosen correctly.
X-Rite eXact 2
X-Rite eXact 1
M0
M1
M2
i1Pro 3
M0
M1
M2
All M-condition brings i1Pro returns the same Lab data. Twenty samples are measured using instrument repositioning and average variations = 0.09 (±0.045), and it is a very good result as X-Rite promises ≤ 0.1 (on white tile - for ten measurements).
Nix Spectro 2
M0
M1
M2
Variable Spectro 1 (D/0° Geometry) SPEX
Variable Spectro 1 PRO (D/0° Geometry) SPIN
DS-700D (D/8° Geometry), 11mm (M) aperture
SPIN
SPEX
Twenty samples measured with location displacement bring incredible repeatability.
The big difference between SPIN/SPEX expresses so-called Specular Glossiness and is highly expected for objects with a glossiness of 95.8 GU.
DS-700D uses an open port for 2-point calibration — white on ceramic tile and black (open-port). Additionally, the internal algorithm makes the calibration process very precise.
Lab coordinates (D50/2°)
| L | a | b | mean error | notes | ||
| X-Rite eXact 1 | M0 | 2.02 | -0.24 | -0.55 | ±0.125 | |
| M1 | 1.99 | -0.23 | -0.22 | ±0.190 | ||
| M2 | 1.98 | -0.10 | -0.66 | ±0.120 | ||
| X-Rite i1 Pro 3 | M1 | 0.78 | -0.04 | -.020 | ±0.045 | |
| M2 | 0.78 | -0.04 | -.020 | ±0.045 | ||
| M3 | 0.78 | -0.04 | -.020 | ±0.045 | ||
| NIX Spectro 2 | M0 | 1.72 | -0.11 | -1.07 | ±0.210 | |
| M1 | 0.90 | -0.40 | -1.49 | ±0.300 | ||
| M2 | 1.64 | 0.04 | -1.37 | ±0.215 | ||
| Spectro 1 | SPEX | 3.05 | -1.52 | -0.87 | ±0.110 | dedicated |
| Spectro 1 PRO | SPIN | 22.16 | 2.77 | 1.07 | ±0.315 | dedicated |
| DC-700D | SPIN | 24.52 | 0.20 | -0,25 | ±0.010 | dedicated |
| SPEX | 1.46 | 0.26 | 0.02 | ±0.015 |
Conclusions
Super black and high-glossy objects require an instrument that is designed to.
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