Evaluation of intermodel agreement using ISO 13655 M0, M1, and M2 measurement modes in commercial spectrophotometers

Spectrophotometers are routinely used for color measurement and color management in many commercial printing and proofing workflows. In the case of media containing optical brightening agents, ultraviolet (UV)‐induced fluorescence has led to poor levels of agreement between models from different manufacturers, and different models from the same manufacturer. A relevant standard, ISO 13655, has been revised and now clearly defines measurement modes and conditions for the UV component in spectrophotometers. ISO 13655:2009—Graphic Technology—Spectral Measurement and Colorimetric Computation for Graphic Arts Images now defines four measurement modes: M0, M1, M2, and M3. The intermodel difference between 10 commercially available spectrophotometers is evaluated for different substrate types in measurement modes (M0, M1, and M2) as allowed by each instrument. In particular, the authors compare devices using M0 legacy mode versus newer instruments that are compliant with the new M1 and M2 (UV‐included and UV‐excluded) measurement modes. A finding with significant practical applications is that there is greatly improved intermodel agreement between the new generation of ISO 13655‐compliant instruments in M1 (D50) mode when compared with the previous generation of hand‐held spectrophotometers. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 42, 27–37, 2017