Introduction to Spectrometry

  Sat 16 July 2016, 11 - 5pm

Learn to measure color spectrally with a true subject matter expert who has made historically important contributions in the world of color: Robin Myers, inventor of Apple's ColorSync. This class introduces spectrometry in a gentle and clear way, with hands-on training in SpectraShop™ 5, the world's easiest spectral color measurement tool. Your course fee includes a seat of the software! (If you happen to already own a seat of SpectraShop or other color measurement software and don't need the application, the course fee is $50).

Many professionals in the digital arts are accustomed to designating colors simply with RGB or CMYK or Pantone values. But when precision matters, measuring color as a distribution of frequencies across the entire visual spectrum is the standard.

SpectraShop™ is a program for measuring, analyzing and storing visible light spectra. It can measure spectra directly with various instruments, or import data from other programs. Spectral data can also be exported in several formats. In addition to individual specimens, SpectraShop™ has a very flexible chart definition and measurement feature. An impressive array of colorimetric values are displayed for each spectrum. Easy to use tools are provided for analyzing and visualizing spectral and colorimetric data.

Version 5 has unique features unavailable in other programs: Instant Difference, to calculate the differences between two specimens as they are selected; and Instant Average, which averages multiple specimens in the same way, instantly!

---

---

List of Content

This outline provides a summary of course topics:

• What is the visible spectrum?
• What is a spectral measurement?
• What are the various kinds of devices used for measuring color?
• What are the best techniques for measuring color?
• What are particular concerns when measuring fabrics?
• How to decide what backing to use?
• How can we compare different measurements and see how different colors are from each other?
• How can we convert spectral measurements into RGB values?
• And more!

---

Upon successful completion of this course, students will have a solid foundation in spectral color measurement and in using SpectraShop™ 5. You will also receive a badge of accomplishment to display on LinkedIn or other sites.

PREREQUISITES

This introductory course is suitable for designers, photographers, retouchers, colorists, IT professionals - anyone with a need to understand the foundations of spectral color measurement. Prior experience using a spectrophotometer or with spectrometry or color management is not required.