CIE Colorimetry and CIELAB Colour Space in Textiles
topic
CIE tristimulus values XYZ calculated from spectral reflectance data using standard observer colour matching functions and illuminant spectral power distribution are transformed to CIELAB coordinates L-star a-star b-star, where L-star represents lightness from 0 black to 100 white, a-star represents red-green opponent axis, and b-star represents yellow-blue opponent axis, providing a perceptually more uniform colour space than XYZ.
Role
Provides the internationally standardised colour measurement and specification framework used throughout textile dyeing, printing, and quality control to express colour numerically in coordinates that correlate with human visual colour perception, enabling unambiguous colour communication and instrumental quality decisions grounded in perceptually meaningful colour difference units.