Munsell color notation

Three attributes characterize color hue, lighmess (or value), and saturation (or chroma) and they are graphically represented in color solids (e.g., Munsell solid. Hunter solid). The Munsell Color Notation is a rapid, portable, widespread, and economical system of color determination. However, as it depends on sensory evaluation by panels, many laboratories prefer when possible to replace human judgment by instrumental techniques that are easier to handle. The CIELAB established by the Commission International d Eclairage (CIE) has become widely used with the availability of reflectance spectrophotometric instrumentation. 

Thompson, T.E., Grauke, L.J., and Young, E., Pecan kernel color standards using the Munsell color notation system, J. Am. Soc. Hort. ScL, 121, 548, 1996. 

The test bars of the Nile mud were reddish brown (5YR 5/4) in the Munsell color notation at the 600°C zone of the gradient firing, red (2.5YR 5/6) at 850°C, and darkened with incipient vitrification to weak red (2.5YR 4/3) at 1100°C after a holding period of 30 minutes. The scratch hardness, using Mohs scale, increased from 3.0 to 6.5 for the male (better working clay in the potters terminology), and from 2.3 to 5.0 for the female mud. The Nile mud shrank far more when fired... 

Munsell book notation n. The Munsell color notation of a specimen obtained by visual or computational comparison with the Munsell hue, value, and chroma scales of the Munsell Book of Color. 

Conversion tables and charts now available make it possible to express I.C.I. data in forms in which a specified color and the significance of measured color differences can be more easily visualized. For example, I.C.I. values calculated from objective instrumental readings can be converted into the Munsell notation which evaluates the three psychological color attributes—hue, lightness (Munsell value), saturation (Munsell chroma)—on scales of approximately equal visual steps. In addition, the Munsell color charts offer one of the most convenient sources of material standards for direct color comparisons. 

If results of color measurements are expressed in Munsell notation, a reader can use Munsell color charts as an aid in visualizing approximate ranges of color differences involved. Such a means has been suggested (15) for expressing color of light-colored juices. The necessary experimental data were obtained with a reflection meter similar to the reflectometer described. 

Fig. 3-4. The cyliadrical coordinates of the Munsell color systems (left) and the hue notation (right). (Figure provided by Munsell, a division of GretagMacbeth, LLC.)...

Munsell, A. H. 1971. A color notation, 12th ed. Munsell Color Company, Inc. Baltimore, Md. (note Previous editions date from 1929 a glossy edition is dated 1976 and an edition for soil samples is dated 1976). 

Munsell System. A method of colour notation based on evaluation of three parameters lightness, hue and saturation. (A. H. Munsell, A Colour Notation, Munsell Color Co., Inc., Baltimore, USA.)... 

Methods are described for determining the extent to which original natural color is preserved in processing and subsequent storage of foods. Color differences may be evaluated indirectly in terms of some physical characteristic of the sample or extracted fraction thereof that is largely responsible for the color characteristics. For evaluation more directly in terms of what the observer actually sees, color differences are measured by reflectance spectrophotometry and photoelectric colorimetry and expressed as differences in psychophysical indexes such as luminous reflectance and chromaticity. The reflectance spectro-photometric method provides time-constant records in research investigation on foods, while photoelectric colorimeters and reflectometers may prove useful in industrial color applications. Psychophysical notation may be converted by standard methods to the colorimetrically more descriptive terms of Munsell hue, value, and chroma. Here color charts are useful for a direct evaluation of results. 

The subject of color, as it relates to the human eye and brain, is complex and fascinating. Overall, there are many factors that can affect the perceived color of a surface. Models like Munsell use an alphanumeric notation to identify the dimensions for a color and its location within the color space. A Munsell notation (hue, value, and chroma) depends on a subjective visual judgment made by a human observer. There are other color-order systems that specify color by objective three-dimen-... 

Table 14.6 Computed hue of nonselective samples on light and dark backgrounds for four different illuminants (data from Judd 1940). The color of the samples is specified using the Munsell notation.

Besides the total-garment discoloration, another type of color damage was apparent in the underarm portion of the dress bodice. Perspiration is a known color contaminant, but the discoloration in this garment was unusual, in that there were distinct yellow and pink regions within the stained area. Munsell notations for the particular hues represented in these regions are listed in Table I. 

The following are Munsell notations and Commission Internationale de L Eclariage (CIE) coordinates which describe the Office of Hazardous Materials Regulation Label and Placard Color Tolerance Charts in Tables 1 and 2, and the CIE coordinates for... 

Color/series Munsell notation CIE data for source C ... 

Chroma kro-m9 [Gk chroma] (ca. 1889) n. (1) Color intensity or purity of tone, being the degree of freedom from gray. (2) One of the three terms used in Munsell notations. It correlates approximately with the psychological dimension of saturation. 

Color notion n. Orderly system of numbers, letters, or a combination of both, which serves to describe the relationship of colors in three-dimensional space. Thus, three dimensions must be included for example, hue, value, and chroma of the Munsell System. Single dimensional notations, such as a yellowness sale, can be used only if the other two dimensions are fixed or described two-dimensional notations can be used only if the third is fixed or described. See color order systems. 

Munsell chroma n. The color term applied to the psychological sensation dimension of saturation. In Munsell notation, neutrals, white, graphs, etc., have a chroma of zero. Increasing deviation from gray to purest color in equally perceptible steps are given increasing numerical notations, with intermediate steps designated by decimals proportional to the perceptibility differences. 

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