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Appearance Theory
Why is reflected appearance important?
A crucial factor in assessing the appearance of any manufactured product is the “glossiness”
of its finish.
Gloss finishes are often used to make products visually appealing. Highly reflective,
extremely smooth finishes are used to enhance the aesthetics of cars, luxury yachts and
high-end consumer electronics. Matt finishes are used for contrast or on furniture and
architectural features.
Gloss
Gloss is the visual sensation associated with the brightness of direct light reflected in a
surface. Surfaces with high reflectance are determined as glossy; less reflective surfaces
are semi-gloss or matt.
Glossmeters quantify this effect by measuring light reflection from a sample at defined
angles.
The Gloss Unit (GU) is defined in international standards including ISO 2813 and ASTM
D523. It is determined by the amount of reflected light from a glass standard of known
refractive index.
Calibration tiles supplied with Rhopoint instruments are traceable to master glass standards
held at NIST (USA).
