Mt. Baker Research L.L.C.
2921 Sylvan Street/P.O. Box 28370
Bellingham, Washington 98228-0370

Defining Color Standards

Phone: (360) 650-0771 E-mail: <jackroot@mtbakerresearch.com>

Mt. Baker Research L.L.C. - Defining Color Standards

Mt. Baker Research manufactures ceramic color standards with 100 regular colors and glossy or matte surface finishes. Our color palette contains several hundred colors. Our production inventory includes 14,000 single-color ceramic tiles manufactured in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. Our color standards and new products are described below.

In June 2008 we introduced ultra-white color standards and the Profiling Tile Sets. Our ultra-white color standards exhibit greater reflectance than other white ceramic tiles. In October 2009 we announced the Cleaning Kit, the Diagnostic Tile Sets and new procedures for testing instruments and for measuring translucency. The Cleaning Kit includes materials and easy-to-follow instructions for the safe handling and maintenance of ceramic color standards.

At this time Mt. Baker Research offers 8 specialized sets of ceramic color standards. Each set contains 16 standards. The complete Diagnostic Tile Set and the complete Profiling Tile Set each contain one ultra-white color standard combined with 31 other reduced translucency color standards. The Profiling Tile Set enables CyberChrome's OnColor Profiler® software to color-manage spectrophotometers.

We developed Diagnostic Tile Set A to minimize and detect the measurement errors that result from translucency. The 16 color standards included in this set are optimized for testing the performance of color measuring instruments. We are the exclusive source for these new products. Read the information and product pages for detailed descriptions.

For applications in color metrology our color standards are technically equivalent to Ceram tiles, but we offer a larger gamut of colors. Our color standards offer the widest gamut of colors available today. Our new reduced translucency color standards support accurate measurements of spectral reflectance with large- and small-aperture instruments.

Mt. Baker Research offers certified traceable spectral reflectance calibration and instrument validation services in 3 optical geometries. Our certified measurements of translucency are unique within the international marketplace.

We deeply discount our sets of color standards, diagnostic standards and 4-tile matrix arrays. Effective January 1, 2010, we reduced the prices of our calibration services. In July 2010 we introduced extended calibrations of spectral reflectance that feature a wavelength interval of 5 nm and a range of 360 - 1,050 nm. Although our prices are competitive, our equipment and procedures are state-of-the-art and our certificates of calibration are unusually well documented.

This release of the Website features new resources. The R&D News page summarizes current activities in the color lab, and the FAQ pages address many important issues.

Products

• Individual Color Standards: Individual 2x2-inch color standards, reduced translucency colors, typical translucency and spectral reflectance data only
• Ultra-White Color Standards: Individual 2x2-inch color standards, glossy or matte surface finishes, typical translucency and spectral reflectance data only
• Translucent Color Standards: Individual 2x2-inch color standards, glossy surface finishes, typical translucency and spectral reflectance data only
• Diagnostic Tile Sets: Two boxed sets containing 16 2x2-inch reduced translucency color standards, diagnostic colors, typical translucency and spectral reflectance data only
• Profiling Tile Sets: Two boxed sets containing 16 2x2-inch reduced translucency color standards, profiling colors, typical translucency and spectral reflectance data only
• Original Sets: Three boxed sets containing 16 2x2-inch color standards, regular colors, typical spectral reflectance data only
• 4-Tile MatrixArrays: Arrays Matrix arrays containing 4 2x2-inch color standards, regular colors, typical spectral reflectance data only
• 4-Tile Matrix Array Sets: Boxed sets containing 4 matrix arrays, regular colors, typical spectral reflectance data only
• Individual Ceramic Plates: 6x6-inch single-color ceramic plates, regular colors, re-fired if necessary, cleaned and hand-selected for quality, typical spectral reflectance data only
• Cleaning Kit: Tools, supplies and instructions for the proper cleaning and maintenance of ceramic color standards

Services

• Calibrate Color Standards: Calibrate individual 2x2-inch color standards or 6x6-inch ceramic plates, certified traceable spectral reflectance calibrations available in 3 optical geometries, traceable translucency calibrations available in 2 geometries
• Calibrate Sets of Color Standards: Calibrate boxed sets containing 16 2x2-inch color standards, certified traceable spectral reflectance calibrations available in 3 optical geometries, traceable translucency calibrations available in 2 geometries
• Create Custom Color Standards: Custom color standards produced in accord with the customer's specifications, various shapes, sizes and colors, certified traceable spectral reflectance calibrations available in 3 optical geometries, traceable translucency calibrations available in 2 geometries
• Validate Customer-Supplied Spectrophotometers: Validation of customer-supplied benchtop, portable or handheld instruments
• Contract R&D: Research and development in basic or applied color metrology

Linked Resources

• The instruction manual for the Diagnostic Tile Sets contains referenced background information about translucency. It also presents typical spectral reflectance factors in 3 optical geometries together with procedures for testing, validating and color managing spectrophotometers.
• CyberChrome's Color QC and Matching blog presents useful articles about measuring color and color managing spectrophotometers.
• Read CyberChrome's white paper The Importance of Instrument Profiling to learn about spectrophotometer profiling.
• Contact us to request free quotes or information about color standards with custom colors, shapes, sizes or surface finishes.