Reflectometers measure the shade and opacity of a surface and are an ideal instrument for measuring  shades of paints, coatings and inks as well as their opacity.

Measurement of these properties allows a product coating appearance to be consistent.

Shade is the measurement of lightness or darkness of a surface. Shading is measured, independently of colour and is referred to as ‘whiteness’.

Opacity is the degree to which a coating will obscure the surface to which it has been applied. Opacity is measured in a
similar way to shade, however opacity, also known as  hiding power, measures the whiteness of a known film of test material on both black and white substrate.