Understanding the Basics of Gloss Measurement: How Gloss Meter Measure Surface Gloss

Gloss is one aspect of visual perception, and considering the psychological impact of a product on consumers, it is equally important as color. Glossiness refers to the specular reflection of light on the surface of an object.

Glossiness can be understood as the subtle “roughness” of an object’s surface. The smoother the surface, the more “reflective” it is, the brighter it appears to the human eye, and the higher the glossiness. There are a wide range of industries that require measuring glossiness, usually using a glossmeter.

Glossiness is a physical quantity that evaluates the ability of a material’s surface to reflect light on a specular surface. It is defined as a “surface attribute” that approximates the metallic appearance of an object that emits light or luster.

The glossiness of an object’s surface is influenced by many factors, such as the smoothness after polishing, the quantity and type of coating used, and the quality of the substrate.

Manufacturers constantly design glossy products such as highly reflective car panels, glossy magazine covers, and satin black fashionable furniture to maximize consumer attention.

Glossiness is very important for products, therefore, continuous testing can be conducted on each product or different batches of products to obtain glossiness values.

Gloss can also be used to measure surface quality, such as a decrease in glossiness of surface coatings, indicating that the surface may need to be reprocessed; Other factors that can lead to a decrease in glossiness value include lower paint viscosity or insufficient surface coating quantity.

It is precisely these factors that require gloss testing for products in many manufacturing industries, from automobiles, printing, furniture to food, pharmaceuticals, electronic products, etc.

How is gloss measured?
The measurement of glossiness is achieved by shining a certain amount of light on the surface of an object, and then quantifying the amount of reflected light. The testing method for the angle and reflection of light is determined by the surface and appearance of the object.

So when measuring gloss, it is necessary to choose an appropriate angle. The NHG268 glossmeter complies with ISO2813 and GB/T9754 (Chinese national standards), and the three angles can fully cover the measurement of all surface glossiness.

The unit of gloss is (GU), which can be traced back to the reference standards of BAM (Germany), NRC (Canada), and NPL (UK).

Medium gloss (universal angle): 60 °
60 ° is the measurement angle applicable to all surfaces. It is also used as a reference angle for measuring surfaces with low gloss of 85 ° and high gloss of 20 °.

Low gloss: 85 °
To improve the resolution of low gloss surfaces. Gloss can be measured at 85 °, and when the surface glossiness value of an object measured at 60 ° is below 10GU, it is recommended to use an 85 ° angle for measurement.

When measuring different glossy textures or slightly uneven surfaces at 85 °, it is necessary to take the average of multiple measurements.

High gloss: 20 °
Measuring an angle of 20 ° can improve the resolution of high gloss surfaces. When the surface luminosity value of an object measured at 60 ° is higher than 70GU, it is recommended to use a 20 ° angle for measurement.

The 20 ° angle (optical path) is very sensitive to the phenomenon of surface fog and shadow on an object. Because fog shadow is a unique phenomenon on high gloss surfaces.

Gloss meters AGM-580 are mainly used in the surface gloss measurement for paint, plastic, metal, ceramics, building materials. It conforms to the DIN67530, ISO2813, ASTM D523, JIS Z8741, BS 3900 Part D5, JJG696 standards and so on.

AGM-580_Gloss Meter with 3 Angles (20, 60 and 85º)

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