Introduction
Any particular material or object’s gloss level, from high gloss to semi-gloss to matte surfaces, directly affects how that material or object is perceived visually by others. Companies work to obtain particular gloss levels for their products for both functional and aesthetic purposes, as well as to make them stand out from their competitors. Therefore, it is crucial for businesses to understand how to measure gloss using a gloss meter since using the right standards will enable them to consistently manufacture high-quality goods. It is important to go for reputed Gloss Meter Suppliers to get good quality.
By illuminating a surface with a specific amount of light and measuring the reflectance, gloss can be determined. The surface determines the angle of the light and the technique used to assess reflectance. This is carried out by the instrument caltech gloss meter. Gloss meter is suitable for Applications: Automotive, Paints & coating, Additive, Ink, Marble, Plastics, Granite, Ceramic, granite, vitrified polished tile, pottery brick and plastic, paper; hardware industries, etc.
Find out more about the gloss meter below in our detailed article.
What is Gloss Meter?
A Gloss Meter is an instrument that is used to measure gloss by shining a light at a certain angle on the test surface while also measuring the amount of reflection. The gloss meter angle and, thus, the gloss meter model are dependent on the type of surface being measured. The gloss is measured using the gloss unit (GU).
Gloss meter principles
A gloss meter measuring scale, known as Gloss Units (GU), is based on a standard piece of highly polished black glass with a predetermined refractive index and a specular reflection of 100GU at the given angle. On a flawlessly matte surface, this standard is used to calibrate an upper point at 100 and a lower endpoint at 0. Since most non-metallic coatings and materials (paints and plastics) lie within this range, this scaling is appropriate for them. Higher levels can be attained for various materials that appear highly reflective (mirrors, plated or unfinished metal components), reaching 2000 Gloss Units. Due to numerous internal reflections in transparent materials, these values can also be raised.
Understanding usage of gloss meter
The caltechindia gloss meter measures the sample’s gloss using the principle of light reflection. Specifically, at the particular angle of incidence and beam. To produce a beam of light pointing in the direction of the specular reflection angle, the sample is exposed to radiation at a dose of 5%. Light source, lens, receiver, display interface, etc. make up a gloss meter. The two types of parallel optical paths and convergent optical paths make up its measurement principle.
Functions and standards of a gloss meter
A standardized light source that delivers a parallel beam of light onto the test surface to be measured and a filtered detector placed to catch the light rays reflected from the surface make up a typical fixed mechanical assembly that makes up a gloss meter. Reference standards are typically produced of highly polished, planar, black glass with a refractive index of 1.567 for the Sodium D line, and these are given a gloss value of 100 for each geometry. These standards are used to calibrate the equipment.
The angle between the incident and reflected light is referred to as the measurement angle. To address the majority of industrial coatings applications, three measuring angles (20°, 60°, and 85°) are specified. The following table illustrates how the angle is chosen based on the expected gloss range. Gloss meter complies with EN ISO 7668, ISO 2813, ASTM D523, ASTM D2457, DIN 67530, ASTM C346, TAPI T480 etc
| Gloss Range | 60° Value | Notes |
| High Gloss | >70 GU | If the measurement exceeds 70 GU, change test setup to 20° |
| Medium Gloss | 10 – 70 GU | |
| Low Gloss | <10 GU | If the measurement is less than 10 GU, change test setup to 85° |
Conclusion
Caltech India is one of the premium gloss meter suppliers in India who offer a variety of high-quality gloss meters.
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