When choosing an instrument to purchase or use for your application, it is important to understand the types of instruments available to measure color. The terms "Colorimeter" and "Spectrophotometer " cause some confusion, so their differences are listed in the table below. Note however that both types of instruments provide data acquired at the same visible wavelength range (around 400-700nm), but they may process this data differently.
| Colorimeter | Spectrophotometer |
| Tools for psychophysical analysis - Provides measurements related to human eye-brain perception. Colorimetric data is read directly and provided as tristimulus values (XYZ, L, a, b, etc.). | Instrumentation for Physical Analysis - Provides wavelength-wavelength spectral analysis of an object's reflection and/or transmission properties without human interpretation. Psychophysical (colorimetric) information can be calculated indirectly. |
| Consists of sensors and a simple data processor. | It consists of a sensor plus a data processor or a computer with software. |
| There is a set of light source and observer combinations, usually C/2°. | There are many illuminant/observer combinations available that can be used to calculate tristimulus data and metamerism indices. |
| Isolate broad bands using tristimulus absorption filters. | Isolate narrowband wavelengths using prisms, gratings, or interference filters |
| Typically a rugged and less complex instrument than a Spectrophotometer . | It is a more complex instrument than a Colorimeter. |
| Good for general comparisons of similar colors, and to adjust for small color differences under constant conditions. Suitable for quality inspection. | Ideal for color formulation, metamerism measurements and variable illuminant/observer conditions. Suitable for quality inspection and research and development. |
| Example: HunterLab D25 series instruments and ColorTrend HT are Colorimeters. | Example: HunterLab ColorFlexes, ColorQuests, LabScans, MiniScans, SpectraProbes and UltraScans (all generations) are Spectrophotometer s. |
The following are examples of many of these factors:
