SDC Standards
The SDC is actively involved in setting technical standards for the coloration industry. The Society's track record in these areas is unsurpassed, with key developments in:
- Devising standard tests and providing reference materials for use in evaluating colour fastness
- Encouraging the use of instrumental methods of colour measurement
- Supporting research projects on investigations of metamerism and colour constancy
- Working in the areas of quality assurance and environmental protection, etc.
The SDC currently holds the secretariat for the BSI committee TCI/81, responsible in the UK for developing national colour fastness testing standards. The technical department also has its own committees (Colour Measurement Committee and Technical Coordination Committee) and representatives on various BSI committees and international committees involved in colour measurement and colour fastness testing, e.g. International Standards Organisation (ISO), European Colour Fastness Establishment (ECE), European Committee for Standardisation (CEN), Commission International de l'Eclairage (CIE), and other external bodies.
TCI/081 Colour Fastness and Colour Measurement of Textiles
TCI/081 is the BSI Committee responsible for standard test methods for colour fastness and colour measurement of textiles. Because the Society recognises the importance of the colour fastness and colour measurement standards to the UK textile industry, the SDC holds the secretariat for this British standards committee. All manufacturers in all countries must be able to communicate fastness test results and colour measurement results accurately. The committee reviews standards at least every 5 years to ensure the methods remain relevant to current production and consumer demands as well as best laboratory practice.
At ISO C38 SC1 meetings (the international mirror committees), TCI/081 acts as the UK's representatives and consequently, through its close ties with TCI/081 the SDC can be certain of being at the forefront in this field.
Current working groups of TCI/081 are:
- WG1 Light and weathering
- WG2 Washing
- WG5 Adjacent fabrics
- WG13 Miscellaneous
- WG14 Assessment of colour fastness using digital imaging
Standards published are:
- BS 1006 UK-T series
- ISO 105 series
Colour Measurement Committee
The Colour Measurement Committee (CMC) monitors, initiates and progresses developments in the fields of colour measurement and colour physics relevant to the coloration industries, represents the interests of the Society at meetings of national and international standard organisations (BSI, CIE, ASTM, CEN and ISO) in these fields. The committee supports the educational activities of the Society in these areas and disseminates the results of its work. The CMC was responsible for the development the internationally recognised CMC (2:1) colour-difference formula.
The committee currently has six active working groups, the activities of which are the development of:
- WG8 Training courses
- WG11 Fluorescent materials
- WG12 Electronic communication of colour information
- WG13 Dyers' terms for optimised colour-difference equations
- WG14 Standard method for conditioning fabric specimens prior to colour measurement
- WG15 Colour science for the coloration industry
- WG16 Colour assessment rooms
- WG17 Whiteness assessment in viewing cabinets.
Technical Coordination Committee
The aims of the Technical Coordination Committee (TCC) are outlined below. TCC deliver on these aims by having regular meetings and coordinating the activity of the above two committees. The committee aims:
- to provide a centralised technical knowledge base on all aspects of colour, coloration and related topics, fastness testing, colour measurement. To collate this information through contact with relevant organisations.
- to advance the science of the global coloration industry through support of relevant research.
- to disseminate information on colour and related topics obtained in an unbiased nature to the public through publications, professional training, international conferences and the SDC website.
For general enquiries regarding the SDC technical activities contact the Society.