BIFMA Releases New Standard for Color Measurement

Furniture World Magazine

BIFMA International announced the availability of the new standard for Color Measurement. The new standard, BIFMA Color 3.1-2005 was released January 16, 2006. This standard is intended to provide a common practice of color measurement technique for office furniture manufacturers and suppliers. The new standard will be an integral part of establishing methods of visual and numerical requirements for color evaluation. The BIFMA Color Working Group's intent was to take numerous standards already written for color evaluation and make them user-friendly and directly applicable to the furniture industry. During the document development process, care was taken to maintain the guiding principals of other, more voluminous publications while simplifying the language. The BIFMA Color Working Group believes this document to be a practical bench top document for color measurement. The new standard provides a description of Primary and Secondary Light Sources. A section of the standard is dedicated to the evaluation of painted and solid laminate surfaces, as well as the evaluation of plastics and textiles. Definitions of the complex terms used in color measurement evaluations are also provided. The work on the Color Standard began at the request of the BIFMA Supply Chain Committee's Quality Subcommittee. The Color Working Group met on a frequent basis during the year 2005 to complete the work and publish the finished standard. Copies of the BIFMA Color 3.1-2005 are available in electronic (pdf file) or paper copy. A copy of the Standard Order Form can be downloaded from the BIFMA web-site at www.bifma.org or contact the office directly at 616-285-3963.