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This will work in cases when a single color is to be compared to a single color and the need is to simply know
whether a distance is greater. If these squared color distances are summed, such a metric effectively becomes
the variance of the color distances.

There have been many attempts to weigh RGB values to better fit human perception, where the components
are commonly weighted (red 30%, green 59%, and blue 11%), however these are demonstrably worse at color
determinations and are properly the contributions to the brightness of these colors, rather than to the degree
to which human vision has less tolerance for these colors. The closer approximations would be more
properly (for non-linear sRGB, using a color range of 0–255):[1]

One of the better low-cost approximations, sometimes called "redmean", combines the two cases
smoothly:[1]

There are a number of color distance formulae that attempt to use color spaces like HSV with the hue as a
circle, placing the various colors within a three dimensional space of either a cylinder or cone, but most of
these are just modifications of RGB; without accounting for differences in human color perception they will
tend to be on par with a simple Euclidean metric.

Uniform color spaces

CIELAB and CIELUV are relatively perceptually-uniform spaces and they have been used as spaces for
Euclidean measures of color difference. The CIELAB version is known as CIE76. However, the non-
uniformity of these spaces were later discovered, leading to the creation of more complex formulae.

Uniform color space: a color space in which equivalent numerical differences represent
equivalent visual differences, regardless of location within the color space. A truly uniform color
space has been the goal of color scientists for many years. Most color spaces, though not perfectly
uniform, are referred to as uniform color spaces, since they are more nearly uniform when
compared to the chromaticity diagram.

— X-rite glossary[2]

A uniform color space is supposed to make a simple measure of color difference, usually Euclidean, "just
work." Color spaces that improve on this issue include CAM02-UCS, CAM16-UCS, and Jzazbz.[3]

Other geometric constructions

The Euclidean measure is known to work poorly on large color distances. A hybrid approach where a taxicab
distance is used between the lightness and the chroma plane,
, is shown to work better on CIELAB.[4]

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CIELAB ΔE*
The International Commission on Illumination (CIE) calls their distance metric ΔE*ab (also called ΔE*, or,
inaccurately, dE*, dE, or "Delta E") where delta is a Greek letter often used to denote difference, and E
stands for Empfindung; German for "sensation". Use of this term can be traced back to Hermann von
Helmholtz and Ewald Hering.[5][6]

Perceptual non-uniformities in the underlying CIELAB color space have led to the CIE refining their
definition over the years, leading to the superior (as recommended by the CIE) 1994 and 2000 formulas.[7]
These non-uniformities are important because the human eye is more sensitive to certain colors than others.
CIELAB metric is used to define color tolerance of CMYK solids. A good metric should take this into account
in order for the notion of a "just noticeable difference" to have meaning. Otherwise, a certain ΔE may be
insignificant between two colors in one part of the color space while being significant in some other part.[8]

CIE76

The 1976 formula is the first formula that related a measured color difference to a known set of CIELAB
coordinates. This formula has been succeeded by the 1994 and 2000 formulas because the CIELAB space
turned out to be not as perceptually uniform as intended, especially in the saturated regions. This means
that this formula rates these colors too highly as opposed to other colors.

Given two colors in CIELAB color space, and , the CIE76 color difference formula is
defined as:

corresponds to a JND (just noticeable difference).[9]

CIE94

The 1976 definition was extended to address perceptual non-uniformities, while retaining the CIELAB color
space, by the introduction of application-specific weights derived from an automotive paint test's tolerance
data.[10]

ΔE (1994) is defined in the L*C*h* color space with differences in lightness, chroma and hue calculated from
L*a*b* coordinates. Given a reference color[11] and another color , the difference
is:[12][13][14]

where:

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and where kC and kH are usually both unity and the weighting factors kL, K1 and K2 depend on the
application:

graphic arts textiles

0.045 0.048

0.015 0.014

Geometrically, the quantity corresponds to the arithmetic mean of the chord lengths of the equal
chroma circles of the two colors.[15]

CIEDE2000

Since the 1994 definition did not adequately resolve the perceptual uniformity issue, the CIE refined their
definition, adding five corrections:[16][17]

A hue rotation term (RT), to deal with the problematic blue region (hue angles in the neighborhood of
275°):[18]
Compensation for neutral colors (the primed values in the L*C*h differences)
Compensation for lightness (SL)
Compensation for chroma (SC)
Compensation for hue (SH)

Note: The formulae below should use degrees rather than radians; the issue is significant for RT.
The kL, kC, and kH are usually unity.

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Note: The inverse tangent (tan−1) can be computed using a common library routine atan2(b, a′) which
usually has a range from −π to π radians; color specifications are given in 0 to 360 degrees, so some adjustment
is needed. The inverse tangent is indeterminate if both a′ and b are zero (which also means that the
corresponding C′ is zero); in that case, set the hue angle to zero. See Sharma 2005, eqn. 7.

Note: When either C′1 or C′2 is zero, then Δh′ is irrelevant and may be set to zero. See Sharma 2005, eqn. 10.

Note: When either C′1 or C′2 is zero, then H′ is h′1+h′2 (no divide by 2; essentially, if one angle is indeterminate,
then use the other angle as the average; relies on indeterminate angle being set to zero). See Sharma 2005, eqn.
7 and p. 23 stating most implementations on the internet at the time had "an error in the computation of average
hue".

CMC l:c (1984)

In 1984, the Colour Measurement Committee of the Society of Dyers and Colourists defined a difference
measure, also based on the L*C*h color model. Named after the developing committee, their metric is called
CMC l:c. The quasimetric has two parameters: lightness (l) and chroma (c), allowing the users to weight the
difference based on the ratio of l:c that is deemed appropriate for the application. Commonly used values are
2:1[19] for acceptability and 1:1 for the threshold of imperceptibility.

The distance of a color to a reference is:[20]

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CMC l:c is designed to be used with D65 and the CIE Supplementary Observer.[21] The formula is not a
metric but rather a quasimetric because it violates symmetry: parameter T is based on the hue of the
reference alone. In other words, .

Tolerance
Tolerancing concerns the question "What is a set of colors that are
imperceptibly/acceptably close to a given reference?" If the distance
measure is perceptually uniform, then the answer is simply "the
set of points whose distance to the reference is less than the just-
noticeable-difference (JND) threshold." This requires a perceptually
uniform metric in order for the threshold to be constant throughout
the gamut (range of colors). Otherwise, the threshold will be a
function of the reference color—cumbersome as a practical guide.

In the CIE 1931 color space, for example, the tolerance contours are
defined by the MacAdam ellipse, which holds L* (lightness) fixed.
As can be observed on the adjacent diagram, the ellipses denoting
the tolerance contours vary in size. It is partly this non-uniformity
that led to the creation of CIELUV and CIELAB.

More generally, if the lightness is allowed to vary, then we find the A MacAdam diagram in the CIE 1931
tolerance set to be ellipsoidal. Increasing the weighting factor in the color space. The ellipses are shown ten
aforementioned distance expressions has the effect of increasing the times their actual size.
size of the ellipsoid along the respective axis.[22]

See also
CIELAB

Footnotes
1. "Colour metric" (http://www.compuphase.com/cmetric.htm). Compu Phase.
2. "Color Glossary" (https://www.xrite.com/learning-color-education/other-resources/glossary#U). X-Rite.
3. Li, Changjun; Li, Zhiqiang; Wang, Zhifeng; Xu, Yang; Luo, Ming Ronnier; Cui, Guihua; Melgosa, Manuel;
Brill, Michael H.; Pointer, Michael (December 2017). "Comprehensive color solutions: CAM16, CAT16,
and CAM16-UCS". Color Research & Application. 42 (6): 703–718. doi:10.1002/col.22131 (https://doi.or
g/10.1002%2Fcol.22131).
4. Abasi, Saeedeh; Amani Tehran, Mohammad; Fairchild, Mark D. (April 2020). "Distance metrics for very
large color differences". Color Research & Application. 45 (2): 208–223. doi:10.1002/col.22451 (https://d
oi.org/10.1002%2Fcol.22451).

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5. Backhaus, W.; Kliegl, R.; Werner, J. S. (1998). Color Vision: Perspectives from Different Disciplines (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=DrduOSrOFegC&pg=PA188). Walter de Gruyter. p. 188.
ISBN 9783110154313. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
6. Valberg, A. (2005). Light Vision Color (https://books.google.com/books?id=OoESifAi9ZsC). Wiley. p. 278.
ISBN 9780470849026. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
7. Real World Color Management, Second Edition (Bruce Fraser)
8. Evaluation of the CIE Color Difference Formulas (https://web.archive.org/web/20080705054344/http://w
ww.aim-dtp.net/aim/evaluation/cie_de/index.htm)
9. Sharma, Gaurav (2003). Digital Color Imaging Handbook (https://books.google.com/books?id=OxlBqY67
rl0C&q=jnd+gaurav+sharma&pg=PA31) (1.7.2 ed.). CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-0900-X.
10. "Delta E: The Color Difference" (http://www.colorwiki.com/wiki/Delta_E:_The_Color_Difference).
Colorwiki.com. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
11. Called such because the operator is not commutative. This makes it a quasimetric.
12. Lindbloom, Bruce Justin. "Delta E (CIE 1994)"
(http://www.brucelindbloom.com/Eqn_DeltaE_CIE94.html). Brucelindbloom.com. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
13. "Colour Difference Software by David Heggie" (http://www.colorpro.com/info/software/heggie.html).
Colorpro.com. 1995-12-19. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
14. Colorimetry - Part 4: CIE 1976 L*a*b* Colour Space (Report). Draft Standard. CIE. 2007. CIE DS 014-
4.3/E:2007.
15. Klein, Georg A. (2010-05-18). Industrial Color Physics (https://archive.org/details/industrialcolorp00klei_4
95). p. 147 (https://archive.org/details/industrialcolorp00klei_495/page/n158). ISBN 978-1-4419-1196-4.
16. Sharma, Gaurav; Wu, Wencheng; Dalal, Edul N. (2005). "The CIEDE2000 color-difference formula:
Implementation notes, supplementary test data, and mathematical observations" (http://www.ece.rochest
er.edu/~gsharma/ciede2000/ciede2000noteCRNA.pdf) (PDF). Color Research & Application. Wiley
Interscience. 30 (1): 21–30. doi:10.1002/col.20070 (https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fcol.20070).
17. Lindbloom, Bruce Justin. "Delta E (CIE 2000)" (http://www.brucelindbloom.com/Eqn_DeltaE_CIE2000.ht
ml). Brucelindbloom.com. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
18. The "Blue Turns Purple" Problem (http://www.brucelindbloom.com/MunsellCalcHelp.html#BluePurple),
Bruce Lindbloom
19. Meaning that the lightness contributes half as much to the difference (or, identically, is allowed twice the
tolerance) as the chroma
20. Lindbloom, Bruce Justin. "Delta E (CMC)" (http://www.brucelindbloom.com/Eqn_DeltaE_CMC.html).
Brucelindbloom.com. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
21. "CMC" (https://web.archive.org/web/20060312161957/http://www.hunterlab.com/appnotes/an10_96ar.pd
f) (PDF). Insight on Color. 8 (13). 1–15 October 1996. Archived from the original (http://www.hunterlab.co
m/appnotes/an10_96ar.pdf) (PDF) on 2006-03-12.
22. Susan Hughes (14 January 1998). "A guide to Understanding Color Tolerancing" (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20151010064956/http://www.xrite.com/documents/literature/en/L10-024_Color_Tolerance_en.pdf)
(PDF). Archived from the original (http://www.xrite.com/documents/literature/en/L10-024_Color_Toleranc
e_en.pdf) (PDF) on 10 October 2015. Retrieved 2014-12-02.

Further reading
Robertson, Alan R. (1990). "Historical development of CIE recommended color difference equations" (htt
p://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/114184816/PDFSTART). Color Research & Application.
15 (3): 167–170. doi:10.1002/col.5080150308 (https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fcol.5080150308).
Melgosa, M.; Quesada, J. J.; Hita, E. (December 1994). "Uniformity of some recent color metrics tested
with an accurate color-difference tolerance dataset". Applied Optics. 33 (34): 8069–8077.
Bibcode:1994ApOpt..33.8069M (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1994ApOpt..33.8069M).
doi:10.1364/AO.33.008069 (https://doi.org/10.1364%2FAO.33.008069). PMID 20963027 (https://pubme
d.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20963027).
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