The Helmholtz‐Kohlrausch effect on display‐based light colors and simulated substrate colors

Abstract The Helmholtz‐Kohlrausch (H‐K) effect is investigated in relation to light colors of every hue, including those typical of print substrate colors that might be simulated on a graphic arts display. A method of adjustment is used in conjunction with a soft‐proof setup, in which an achromatic stimulus is adjusted until it has the same lightness appearance as a set of test colors. Higher chroma colors are found to appear lighter than their metric would indicate. The H‐K effect is found to be quite strong in bluish colors, but negligible in yellowish colors, consistent with several previous studies. However, qualitative analysis reveals a peak H‐K effect in red‐magenta hues. We propose a modification to Fairchild and Pirrotta's existing H‐K lightness appearance function 1 which addresses the peak in red hues, and which may prove beneficial in hue‐dependent applications.