What Is Gloss?

Gloss is one aspect of visual perception and can be just as important as color in shaping a consumer's impression of a product. It is a surface property that gives an object a luminous, shiny, or metallic-looking appearance.

A surface's gloss is affected by many factors, including smoothness after grinding or polishing, the number and type of coatings, and the quality of the substrate. Manufacturers continually develop glossy products to attract consumers, such as highly reflective automotive panels, vivid magazine covers, and fashionable satin-black furniture.

Gloss is important to product quality, so it can be monitored continuously across individual products or production batches. Gloss can also indicate surface quality. For example, a decrease in coating gloss may show that a surface needs to be reworked. Low paint viscosity or too few coating layers can also reduce gloss. These factors make gloss testing important in industries ranging from automotive, printing, and furniture to food, pharmaceuticals, and electronics.

## How is gloss measured?

Gloss is measured by directing a specified amount of light onto a surface and quantifying the reflected light. The appropriate illumination angle and measurement method depend on the surface and its appearance.

Therefore, the correct angle should be selected for gloss measurement. The NHG268 gloss meter complies with ISO 2813 and GB/T 9754 and provides three angles to cover gloss measurement for a wide range of surfaces.

Gloss is expressed in gloss units (GU), traceable to reference standards maintained by BAM (Germany), NRC (Canada), and NPL (United Kingdom).

## Medium gloss: 60°

The 60° angle is suitable for all surfaces and is the general-purpose measurement geometry. It is also used as the reference angle when deciding whether to use 85° for low-gloss surfaces or 20° for high-gloss surfaces.

## Low gloss: 85°

The 85° angle improves resolution for low-gloss surfaces. If a surface measures below 10 GU at 60°, an 85° measurement is recommended.

When measuring surfaces with different gloss textures or slight unevenness at 85°, take readings at multiple points and use the average.

## High gloss: 20°

The 20° angle improves resolution for high-gloss surfaces. If a surface measures above 70 GU at 60°, a 20° measurement is recommended.

The 20° optical geometry is highly sensitive to surface haze, a phenomenon associated with high-gloss surfaces.

## Features of the 3nh gloss meter

1. Large 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen with 480 × 320 high-resolution, wide-angle display and full touch operation.
2. Complies with ISO 2813, ASTM D 523, and GB/T 9754.
3. Combines a curved aesthetic design with ergonomic construction.
4. Measures at three angles—20°, 60°, and 85°—in a single instrument.
5. Offers three operating modes and multiple settings to meet different customer needs.
6. Includes computer quality-control software with powerful expansion capabilities.
7. Allows manual entry of gloss data for convenient operation.
8. Uses high-specification hardware and multiple innovative technologies.
9. Large storage capacity: 1,000 basic records, 5,000 statistical records, and 5,000 continuous records.

## Precautions

This is a precision measurement instrument. Avoid major changes in the external environment during measurement, such as flickering ambient light or rapid temperature changes.

Keep the instrument stable and the measurement port firmly against the object. Avoid shaking or shifting it. The instrument is not waterproof; do not use it in high humidity or mist.

Keep the instrument clean. Prevent water, dust, liquids, powders, and solid foreign objects from entering the measurement aperture or the instrument. Avoid impact or collision.

After use, switch off the instrument and store it and its standard plate safely in the carrying case.

Store the instrument in a dry, cool environment.

Do not make unauthorized modifications. Any unauthorized change may affect measurement accuracy or cause irreversible damage.