Billmeyer and Saltzman's Principles of Color Technology, 4th Edition

Preface

This is the second time I have revised and updated Billmeyer and Saltzman's Principles of Color Technology. The four editions span 50 years, beginning in 1966. The first edition focused on how to measure color and correctly interpreting the data. Billmeyer and Saltzman encouraged readers to use common sense, to measure enough samples for a good mean estimate, to always be on the lookout for metamerism, and to think and look.

In their preface to the second edition, they wrote, “We have been gratified to see the unexpectedly wide use of Principles of Color Technology as a textbook. We found, however, very little need to change the text to accommodate this use: a few numerical examples have been added to assist both the instructor and the student.” They did add a chapter Problems and Future Directions in Color Technology, where material that was research oriented and not introductory was included.

When I began to revise the book for a third edition in 1998, the text was 30 years old. The field had matured considerably. An understanding of colorimetry was necessary for the new application—digital imaging. The majority of the text was rewritten and color imaging was added to the chapter Producing Colors. I added an appendix, Mathematics of Color Technology, principally to support color imaging and for use in graduate courses in color science. I retained the style of the first edition to the best of my abilities.

Two years ago, I began the fourth edition. The third edition was ...