Industrial lighting is often selected primarily around visibility, durability, and energy use, but some tasks also depend on recognizing differences in material, coatings, wiring, markings, contamination, or product color.
CRI
A General Color-Rendering Indicator
Color Rendering Index is commonly used as one indicator of how a source renders a set of colors. It is useful for broad comparison, but it does not completely describe every wavelength or every possible visual task.
Visual Inspection
Color Can Carry Process Information
Operators may use color to distinguish wires, labels, indicators, coatings, materials, assembly components, surface changes, or product conditions.
Lighting should support the visual differences relevant to that task.
Color Temperature
CRI and CCT Describe Different Properties
Correlated color temperature describes the general appearance of white light, while CRI addresses aspects of color rendering.
Color Temperature →Spectral Content
Two White Sources Can Behave Differently
White light can be produced using different spectral distributions. Those differences can influence the way specific surfaces and colors appear even when the sources have similar nominal CCT.
Machine Vision
Camera Inspection Requires Its Own Evaluation
Human visual color-rendering metrics should not be assumed to predict camera performance. Vision systems depend on sensor response, optical filters, illumination spectrum, target reflectance, and image processing.
Selection