Calculated from the same chromaticity data as CIE whiteness, tint is positive when a white leans greenish and negative when it leans reddish, with zero meaning neutral. The whiteness formula is only considered valid inside a narrow tint window, so labs always report the two together. Overdosed optical brightener pushes tint toward green, while violet and red shading dyes pull it back toward neutral.
Tint is sitting at plus 2 on the felt side, so bring the violet dye up a notch before it drifts any greener.
When the tint is far from zero, flag the whiteness value; the CIE formula is not meant for strongly tinted samples.
Also heard as
- CIE tint
- tint value
Related terms
CIE whiteness
Formula-based whiteness index computed from luminance factor Y and chromaticity, under D65 or C illumination.
Greening
The greenish cast a sheet takes on when optical brightener is dosed past its effective range.
Shading dye
Small dose of blue or violet dye used to cancel the yellow cast of a white sheet and steer its tint.
Whiteness
How white a surface looks to the eye, judged across the whole visible spectrum rather than one blue band.