White Point and Its Effect on Image Quality

A white point is a set of color values which define the color “white”. It is important in getting images to be of the correct color, due to the subjectivity of the human eye. This is because the eye automatically relates tone and color to the brightest point in images.

White point is measured in Kelvin (K) and originates from the color of a black body radiator which emits white hue when heated to a specific temperature. White point generally ranges from 4500K to 9500K, at 4500K, the black body radiator would be yellowish or reddish white and at 9500K, it would appear to be bluish white.

An example of white point and how it affects images can be seen in the images below. The image on the left is set at a color temperature of 4500K and has a warmer hue. The adjacent image is set at a color temperature of 9500K and the image appears to have a bluish tint.

For most screen displays, the default white point would be 6500K, so if you are concern with how your image would look on a display, using a white point of 6500K would generally be safe. As it is similar to most display devices like computers and mobiles.

To measure and adjust white points for displays to achieve optimal image quality, a color analyzer is needed.

Learn more about display white point with our free white paper.

For more information on how to adjust your display, contact us at 65 6895 8685 or email us at ssg@gcp.konicaminolta.com.

About the Author: Garie Xu

Garie Xu is the Sales Engineer of Konica Minolta Sensing Singapore Pte Ltd. Graduated from a manufacturing engineering background, he is mainly involved in sales, seminar, training and coaching in the field of light and color management. With his prior 3 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry and 2 years in Konica Minolta, he is providing solutions to the many industrial applications. He has also conducted seminars and workshops to educate the industry on instrumentation technologies and color science.