EUROPEAN STANDARD EN 13721

NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM July 2004

ICS 97.140

English version

Furniture - Assessment of the surface reflectance

Meubles - Evaluation de la luminance lumineuse des Möbel - Bewertung des Oberflächenreflexionsgrades

surfaces

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 13 May 2004.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European
Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national
standards may be obtained on application to the Central Secretariat or to any CEN member.

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation
under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the Central Secretariat has the same status as the official
versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION

COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION
EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

Management Centre: rue de Stassart, 36 B-1050 Brussels

© 2004 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN 13721:2004: E
worldwide for CEN national Members.
EN 13721:2004 (E)

Contents Page

Foreword......................................................................................................................................................................3
1 Scope ..............................................................................................................................................................4
2 Normative references ....................................................................................................................................4
3 Terms and definitions ...................................................................................................................................4
4 Principle..........................................................................................................................................................5
5 Viewing/illumination condition geometry ...................................................................................................5
6 Standard colorimetric observer and standard illuminant..........................................................................6
7 Equipment ......................................................................................................................................................6
8 Preparation and conditioning of test units/test panels .............................................................................7
9 Instrument calibration ...................................................................................................................................7
9.1 Calibration ......................................................................................................................................................7
9.2 Reference scale..............................................................................................................................................7
9.3 Reference standards (primary and working) ..............................................................................................7
10 Test Procedure...............................................................................................................................................7
11 Test report ......................................................................................................................................................8
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................................9

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 EN 13721:2004 (E)

Foreword
This document (EN 13721:2004) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 207 “Furniture”, the
secretariat of which is held by UNI.

This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical
text or by endorsement, at the latest by January 2005, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at
the latest by January 2005.

According to the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the following
countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
and United Kingdom.

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EN 13721:2004 (E)

1 Scope
This document specifies a method for the assessment of the surface reflectance of furniture surfaces and
relates to rigid surfaces of all finished products regardless of materials, except for finishes on leather and
fabrics, which are excluded from this document.

The test is intended to be carried out on finished furniture, but can be carried out on test panels of the same
material, finished in an identical manner to the finished product, and of a size sufficient to meet the
requirements of the test.

The test method does not apply to extreme reflectances, i.e. below 15 % and above 75 %, because in the
extreme reflectance range the results of the different measurement methods could deviate.

It is not applicable to some metallic paints and pearly coatings.

2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document.
For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition
of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.

ISO 7724-1:1984, Paints and varnishes - Colorimetry Part 1: Principles

ISO 7724-2, Paints and varnishes – Colorimetry - Part 2: Colour measurement

CIE 1931, Standard colorimetric colour coordinates

CIE 1964, Colorimetry, CIE Standard Recommendations

3 Terms and definitions

For the purposes of this document the following terms and definitions apply.

3.1
reflectance
ratio of the radiant flux reflected in the directions within a given cone to that reflected in the same directions by
a perfect reflecting diffuser identically irradiated in the observed wavelength interval (called spectral
reflectance factor R (λ) in ISO 7724-1:1984)

3.2
trichromatic compound or lightness factor, Y
value given by the equation in clause 10 of this document

3.3
test unit
finished item of furniture

3.4
test surface
part of the test unit, where the test area is included

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 EN 13721:2004 (E)

3.5
test panel
panel produced in the same way as the test surface; it shall be used when it is not possible to carry out the
test directly on the test surface

3.6
test area
area under the equipment, where the measurement is carried out

3.7
pearly coatings
coating with pearly additives. The pearly additives act like microscopy mirrors reflecting and transferring the
light in several directions

4 Principle
This standard is based on the reflectance measurement or on the related value, measured as the trichromatic
compound or lightness factor, Y.

The reflectance of the test unit/test panel shall be measured by a photometric equipment, capable of
illuminating the test area by a standardised illuminant and at a standardised angle of incidence. The response
is received by a standardised observer. The lightness or trichromatic compound is calculated according to the
equation given in clause 10 of this document.

5 Viewing/illumination condition geometry

The geometry of measurement illumination/viewing shall be 45°/0 or d/8.

NOTE For textured surfaces, a 45°/0 geometry is preferable.

The denomination of the measurement conditions of the different geometries, are as in the following table
(Table 4 of ISO 7724-1:1984).

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EN 13721:2004 (E)

Table 1 — Denomination of the measurement conditions of the different geometries

Spectral radiometric Measurement conditions
characteristics
Designation
Symbol Illumination Viewing
(Abbreviation)
°
directional directional 45 / normal
(λ) ° ° ° °
Spectral R45/0 45 ± 5 0 ± 10 (45/0)
reflectance factor °
directional* directional normal/45
(λ) ° ° ° °
R0/45 0 ± 10 45 ± 5 (0/45)
°
diffuse, directional** diffuse / 8
(λ) ° °
Rd/8 integrating sphere 8 ±2 (d/8)
°
diffuse / 8
diffuse,
R(d) d/8
(λ) directional** (d/8)
integrating sphere ° °
8 ±2 specular reflection
with gloss trap
excluded
°
Spectral ρ8/d
(λ) directional** diffuse, 8 / diffuse
° °
8 ±2 integrating sphere (8/d)
reflectance
°
8 / diffuse
diffuse,
Spectral diffuse ρ(d) 8/d
(λ) directional** (8/d)
° ° integrating sphere
8 ±2 specular reflection
reflectance with gloss trap
excluded
* The possibility of interreflections between a high gloss specimen and the illuminating optics should be
considered.
** This is contrary to the recommendations of the CIE (see CIE Publication No. 15) which permits the
illumination or the viewing normal to the specimen (measurement conditions 0/d and d/0). The illumination
or observation angle with a small defined deviation from zero as specified in ISO 7724-1 prevents
interreflections between the specimen and the illumination or viewing optics when measuring high gloss
specimens.

6 Standard colorimetric observer and standard illuminant

If geometry 45°/0 is used, the CIE 1931 supplementary standard colorimetric observer and standard illuminant
D65, as defined in ISO 7724-2, shall be used.

If geometry d/8 is used, the CIE 1964 supplementary standard colorimetric observer and Standard Illuminant
D65, as defined in ISO 7724-2, shall be used.

7 Equipment
For the tests, the following equipment may be used:

Spectrophotometer as described in ISO 7724-2, or

Tristimulus colorimeter as described in ISO 7724-2, or

Abridged spectrophotometer as described in ISO 7724-2

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8 Preparation and conditioning of test units/test panels

The test unit/test panel shall be stored for not less than four weeks at a temperature not less than 15 °C and
not more than 30 °C with free access of air.

The test unit/test panel shall be kept in a room without direct light exposure.

Conditioning shall begin one week before testing and shall be carried out in air at a temperature of (23 ± 2) ° C
and a relative humidity of (50 + 5) %. The conditioning can be a part of the four weeks above.

The test surface shall be cleaned with a soft, clean, lint-free cloth before the test.

The test surface shall be substantially flat, and of sufficient size to take the measurements.

9 Instrument calibration

9.1 Calibration

Before carrying out any tests, calibrate the equipment according to ISO 7724-2 or the instructions of the
equipment manufacturers.

Calibration shall be carried out at the start of every period of operation and at intervals short enough to
maintain equipment accuracy according to the manufacturers instructions.

9.2 Reference scale

The reflectance scale, as recommended by the CIE, of the test surface, shall be in accordance with the
perfect reflecting diffuser. The spectral reflectance of the perfect reflecting diffuser is unity for all wavelengths.

9.3 Reference standards (primary and working)

The reference standards (primary and working), shall be according to ISO 7724-2.

10 Test Procedure
The equipment shall be operated in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. After calibrating the
equipment measure the value of the tricromatic compound or lightness factor, Y.

Y is the integrand of the supplementary spectral luminance efficiency function y (λ) (which emulates the
response of the human eye to light for fields of angular subtense more than 4), with the light reflected
from a surface I (λ) R (λ). The value of Y is standardised so that where the surface is a perfectly reflecting
diffuser (perfect white), it would be 100 %, and where the surface reflects no light (perfect black), it would
be 0 %.

The value of Y is calculated using the following formula:

Y =
∑ y ( λ )I( λ )R( λ )∆( λ ) ∗100%
∑ y ( λ )I( λ )∆( λ )
Where:

y (λ): luminance efficiency function (given in Table 1 of ISO 7724-1:1984 for every wave length)

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EN 13721:2004 (E)

I (λ): relative distribution of the energy spectrum for standardised illuminants

R (λ): reflectance

Measurements on one surface shall be taken at three different points, with three measurements at each point.
The mean value of the nine measurements shall be calculated.

If the spread of the nine single values exceeds 20 % of the mean value, the measurement shall be considered
invalid and the procedure shall be repeated using three different points of the test surface. If the test result
fails again, the lightness factor cannot be assessed.

11 Test report
The test report shall include at least the following information:

a) reference to this document;

b) unit or panel tested, including relevant data (wherever possible the substrate, the finishing system and the
finishing date shall be identified);

c) arithmetic mean value of the nine measurements including the minimum and maximum values of Y;

d) type of instrument, the geometry used and the illuminant (see Clause 7);

e) observer (2° or 10°);

f) specular measurement including or excluding gloss;

g) any deviations from this document ;

h) name and address of the test facility;

i) date of test.

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 EN 13721:2004 (E)

Bibliography

th
[1] Publication VIE 17.4 1984 (4 version)–International vocabulary for lighting (co-published by CIE and
CEI)