Characteristic spectra of Munsell colors

The 1257 reflectance spectra of the chips in the Munsell Book of Color—Matte Finish Collection (Munsell Color, Baltimore, Md., 1976) were measured with a rapid acousto-optic spectrophotometer. Measured spectra were sampled from 400 to 700 nm at 5-nm intervals. The correlation matrix of this sample set was formed, and the characteristic vectors of this matrix were computed. It is shown, contradictory to earlier recommendations [ Psychon. Sci.1, 369 ( 1964)], that as many as eight characteristic spectra are needed to achieve good representation for all spectra.