Monastic Color Reproduction: A Software Tool for Printing and Assessing the Monk Skin Tone Scale

The Monk Skin Tone (MST) scale, comprising ten digitally defined colors, represents a diverse range of skin tones and is utilised by Google to promote social equity. The MST scale also has the potential to address health disparities in the medical field. However, these colors must be printed as physical charts for health practitioners and researchers to conduct visual comparisons. This study examines the colorimetric characteristics of the MST scale and establishes two per-patch acceptance criteria to determine the acceptability of a printed MST chart using a four-tier grading method. A software tool was developed to assist end users in printing accurate MST charts. The tool was tested with four printer/paper combinations, including inkjet, dye sublimation, and laser printers. Results show that a wide color gamut covering the brightest and darkest MST levels is crucial for producing an accurate MST chart, which can be achieved with a consumer-grade inkjet printer and glossy paper.