Optical characterization of the psychophysical surface gloss space in the presence of surface haze

An unanimous framework for surface gloss perception does not exist yet, although an orthogonal two-dimensional gloss space (distinctness-of-image and contrast gloss) has already been proposed. Haze, a rarely studied attribute of glossiness, is considered in this study and introduced into this existing space. A set of samples with surface haziness is psychophysically and optically characterized. The perceived glossiness correlates with the visual dimension of contrast gloss, and with metrics based on "contrast" -between the specular highlight and sample background - obtained from measurements with different optical instruments. The suitability and advantages of the image-based gloss meter (iGM), introduced earlier by the authors [J Coat Technol Res. 19, 1567 (2022)], are thereby illustrated in comparison to the conventional gloss meter standards. (c) 2023 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement