Delta E
A number for how different two colors look. Below about 2, most people can't tell them apart.
Also called ΔE, color difference
Delta E (ΔE) measures the distance between two colors in a perceptual space like CIELAB. 0 means identical; around 1 to 2 is barely noticeable; above 10 the colors look clearly different.
Printers and brand teams use it to check that a printed color matches its target.
Guides that cover Delta E
- Mixing Additive vs Subtractive Color Additive vs subtractive color explained: how RGB light adds up to white, how CMYK ink subtracts toward black, and why screens and print differ. Read on.
- Screens Why Colors Look Different on Every Screen Why do colors look different on different screens? Learn how color gamut, calibration and color profiles change what you see, and how to fix it. Read on.
- Tints & Shades Tints, Shades, and Tones Tint, shade and tone explained: see how adding white, black or gray changes a base color, and how to use each to build richer palettes. Read the quick guide.
- Pantone What Are Pantone Colors? Learn what Pantone colors are, how the Pantone Matching System and color codes work, and how Pantone compares to CMYK, RGB and HEX for print. Read on.
- HSL What are HSL colors? HSL color explained: how hue, saturation and lightness define a color, how the HSL color space differs from RGB, and how to use HSL and HSLA in CSS. Read on.