The Lovibond® RYBN color scale is optimized for the color measurement of clear (but colored) liquids. In the 1890s, Joseph Lovibond, the founder of The Tintometer Ltd, developed the original Lovibond® Scale, based on a calibrated series of red, yellow, blue and neutral glasses.

The Lovibond® Scale is based on 84 calibrated glass color standards of different densities of magenta (red), yellow, blue and neutral glasses, that graduate from de-saturated to fully saturated. Sample colors are matched by a suitable combination of the three primary colors together with neutral filters, resulting in a set of Lovibond® RYBN units that define the color.

Since several million combinations are available, it is possible to match the color of almost any sample. The scale is particularly popular for measuring the color of oils and fats, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and syrups. After more than a century, the Tintometer® Group still manufactures and grades the glass filters used for visual color measurement in terms of Lovibond® units. It is this unparalleled knowledge and experience that has enabled the company to accurately replicate the scale in its automatic instruments.