The effect of new LED lighting systems on the colour of modern paints

Valentina Pintus,Dávid Noel Tóth,Katja Sterflinger,Manfred Schreiner,Péter Csuti,Renáta Gazdag-Kéri,Ferenc Szabó,Róbert Nagy

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-01836-9

Valentina Pintus, Dávid Noel Tóth + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-01836-9

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Abstract

This research focuses on the investigation of the effect of a new light emitting diode (LED)-lighting system which reproduces indoor museum conditions, on some self-made art paint colours (acrylic-, alkyd-, and linseed oil-based paints) often used in modern-contemporary art. A halogen lamp representing a traditional light source for museum lighting was also considered. Lighting-set-up and lighting optimization parameters were considered while Ultraviolet/Visible/Near Infrared (UV/Vis/NIR) spectrophotometry was used for investigating the colour change of the paint samples. Univariate analyses allowed determining the highest effect of the lighting systems on the linseed oil binder and ultramarine blue PB29 mixture upon ageing, according to the highest total colour change ΔE*ab. In a more specific and detailed way, variance analyses not only demonstrated the strong correlation between the type of binder and pigment used for the paint samples with the colour variation, but also showed that the short-wavelength blue LEDs influenced the change along the yellow–blue b* axis of the yellow and blue samples, whereas the halogen lamp mostly had an impact towards the red–green a* axis of mostly the green specimens.

Highlights

Flux output as a halogen incandescent lamp, making them far more efficient in energy consumption and output
Within this context two main different aspects of the light sources are considered are discussed in the “Methods” section: (1) the apparent colour of the lighting—described by fundamental colour parameters—and (2) the ability of the light source to reveal the true colours of an object—defined by the colour rendition or colour fidelity metrics
Univariate analyses demonstrated that this combination of binder and pigment had the highest colour shift (ΔL*, Δa*, and Δb*) and greatest total colour change ΔE*ab, which were more prominent after 5000 h, while the acrylic and alkyd mock-ups remained stable

Summary

Introduction

Flux output as a halogen incandescent lamp, making them far more efficient in energy consumption and output. To avoid the harmful effect of light sources a limitation of illuminance (lux level in the SI system, 1 lx = 1 lm per square meter)—that correlates with the intensity of the visible light—is recommended in indoor museums, depending on the type of exposed materials This parameter might variate from a minimum of 50 lx for highly sensitive items such as textiles to a maximum of 300 lx for less sensitive ones like stone, ceramic, glass and metals[18]. The CIE 2004 covers both the heating effects and photochemical effects on the materials, and enumerates the relative damage potential of different light sources by giving a formula on the calculation of the damage potential These guidelines are far too old to consider LED lighting as an alternative for museum lighting, and are mainly applicable to traditional light sources. The estimation of the harmful effects of a light source on art materials should consider the intrinsic chemical properties of the irradiated material, which can be studied through the use of meaningful scientific methods

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