Is whiteness of paper something else than brightness ?

Yes, whereas brightness is indicated by a percentage of reflectance (brilliance), Whiteness is related to the colour of the sheet and actually is the equal presence of all colours.

Paper is perceived to be white due to high clarity, elevated diffusion and minimum perception of hues. CIE (=Commission Intenational d’Eclairage) is the most frequently used method for measuring paper whiteness.

The whiteness values resulting from this test take into account the fact that the human eye and brain perceive a slightly bluish tinge as whiter than the neutral white of the colour spectrum.

The higher the CIE whiteness of a paper, the more it inclines towards bluish-white, while the more yellowish-white papers achieve lower whiteness values.

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