Artist's palette with paint and paintbrush, inside a circular border.

Color

Program Overview

Widely recognized as the global standard for color and appearance proficiency testing, the CTS Color Program originated in the 1970s in partnership with the National Bureau of Standards (NBS, now the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)) and the Manufacturers Council on Color and Appearance (MCCA) before transitioning to an independent affiliate program in 1985. By coordinating measurement systems across instrument manufacturers, instrument models, and calibration systems, our program allows participants to address complex measurement questions in a straightforward manner, no matter the industry. 

Program Resources

  • Program Catalog

    A brief overview of the Color program, including schedules and testing.

Shop Tests

Schedule

Enrollment in our color program is open on a rolling basis, with subscriptions including four cycles of testing, beginning with the earliest cycle available for the next enrollment deadline.

Enroll Between August 26 – November 25
Samples ShipJanuary
Data DueFebruary
Report IssuedMarch
Samples ShipApril
Data DueMay
Report IssuedJune
Samples ShipJuly
Data DueAugust
Report IssuedSeptember
Samples ShipOctober
Data DueNovember
Report IssuedDecember
Enroll Between November 26 – February 25
Samples ShipApril
Data DueMay
Report IssuedJune
Samples ShipJuly
Data DueAugust
Report IssuedSeptember
Samples ShipOctober
Data DueNovember
Report IssuedDecember
Samples ShipJanuary
Data DueFebruary
Report IssuedMarch
Enroll Between February 26 – May 25
Samples ShipJuly
Data DueAugust
Report IssuedSeptember
Samples ShipOctober
Data DueNovember
Report IssuedDecember
Samples ShipJanuary
Data DueFebruary
Report IssuedMarch
Samples ShipApril
Data DueMay
Report IssuedJune
Enroll Between May 26 – August 25
Samples ShipOctober
Data DueNovember
Report IssuedDecember
Samples ShipJanuary
Data DueFebruary
Report IssuedMarch
Samples ShipApril
Data DueMay
Report IssuedJune
Samples ShipJuly
Data DueAugust
Report IssuedSeptember

*While CTS will make every effort to adhere to the published program schedules, all dates provided are tentative and are subject to change.

Reports