What is ISO 13468- 1 - Total luminous transmittance of transparent materials about?
Plastics are globally popular because they are durable, flexible, light-weight and can be shaped into any form. ISO 13468-1 covers the determination of the total luminous transmittance, in the visible region of the spectrum, of planar transparent and substantially colourless plastics, using a single-beam photometer with a specified CIE Standard light source and photo-detector. ISO 13468-1 cannot be used for plastics that contain fluorescent materials.
ISO 13468-1 is applicable to transparent moulding materials, films, and sheets not exceeding 10 mm in thickness.
NOTE 1 Total luminous transmittance can also be determined by a double-beam spectrophotometer as in ISO 13468-2. ISO 13468-1, however, provides a simple but precise, practical and quick determination. This method is suitable for use not only for analytical purposes but also for quality control.
NOTE 2 Substantially colourless plastics include those which are faintly tinted.
NOTE 3 Specimens more than 10 mm thick can be measured provided the instrument can accommodate them, but the results might not be comparable with those obtained using specimens less than 10 mm thick.
Who is ISO 13468-1 - Total luminous transmittance of transparent materials for?
ISO 13468-1 on total luminous transmittance of transparent materials is useful for:
- Plastic Manufacturing and designing of plastics products
- Testing of plastics
- Quality control teams
- Maintenance team
Why should you use ISO 13468-1 - Total luminous transmittance of transparent materials?
Plastics come in a wide range of varieties with different textures and transparency. Measurement of the amount of light that passes through a transparent material is called luminous transmittance.
ISO 13468-1 provides guidance on:
- Transparent plastics
- Total luminous transmittance
- Schematic arrangement of apparatus
- Specimen conditioning
- Measurements
- Inter-laboratory trials data
ISO 13468-1 walks you through the test to determine the total luminous transmittance of plastic for further industrial uses, so that end customers can have superior quality product.
What’s changed since the last update?
BS EN ISO 13468-1:2019 supersedes ISO 13468-1:1996 which has been withdrawn. BS EN ISO 13468-1:2019 includes some technical and editorial changes with respect to ISO 13468-1:1996:
- The format of figures has been revised
- The normative references have been revised
- Editorial changes have been applied

