There are two types of instruments, tristimulus colorimeter and spectrocolorimeters, are used for the mesurement of color.

Tristimulus Colorimeter
Tristimulus colorimeters supply numerical data representing the absolute value and the color difference between a reference sample and a tested sample. The are mainly used in quality control (QC), which determining conformity to standards and compatibility with specified tolernces. The main advantages of tristimulus colorimeters were the short measuring time, ease of use and their relatively low cost. The modern techniques used in spectrocolorimeter, and the reduction of in their price, have considerably reduced the former advantages of colorimeters over spectrocolorimeters.

Spectrocolorimeter
Spectrocolorimeters analyze light energy reflected or transmitted by a sample, wavelength by wavelength. They measure the photometric characteristics of the material in the visible spectrum and produce spectral graphs of samples. From the spectral energy distribution of one or more illuminants (e.g. A, D65, C, CWF), tristimulus response of standard observers (2 or 10 degree) and the spectral graph of the sample, spectrocolorimeter calcaulates the tristimulus values for any illuminant or observer while the colorimeter can only  measure for one illuminant and one observer. In addition to the ability to supply values for quality control quite easily, the spectrocolorimeter is also able to determine the apperance of sample under different illuminants and calculates the metamerism.

In the color formulation, the spectrocolorimeter turns out to be an indispensible measuring tool, because it is necessary in order to acquire the spectral graph. It is simple and rapid to use, and its cost approches that of most tristimulus colorimeters. Moreover, because of the advance in its technology, the spectrocolorimeter has become smaller and transportable.