Detectors are a key feature of the contemporary scientific approach to cultural heritage (CH), both for diagnostics and conservation. INFN-CHNet is the network of the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics that develops and applies new instrumentation for the study of CH. This process results in both optimized traditional state-of-the-art and highly innovative detection setups for spectrometric techniques. Examples of the former are X-rays, gamma-rays, visible-light and particles spectrometers tailored for CH applications, with optimized performances, reliability, weight, transportability, cost, absorbed power, and complementarity with other techniques. Regarding the latter, examples are ARDESIA, the array of detectors at the DAΦNE-Light facility, the MAXRS detection setup at the Riken-RAL muon beamline and the imaging facilities at the LENA Laboratory. Paths for next-generation instruments have been suggested, as in the case of the X-ray Superconductive Detectors and X-ray Microcalorimeter Spectrometers, allowing astonishing improvement in energy resolution. Many issues in CH can now be addressed thanks to scientific techniques exploiting the existing detectors, while many others are still to be addressed and require the development of new approaches and detectors.

The aim of this research work was to assess the influence of different scale adjustment conditions on both color measurement and color difference quantification and, in particular, to determine the best procedure to follow for a high-reliability protocol. This issue is very important in the Cultural Heritage field and, above all, in color measurement, which is carried out at different times during conservation and restoration campaigns or during archaeological excavations. Color change evaluation, performed by way of spectrophotometric measurements under different scale adjustment procedures on selected samples represented by colored reflectance standards and colored paintings, aimed to obtain results not only on ideal samples (certified standards) but also on real case studies (paintings). The study was conducted by focusing on the coordinates of the CIELAB color space and, in particular, on the calculation of the ΔE*_ab quantity. The results show the introduction of nonsystematic variation with different scale adjustment procedures independent of materials and hue.