Why was Munsells colour system the most widely and globally accepted one?
It is difficult to say exactly why, but it is probably due to its systematic nature, the perceptual uniformity of the three perceptual dimensions, the degree to which it has been studied and refined over the past decade, and the commercial success of the Munsell Color Company. Part of this is that the system was not only well specified theoretically, but in practice. The samples have always been accurately produced and are very stable over time.
