An image processing algorithm was developed for tile shade classification on the basis of quantitative measurements in CIELAB color space. A total of 50 tile images of 10 types were recorded, and evaluated with the proposed algorithm in comparison with the conventional classification method. The objectivity of the method is based on the fact that it is not subject to inter- and intra-observer variability arising from human's profile of competency in interpreting subjective and non-quantifiable descriptions.