1. A method for comparing a sample image to a reference image, said sample image and said reference image each having a plurality of pixels, each of said plurality of pixels having at least one color channel value associated therewith, said method comprising: calculating a color channel difference between one or more of the color channel values of one or more of the pixels in the sample image and the corresponding color channel values for the corresponding pixels in the reference image; comparing the calculated color channel difference to a predefined color channel tolerance; defining a pixel status of each of the one or more of the pixels in the sample image as a function of said comparing; and defining an image status of the sample image as a function of the defined pixel status of each of the one or more pixels in the sample image.