We discuss how tight-binding band-structure calculations with a chirality- and diameter-dependent nearest-neighbor hopping integral may be used to relate well resolved features in the UV-VIS-NIR spectra of individual single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) to electronic excitations in specific tube types. The assignment of (n,m) indices to interband transitions in specific tube types can support a quantitative analysis of absorption spectra which may eventually be used for rapid screening and optimization of sample composition during SWNT synthesis