[argyllcms] Re: Using Agyllcms + Colormunki to match house paint?
- From: Ben Goren <ben@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: argyllcms@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2016 09:15:04 -0700
On Mar 12, 2016, at 9:37 PM, James Peroulas <james@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Is there a way to use a Colormunki Photo with Argyllcms to measure regular
house paint so that I can go to a local paint supply store and have them mix
matching paint? (I'm in the USA.)
Sorta. Probably. Maybe.
Looking at the labels of some old paint Kelly Moore cans I have, it seems
that they use a colorspace represented by the letters B C F L R. Is this a
standard colorspace? Or does every paint vendor use their own proprietary,
secret colorspace?
Those are traditional pigments that trace their heritage back to artist
paint...the "L," I think, is going to be "lamp black," for example.
And every paint manufacturer has their own set of pigments for a particular
product line, with some of them having more than a dozen pigments.
So, you have a few options.
First, you might be interested to know that every local paint shop I've seen
uses X-Rite hardware and software for their matching. They're typical contact
spectrometers not unlike the i1 Pro in stylistic design but obviously with more
metal and less plastic and designed to be abused all day long. The software is
going to have been developed in conjunction with the paint manufacturer, and I
think most of them go for a spectral match rather than an L*a*b* match -- but
don't quote me on that. That's all a roundabout way of suggesting that they've
got the equipment to do a better match than you're likely to get with your
ColorMunki.
Next, some (but not all) shops can plug in arbitrary colors. Some can do RGB in
some unknown color space (though, of course, I'd guess sRGB). Some can do
L*a*b*. You might see if your preferred shop can mix the paint that way.
Last...you might try corporate customer / technical service. Some years back, I
used Behr's Web form to ask for a formula for a spectrally-flat L* = 50, a* =
0, b* = 0 paint. They took some time to reply, but the result is better than
any painted gray card (such as the famous Kodak one) you're going to find. But
I'd only go that route for something critical or exotic.
For the record, here's the paint formula Behr gave me:
Color Name: Neutral Gray
Color No. L: 50, a:0, b:0
Base: 4300 (Deep Base)
Measurement: 384ths
Size: Gallon
BL-2Y318
IL-78
KXL-6Y156
LL-3Y172
As a final note...most of the classic 24 ColorChecker pigments are easily
spectrally matched by most paint stores, and all of them are matchable by some
stores. And some paint stores -- like the Home Depot up the road from me --
will mix them up in pint-sized samples.
Cheers,
b&
Other related posts:
