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5 Ways to Reduce Your Paint Color Mistints

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Raise your hand if you love finding out that a customer’s paint order is mistinted.

Anyone? No?

Hey, we thought we would ask! But did we truly think we would find someone who enjoys making those tedious corrections? Nope – we’re not that crazy. Mistints are genuinely a pain! Those blasted time-wasters cut into margins, and erode loyal customers’ trust in your products. But how can you best this bothersome beast?

We have a few tried and true ideas! Here are our top-five tips on intercepting imperfections before they leave you in a lurch:

Become a Sample Sleuth

Ask questions. Go over the sample’s details with your customer, with inquiries like “how old is the sample?” “has it been sitting in the sun?” “has it been subject to any alteration over time?” It may not occur to customers that there are variables that could have affected the sample they provided and what you measure is what they’ll get. Gather as much information as possible, so you can unlock the product’s full potential on the first go-round.

Keep it Squeaky Clean

Dirty samples can cause avoidable headaches. Remember that segments from highly-trafficked areas like corners, baseboards, hallways, and stairwells, may not produce their ideal color due to an inevitable build-up of daily grime. Ensuring a sample is as spotless as possible upon receipt will save considerable effort on preventable corrections.

Manage your Maintenance

Although spectros and dispensers require minimal maintenance, that little bit of extra love can go a long way. Spectros should be regularly calibrated. Dispensers are at their most accurate when there is no colorant build-up, so manufacturers generally suggest a daily purging to avoid clogging. Treat your equipment right, and it will return the favor!

The Perfect Match

Have you ever matched a color and had Delta*e and Metamerism numbers pop up? “What the heck are those?” you may have asked yourself at the time. Think of them as the golf score of paint – the lower the number the closer you are to your target color. Delta*e is the visible measure of change between two colors. Metamerism is the visible change between two colors across different light sources. No more running to the parking lot to compare colors!

Embrace the Barcode Scanner

Sometimes you become so deeply immersed in your operation, or you have become such an expert, that your brain can autopilot through certain activities. This is where a Barcode Scanner comes in handy. When all those paint cans start to look the same, the scanner is your assurance that you’ve picked the right base each and every time.

We understand that even with these practical suggestions, a mistint can occasionally occur. If that happens, our biggest piece of advice is to put your color matching computer to work. Should a correction be out of your reach, Datacolor’s best-in-class matching technology will provide a new, upgraded formula that will administer the color you need.

Hopefully this information will save you some hassle down the road!

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