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Everything You Need to Know About Datacolor Match Pigment 4

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Wondering what Match Pigment 4 color matching software is all about? We put together this guide to get you up to speed on our latest software and how it’s improving the digital color management process for the paint, pigment, and plastic industries.  

What is Match Pigment?

Match Pigment is our color formulation software. It works in tandem with our spectrophotometers to help you achieve the right color every time. It can also save you time and money, but we’ll get to that a bit later. For now, here’s a short video:

Material-wise, what is Match Pigment designed for?

A whole range of materials, including paints, pigments, plastics, leather, inks, and cosmetics.

datacolor match pigment software for paints, pigments, coatings, cosmetics, leather and more
I heard that Match Pigment comes with something called “SmartMatch” technology. What’s that?

SmartMatch is something extra we added to Match Pigment. It’s in there to help you improve first-shot color match rates by up to 80%. It also reduces the need to make physical matches. Our resident paint and coatings expert, Jeff Watts, dives further into the details of SmartMatch.  

Why is digital color management important?

Everyone sees color differently—even well-trained color experts. The way we see color can change from person to person and even by the hour. If someone’s eyes are fatigued or they’re just having an off day, it could easily lead to improper matches. And that starts the whole process over from the beginning. On the other hand, digital color management can cut costs, shorten formulation time, and help you gain a widespread reputation for accuracy.  

datacolor match pigment software for paints, pigments, coatings, cosmetics, leather and more
Can you explain how Datacolor’s hardware and software work together?

We’d be happy to. The hardware (a spectrophotometer) is used for color measurement and can be either stationary or portable.  The software component (Match Pigment in this case) gives you a visual display of that measured data. The result: digital color communication.  

Makes sense. But how do I choose the right color management solution for my paint, coatings, or plastics needs?

Kenny Thomas, our Senior Application Specialist, is here to help. Here’s a short guide he wrote to get you started on the right path. We also have a tool for selecting the right benchtop instrument, which you can find here.

datacolor match pigment software for paints, pigments, coatings, cosmetics, leather and more
You released Match Pigment 4 this year. What makes it different from Match Pigment 3?

A lot of things, actually. Here’s a video that details everything that’s new.  

If you could name five of the biggest reasons to use Match Pigment 4, what would they be?

Only five? If you insist:  

  1. You’ll get accurate color formulation in up to 50% less time 
  2. You’ll greatly reduce the manual matching required to verify palette formulas for new product releases resulting in increased speed to market
  3. With Smart Correction, you’ll strike the perfect balance between reducing raw materials and achieving the right color 
  4. You’ll be able to evaluate customer-specific criteria even better 
  5. You’ll cut down on training time with an improved user interface 

(Do we really have to stop at five?) 

datacolor match pigment software for paints, pigments, coatings, cosmetics, leather and more
What are some of the stand-out features?

We’ve created guides to three of them: Product Line Maintenance, Gamut Mapping and Smart Correction.

I’m intrigued, but I’m going to need to see a spec sheet first. 

Right this way for the specs you desire.  

You said this was an “ultimate guide,” but I want to know more!

We thought you might say that. Head this way to fill out a few pieces of information and a member of our team will reach out to schedule a conversation. You can also request a quote here. 

Thanks for reading and happy matching!  

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