The commercial coatings division of PPG has launched MeasureColor Mobile, an innovative color-matching app that brings thousands of colors to customers’ fingertips in a matter of seconds, coupled with a small colorimeter to read the target color.
MeasureColor Mobile, available in the United States and Canada, combines cloud technology with a handheld, BLUETOOTH-enabled scanning device to read a color, interpret the data and quickly send the closest PPG color match to the app on a customer’s tablet or smartphone. The customer then has immediate access to thousands of colors in PPG’s industrial powder and liquid coatings libraries. 
“This is a color measurement system that provides our customers with a quick and precise way to identify potential color matches while eliminating time-consuming color formulation work and allows our distributors to provide liquid or powder colors more quickly to the end-user,” says Steve Podlas, PPG Brand Manager, Industrial Segments, U.S. and Canada. “The MeasureColor Mobile device is about the size of a flashlight battery and can be used on nearly any surface — metal, plastic, wood and even soft surfaces — to capture color. As a color retrieval device, it is classified in a category of tools called colorimeters.”
According to Podlas, the MeasureColor Mobile tool offers several valuable features and benefits: The two features he believes will be used most often are Color Search and Color Compare. The tool’s search feature scans a customer’s color and immediately searches the library of Commercial Performance Coatings colors to see if an acceptable color already exists, thereby eliminating the need for a custom color match. The compare feature allows a customer to consider the difference between two colors — an original part and a recently painted component, for example, within a Delta E measurement of 0.50.
Podlas adds that the cloud-based tool also provides ordering information such as the brand code, color name and gloss range. In the case of powders, resin chemistry is provided and the tool advises customers if the selected color is a stock or make-to-order color. In addition, the search results give distributors access to the business unit website for easy retrieval of datasheets or SDS information. All search results are displayed in a clear, easy-to-read format and then stored for sharing or archival purposes.
“The MeasureColor Mobile program was developed with support from the MeasureColor team — leaders in the field with this type of software and device. They understood PPG’s desire to address our customers’ requirements in a unique way and provided the innovations that allow the capability to move critical color projects along as speedily as possible,” says Podlas. “We believe that our customers will view MeasureColor Mobile as a revolutionary advancement in color matching.”
