MINNEAPOLIS — Sherwin-Williams announced a new program designed to reduce the time it takes for powder finishers to match, receive and apply powder. The Color Express™ program utilizes an affordable hand-held reader to match color against in-stock powder products available at more than 70 Sherwin-Williams locations across North America. The combination of digital technology and locally stocked products can reduce the matching process from weeks down to a few days.

“Our customers often tell us the first shop to match a color wins the job,” said Tabitha McLeish, Global Product Line Director for Sherwin-Williams. “Pairing digital color matching technology along with Sherwin-Williams localized support and inventory can add speed to job coaters operations that can immediately have a positive impact on their business.”

Technology to measure and match color has been available for some time. Devices, such as a spectrophotometer, can effectively measure and match color right on site. However, investing the space and the capital for purchasing and maintaining the equipment just isn’t possible. With advances in technology portable, accurate and affordable color matching devices are now an option for any operation.

The Sherwin-Williams ColorReaderPRO, powered by Datacolor, allows coaters to incorporate digital color match technology into their operation. The device is simple, self-contained and calibrated on site. Job coaters benefit from improved match times, reduced inventory and the ability and improved customer response time. By implementing this technology paired with local in-stock inventory, coaters can reduce match and order times and begin a customer’s job request in days instead of weeks.