Method and system for matching and adjusting pigmentation of a sample coating to a target coating

A system for providing a match metric for matching and adjusting pigmentation of a target coating and at least one specimen coating, the system comprising:

• A) a computing device;
• and
• B) a computer program product, the computer program product comprises computer executable codes stored on a computer readable storage medium functionally coupled to the computing device and causes the computing device to perform a computing process when in operation, the computing process comprises the steps of:
• B1) retrieving from a formulation database which comprises formulas for coating compositions with different pigmentations, one preliminary matching formula;
• B2) providing a match metric that describes a color difference and a spectral similarity between a remission curve given for the target coating and a remission curve determined for the preliminary matching formula;
• and
• by using one or more processors:
• B3) calculating a match metric value for the preliminary matching formula based on the remission curve given for the target coating and the remission curve determined for the preliminary matching formula;
• B4) adjusting the preliminary matching formula with respect to concentrations of included pigments in the way that the match metric is minimal;
• B5) evaluating the match metric value of the adjusted preliminary formula;
• and
• B6) deciding, based on a magnitude of the match metric value of the adjusted preliminary formula, whether the pigmentation of the adjusted preliminary matching formula is significantly improvable;
• in the case that the pigmentation of the adjusted preliminary matching formula is significantly improvable:
• B7) defining a selection of at least one additional tinting base which might be eligible for further adjusting the adjusted preliminary matching formula to the target coating, each additional tinting base being associated with a respective modified preliminary matching formula consisting of the adjusted pigmentation of the adjusted preliminary formula and the respective tinting base;
• B8) calculating, for each of the at least one additional tinting base, a match metric value for the respective modified preliminary matching formula;
• B9) adjusting the modified preliminary matching formula with respect to concentrations of the included pigments in the way that the match metric value is minimal;
• B10) assigning each of the at least one additional tinting base to the respective one match metric value which has been calculated for the respective adjusted modified preliminary matching formula;
• and
• B11) issuing, via an output device, a list of at least those additional tinting bases of the at least one additional tinting base whose associated adjusted modified preliminary matching formula has a remission curve that is more similar to the remission curve of the target coating than the remission curve of the adjusted preliminary matching formula with respect to the match metric, respectively.

A computer readable storage medium functionally coupled to a computing device storing a computer program product which comprises computer executable codes and causes the computing device to perform a computing process when in operation, the computing process comprising the steps of:

• B1) retrieving from a formulation database which comprises formulas for coating compositions with different pigmentations, one preliminary matching formula;
• B2) providing a match metric that describes a color difference and a spectral similarity between a remission curve given for the target coating and a remission curve determined for the preliminary matching formula;
• B3) calculating a match metric value for the preliminary matching formula based on the remission curve given for the target coating and a remission curve determined for the preliminary matching formula;
• B4) adjusting the preliminary matching formula with respect to concentrations of included pigments in the way that the match metric is minimal;
• B5) evaluating the match metric value of the adjusted preliminary formula;
• and
• B6) deciding, based on a magnitude of the match metric value of the adjusted preliminary formula, whether the pigmentation of the adjusted preliminary matching formula is significantly improvable;
• in the case that the pigmentation of the adjusted preliminary matching formula is significantly improvable
• B7) defining a selection of at least one additional tinting base which might be eligible for further adjusting the adjusted preliminary matching formula to the target coating, each additional tinting base being associated with a respective modified preliminary matching formula consisting of the adjusted pigmentation of the adjusted preliminary formula and the respective tinting base;
• B8) calculating, for each of the at least one additional tinting base, a match metric value for the respective modified preliminary matching formula;
• B9) adjusting the modified preliminary matching formula with respect to concentrations of the included pigments in the way that the match metric value is minimal;
• B10) assigning each of the at least one additional tinting base to the respective one match metric value which has been calculated for the respective adjusted modified preliminary matching formula;
• and
• B11) issuing, via an output device, a list of at least those additional tinting bases of the at least one additional tinting base whose associated adjusted modified preliminary matching formula has a remission curve that is more similar to the remission curve of the target coating than the remission curve of the adjusted preliminary matching formula with respect to the match metric, respectively.