The present invention relates to color and, more specifically, to the selection of a color for a product.
Many products are offered in a number of colors. For instance, paints and plastics are offered in numerous colors. Potential purchasers of products that come in a number of different colors are either: (1) looking for the product in a specific color; or (2) want to browse the available colors for the product. Presently, a potential purchaser that is looking for a product in a specific color has three options for determining whether the product is available in the desired color. The first option requires the potential purchaser to send a sample of the desired color to the vendor. The vendor then performs a search of its color library to determine whether or not the product is available in the desired color and then informs the potential purchaser of the results of the search. The second option is for the potential purchaser to travel to the vendor""s site and review their color library for a product to determine whether or not the vendor offers the product in the desired color. Lastly, the potential purchaser can request a physical copy of the vendor""s color catalog for the product and search the catalog for the specific color. Due to printing costs and the like, physical copies of the vendor""s catalog are, in many instances, out of date. In any case, the vendor may offer the product in a color that, while not the desired color, is close enough. Alternatively, if the product is not available in the desired color or a color that is close enough for the purchaser, some vendors offer to match the color. Matching a color is generally a time consuming and expensive endeavor. A purchaser that wants to browse the available colors for a product either travels to the vendor""s site to peruse the vendor""s color library for a product or obtains a copy of the vendor""s color catalog for the product to review.
An exemplary embodiment of the invention is a method for allowing a potential purchaser to specify a custom color to a vendor. The method is implemented through a potential purchaser computer coupled to a vendor host computer system by a network. The method includes receiving at the vendor host computer system a request to specify a custom color from the potential purchaser computer. The potential purchaser computer is provided with a custom color request form. The vendor host computer system receives a custom color specification from the potential purchaser computer which is based on entries in the custom color request form.
An alternate embodiment of the invention is a method for selecting a color from a vendor color database in response to a standard color. The method is implemented through a potential purchaser computer coupled to a vendor host computer system by a network. The method includes receiving at the vendor host computer system a standard color from the potential purchaser computer. The vendor host computer retrieves at least one color from the vendor color database close to the standard color. The at least one vendor color close to the standard color is presented to the potential purchaser computer.