Imagine with me, if you will. You’re a designer, walking through an antique store and you see this gorgeous chippy table. The size isn’t right, but the color is exactly what you are looking for. Oh, if only you carried all eight of your paint color fan decks around with you, you could spend an hour conferring with strangers in the store trying to find which color was the closest match. Well, now there is a better way.
Capsure is a gadget ideal for designers, paint fanatics and color buffs.
Here’s how it works. You install the software and connect it to your computer. Then you decide which paint decks you want to match colors to. I selected Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams and True Value. Once it’s synced and charged, you can start to play. I immediately pressed it against my kitchen wall, it read the color and said “BM – Glass Slipper.” Bingo. Benjamin Moore’s Glass Slipper. Wow. Cool. I then proceeded to go around my entire house metering any color in sight.
One thing that’s really cool is that it can be used on patterns and you can zoom in and select the color you want it to read.
So, if you want to know a color that will be a good substitution for the ASCP Louis Blue used on my corner cabinets, it’s…
…wait for it…
…Cloudy Sky by Benjamin Moore.
Pretty fun, huh? It does so much more…I know I haven’t even scratched the surface, but it’s definitely a great tool for designers and painting professionals. It’s a bit pricey ($650) for the average DIYer, but worth it if color is a big part of your business. If you’re interested in more information about Capsure, visit xrite.com and pantone.com.
On another note, I hope everyone who’s getting pounded by Irene is staying safe and dry. We’re expecting a lot of rain and a little wind, but nothing too bad. We’re just going to be hunkered in for the evening and I’ll be making some fresh pasta for a birthday lunch (for one of our former youth kids) tomorrow. The ice cream cake is already in the freezer.
X-rite sent me a complimentary Capsure device to test out for this review, but the opinions given are entirely my own.
49 Responses
I just got an app for my phone that does something similar. Love a fun new toy. 🙂
How cool! You must be having so much fun with your new toy!
Homemade pasta?! That sounds scrumptious! Do you have the Kitchenaid attachment?
Have a safe & dry weekend,
Gail
Have you scanned everything in the house? ; )
Okay,, that is CRAZY cool!! Gotta checknthat out!
I need one… simple as that!
What a nifty little gadget!
Hi MMS, I clicked on the links that you provided to try to find out some more info. about this potentially neato, keeno thingy you have. It isn't that easy, in fact I gave up. They offer lots of products and their sight isn't exactly "bloggie lady friendly". I need something that says something like: "this is what MMS uses. Here is the item number and this is what it costs. Please read below to understand all the cool stuff it will do for you". Please help MMS. Thank You, Vicki
Resene and Dulux make an app for iphone that does this, it is so cool, isn't it!
xx Karen
Awesome!
Very cool! My hardware store loans out a similar device. I love it!
I wouldn't mind owning one of those, but I agree with Vicki. I had trouble finding the necessary information at that site. Thanks.
I have to agree with Vicki. I finally found the product after numerous searches, most people would give up. And when I did find it and its price tag I realized I was not going to be getting one. It was over $600. But it is a very nifty gaget.
Traci
So I shouldn't be taking the putty knife with me to scratch off a chunk of the paint to have color matched? Nah, I wouldn't do that. Love this new gadget!
Thanks, Vicki! I added some additional links and information for you. I appreciate the feedback. 🙂
Miss Mustard Seed
Okay that is really NEAT! But omg for $650 I'll stick to my paint decks for a while lol.
For those of you looking for a link to purchase… here you go. http://www.pantone.com/pages/products/product.aspx?pid=1032&ca;=34
Hi Marian,
I have an app on my iPhone that is by Ben Moore. It is the same thing, you can capture any color in your house or wherever and it will tell you what BEn Moore color it is closest too~and it is FREE! So if anyone has an iphone, try it out!
That is an amazing tool!!! Thanks for sharing the info, Marian!
🙂
that is really awesome!
hustling over to my iphone as we speak …!!
way too cool.
I hired a girl who is a "color expert" to come over and give me some advice about updating my house. I also was bound and determined to paint my family room paneling which had been in place since…gasp…1970. She used one of those little gizmos you featured in your blog post and I was amazed at not only what she suggested and the final result. She was spot on. I was also shocked (beyond shocked) that she told me not to paint my paneling because it had the texture and tone of blue/green limed walls. So..the paneling is still there but has been updated with bright trim and a more updated color on the back of the bookcases.I am happy.
that is the coolest thing EVER!!! too bad the price isnt that cool 😉
That is the coolest thing!
Thanks for sharing.
xx
A
Be safe.
Take care.
Neat little gadget! I wish I had a reason to justify purchasing that. I'm such a gadget fool.
I'm always amazed at new advancements in technology – very cool device. It's quite pricey (perhaps best suited for a business? or color fanatic with $$$). I'm a big fan of the Benjamin Moore 'Aura' paint for my home, so I'd rather buy an iPhone with lots of cool stuff and take Amy@MaisonDecor's advice and get the free app 🙂
That is a fine tool. Wish it was just a tad less Pricey. You have the best job!
Wow that is one awesome tool… really fantastic. Hope that the price will eventually come down so I can get one… Thanks for the review!!!
Very cool gizmo.
And since I am sitting up well after midnight listening to Irene pound my house … please send an ice cream cake. Sounds delish, and we would be very grateful.
🙂
All the best — Cass
That is awesome!!!! 😀 How fun!!!
That is AWESOME! Thanks for sharing!
that is just about the coolest thing eva!!!!
What a cool new gadget! Love it
Hugs
SueAnn
That is a cool tool!
Reading through the comments I like that there's apps for iPhone that do this. My employer pays for my phone & they gave me a Droid. Now I must go search for apps like that!
I also have the SW app for my phone and it works great. You scan scan a patterned fabric, zoom in on one color and get the color match. Love it! As a commercial interior designer, it makes my job a lot easier. Love technology!
That is about the coolest gadget ever! I'm going to get one for myself…..
Wow, what a cool tool. Very fun.
Holy Cow! This changes everything! I want one!! Now how come there isn't an app for this? And not just able to read paint made by one company, like BM, there should be an app that works just like this gadget and can match or tell you any paint color.
Funny, bc I just "pinterested" the room you posted in Lucketts with the teal walls and ceiling (the 1st pic) bc I really like that color and was curious what it was! Feel like scanning the wall for a stranger? 😉
I also have the SW app for iPad, which was free. It's a great idea, though, for professionals to have multiple vendors' colors on one device. Enjoy!
That looks like a really cool tool. Speaking of Hurricane Irene, We were scheduled to go back home to Arizona on Saturday but can't get a flight until Wednesday. The worse part – I know I will find the perfect barn sale and I won't have a way to get anything home. Love your new toy!
Fantastic! Thanks for share – I like to know what is available!
I would have no need for this gadget whatsoever, but how cool! I wish I could just play with one!
Ok, this has got to be one of the coolest gadgets I've seen of late.
that's very cool!
WOW! I can hardly wait to get one of these! What a great idea!
That is seriously one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Crazy, now I want one. Hope you made it safely through the storm and you have sunshine once again in PA!
I so want one of these! This is amazing! It is the best way to color match! Thanks for sharing !
Tiffany {Living Savvy}
Wow Miss Mustard Seed, you have a great bunch of commenter’s here. I’m Mark from X-Rite, and we produce CAPSURE. You all brought up some great points, and interesting questions regarding CAPSURE, and I would like to take some time to respond.
CAPSURE is a unique image based color measurement tool that features controlled illumination, and 9-band color measurement system, which in addition to measuring flat surfaces it can also measure textured surfaces and give an accurate color result. Also with built-in calibration, CAPSURE ensure color accuracy.
Color matching apps on smartphones or tablets, are fun to play with and can give you a good starting point, but the color accuracy is questionable. You can’t color calibrate the screens on these devices, so the actual colors shown may not be an accurate visual representation of the color. Additionally if you take a photo and then have the app pull colors out of it you could have the same problem. Lighting conditions, glare, angle of the shot, and other factors might come into play, and would ensure that not even the photo taken has accurate colors. There are a number of other differences but I wont bore you with all the details.
X-Rite has multiple versions of CAPSURE (we really don’t mean to make this confusing) but we have the PANTONE (http://bit.ly/ow6u7p) version which features over 8,000 PANTONE colors. We also offer an X-Rite (http://bit.ly/p16fGX) version, which you can pick and choose which paint fandecks you would like loaded and you can always purchase more online with our sync tool. CAPSURE is also available in branded versions for Benjamin Moore (http://bit.ly/rkZ44E) and Glidden (http://bit.ly/mQlvxC) which feature their own paint fandecks. If you want to learn more about these different varieties just let me know.
Luckily with all these different versions of CAPSURE, there are some different price points, but for some it still might be a bit much. But @rtalberts (comment #10) brings up a great point that her hardware store loans out a similar tool. Perhaps you can ask your local hardware store to offer a similar service. Most hardware/paint stores are familiar with our paint matching equipment, and CAPSURE would be another tool for them to serve their customers. This loan system might also work for color experts or interior designers as well as @The Mom (comment #20) mentioned.
Well I hopefully my response helped clarify a few items, if not just let me know and I will be more than happy to answer any additional questions you may have. Thanks.
nice post. .please try this one. .terrabyt thank you. . .
Wow. I want one of those. I sure hope they become popular enough that mass production brings the price down a bit though, because it's not that often that I need to know an exact paint color, and the number of decks I would have to have loaded to cover the bases when I *do* is astronomical.