Color Muse for Colored Mortar Mixes: Looking for an Accurate Color Matching Tool in Colored Mortar Production

Abstract

With the rise in demand for decorative concrete, colored concrete started to offer more to the market than its traditional earth-toned color palate. Color matching and blending in concrete and mortar mixes are necessary to provide the consumer with the best variety of product. However, the current tool used in the industry to match color is very expensive. As technology improves, we are able to find cost-effective alternatives for high-priced equipment that still meet required standards of accuracy. This study compares the data generated by $10,000 X-rite spectrophotometer with the $100 Color Muse matching tool. This study involves producing cookie-sized specimens of colored mortar, with varying quantities of pigments, and scanning the sample with both tools in order to generate a color formula specific to each sample. Each sample’s formula can then be recreated for use in the production and quality control side of the decorative concrete industry. The goal is to see if the Color Muse can produce a similar formula to that of the X-rite spectrophotometer so that the industry can replace the costly device with the cost-effective alternative without significantly sacrificing quality control of the color selection process.