Hi

Has anybody built a chart from paint sample cards? If so, could you make a reference of color names?

TX

OK. I went to homeDepot/lowes and got me a few card samples

The largest number of browns were at HomeDepot with the collection from Ralph Lauren

http://www.ralphlaurenhome.com/rlhome/p ... estyle.asp

Of the many many browns, I only selected 5 for all my practical purposes. From light to dark

level 1 VM94: Brush sable
level 2 UL11: Rust
level 3 VM84: Stale brown
level 4 VM92: Coffee
level 5 TH36: Ebony

They match the first 5 levels from this page: http://www.ineedcoffee.com/00/roasts/

The internet links are (if you want to check them out):

Vintage Masters (VM):

http://www.ralphlaurenhome.com/rlhome/p ... lp&start=0

Urban loft (UL):

http://www.ralphlaurenhome.com/rlhome/p ... lp&start=0

Thoroghbred (TH):

http://www.ralphlaurenhome.com/rlhome/p ... sp?haid=48

Cheers

Arpi,

THANK YOU FOR THE IDEA!

I have a better one

I anybody has a real Agtron color chart, they could create a single image (and put it in the internet) with all the color squares and then have it printed at Costco. I think it is only $3 (10"x13"?). You would have to tell them that you don't want 'color correction.' They have the best printer available from any other picture place.

Cheers

PS: this is what more or less looks like (the colors look closer in real life to the levels than in this pic). If you come up with better colors let me know I am sure that more precise colors can be obtained by mixing brands, etc.

Actually, this problem is more complex than you think.

To accurately reproduce the Agtron tiles, you would need to read the tiles with a spectrophotometer. You could then convert the color values to Pantone or L*ab equivalents. The former could be directly accomplished by getting the appropriate Pantone chips from a printing-supply company, but the latter is more practical. The L*ab values can be input directly into Photoshop, and a document with all the tiles can be created which can then be calibrated to an appropriate color space, and printed on any printer which has been accurately color-calibrated, including the ones at Costco.

It is also possible to download accurate color profiles for the specific Costco printer to which you plan to print, and convert the document to that profile in Photoshop, and then (only then) ask Costco to print without color management.

If you color calibrate your monitor, including luminosity, you could even use a computer by the roaster for these comparisons.

Use of either the real Agtron tiles or accurate reproductions assumes viewing under a stable illuminant of appropriate luminosity, CRI, and color temperature. Reproductions need to be printed using inksets which to not exhibit metamerism in the brown tones printed.

I have the necessary hardware and software to do this, but have never bothered, as I like to roast by eye, smell, sound, and monitoring of bean mass temperature curves. Actually creating such a file, and widely distributing it on this or any other internet forum, would surely be illegal, if the Agtron tiles are not public domain intellectual property.

-Mike

Thanks for the interesting info. I am not trying to take business away from anybody. I guess we don't have to call the chart 'Agtron.' And I also guess that there were other charts before 'Agtron' (never seen one myself). If we could come up with a free public domain chart of roast levels, then color levels could be referenced across the internet to the benefit of better communication. For example, a person finds good results that at level 5 ...

Cheers

Not Agtron, but ...

http://www.sweetmarias.com/roasting-VisualGuideV2.php

While I agree that finishing color can be an indicator of a successful roast, I think there are much more useful metrics out there. Like life, coffee roasting is not about the destination, but the trip. (i.e. not the finishing temp but the actual roast profile). Ground coffee agtron compared to whole bean tells much more info because it gives you an idea of the finishing ramp of the roast.