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Paint colour match: what a phone camera can and cannot tell you

Can a phone give you a paint colour match? Why cameras and light shift colour, how in-store matching works and how to test with tester pots.

4 min readBy Zarkon

On this page
  1. Can a phone camera give an exact paint colour match?
  2. How does in-store paint matching work?
  3. How should you use tester pots?
  4. Questions people ask
  5. Where Paint Colour Match helps, and where it does not
  6. Sources

Can a phone camera give an exact paint colour match?

No. Even shops that offer colour matching work from a physical sample. Valspar’s colour matching service at B&Q scans a physical sample in store, and its page says plainly that it cannot match a colour from phone or tablet screens.

Saga Magazine, looking at paint visualiser apps, reached a similar view: tech is not a perfect substitute for physically applying tester pots, because you will not get as accurate an idea of the colour, and you cannot see how the light changes it through the day.

Light matters even with real paint. Dulux explains that light makes quite a difference to how colours appear, and particularly influences whites. In north facing rooms, most colours look slightly colder and darker because the natural light is cooler. A camera sees the room in that same light.

How does in-store paint matching work?

Many decorating shops will scan a sample of the colour you want and mix paint to match. The details vary by shop.

  • Valspar at B&Q asks for a sample at least 0.5cm in size, not too glossy and not full of holes. Its team scans it and creates a colour recipe that can be mixed into your chosen paint. It still recommends trying a tester pot first.
  • Brewers Decorator Centres asks for a swatch larger than a 50p coin and scans it with a spectrophotometer. The system either creates a new recipe or suggests the closest existing colour with a percentage match.

Brewers is honest that a 100% match is not always possible. It lists the main factors that affect accuracy:

  • Material: light reflectance can distort colour, for example with silks, velvets, thick pile or woven fabrics, glossy paper and metallic objects.
  • Tone: mid shades match most accurately.
  • Finish: a gloss paint matched from a matt sample will look slightly different.

How should you use tester pots?

Tester pots are the most reliable way to see a colour in your own room. Dulux and Saga Magazine give similar advice:

  • Paint two coats. Dulux suggests two coats on A4 lining paper. Saga says at least two coats are needed for most paints to show their true colour.
  • Wait until it is dry. Dulux points out that wet paint looks very different from dry paint.
  • Move it around. Dulux suggests hanging samples on different walls and checking them throughout the day and night. Saga suggests trying every wall you plan to paint.
  • Do not test side by side. Saga warns that each colour is influenced by the one next to it.
  • Use the right finish. Saga notes that matt reflects far less light than silk or gloss, so test in the finish you will use.
  • Look at it when you use the room. Saga’s example is a bedroom, which you mostly see at night under artificial light.

Questions people ask

Can I match paint from a photo on my phone?

Only roughly. Valspar at B&Q says it cannot match from phone or tablet screens, and a camera’s reading shifts with the light. Use a phone to narrow down your choice, then check a tester pot.

What sample should I take to a paint shop for matching?

A flat, dry piece of the colour. Valspar at B&Q asks for at least 0.5cm, and Brewers asks for larger than a 50p coin. Check your shop’s own requirements.

Why does my paint look different on the wall?

Light changes how colours appear. Dulux notes that north facing rooms make most colours look colder and darker. The finish also matters.

Where Paint Colour Match helps, and where it does not

Paint Colour Match is our Android app for finding the closest real paint colours. Point your camera at a wall and it compares what the camera sees with over 2,000 colours from Dulux, Crown and Farrow & Ball, using the screen colour each maker publishes. It shows your colour next to each paint with a label for how close it is. To get round the lighting problem above, hold a sheet of white printer paper on the wall: the app uses it to correct the light. Matching is free with no limit, and a one-time Pro unlock adds rooms, photo matching, comparisons and a paint calculator. There is no subscription.

What it is good for: a quick, well lit starting point, giving you a few real paint names to order testers for, and checking a tester against your wall.

What it will not do: the matches are approximate and change with lighting, so it will never replace a tester pot or a shop’s in-store matching. It is not linked to any paint brand or shop. Always check a tester pot before you buy.

Questions or bugs: Email us.

Sources

  1. Get colour confident choosing paint coloursDulux dulux.co.uk
  2. Are you using paint tester pots in the wrong way?Saga Magazine saga.co.uk
  3. Paint colour matching serviceValspar at B&Q valsparpaint.co.uk
  4. Paint colours at BrewersBrewers Decorator Centres brewers.co.uk

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