Color Reference Collection

Greetings all,

I hope this is in the right section. I have a question about building a color reference collection. Since I'm having a hard time deciding what colors are what, can anyone give me any suggested Scott numbers they have as color references?

Thanks tons in advance!
Drew

I know it's not the cheap way to go, but I actually have a colour key. I have the Stanley Gibbons one, but I know that Scott produce a colour guide (or color guide as you'd spell it )as well for about the same price. Around about US$40ish retail price. Haven't checked ebay. Very handy if you're collecting shades or to distinguish between issues of the same design.

Balf

Check the Linn's Archives. Janet Klug wrote an article not terribly long ago about putting together a personal color reference collection. While it woule be a very ambitious undertaking, it could be very valuable because my experience tells me that none of the published color keys are adequate/accurate. If you can't locate the article, shoot me an e-mail and I can probably resurrect it for you.

I think all major catalogue publishers (Scott, Michel, SG,Yvert) provide color guides. But...

1) don't mix with the brands.
If you use Scott, then buy Amos/Scott color guide, if you use Michel, then buy Michel color guide etc. Main colors are usually pretty much 1:1 on all, but there are differences with names of shades/tones.

2) buy a new color guide, not a used one
Used ones may be cheaper, but there is a risk of changed/altered/faded colors. Color guides are like stamps - if you keep them properly (in the dark) when not used the colors will be accurate. If not, then... :(

just my 2 cents...

I have used the Stanley Gibbons color guide and found that it is not very helpful with colors listed in Scott.

The Wonder color gauge is worse than useless.

No color guide is very helpful unless the colors are printed by the same method as the stamps you are comparing. Such a gauge would be prohibitively expensive. Also it makes a difference which area of the stamp you are comparing. Areas of solid color are best, in my experience. However, on most if not all stamps, such areas do not exist large enough to be helpful.

Surely in this age of digital technology, a device could be made which would give an accurate color comparison.

No color guide is very helpful if the names of the colors do not correspond to stamp color names. Just pick a color--red for example--Can you find a "red" stamp in your collection. You might think this is a trivial question, but I challenge you to do it. Your concept of red is almost certainly not the red described in a catalog.

Describe the difference in words between blue and ultramarine.

Sorry for rambling, but one more experiment. Using the Scott catalog, find two stamps listed with the same color name and then place those two stamps side by side. You will find that in most if not all cases they are not exactly the same color. Use two fairly modern stamps, to minimize the effects of age.

Thanks for all the advice. I gave up trying to find color charts or anything like that a while ago. I read somewhere about the process of finding stamps that call out the color and using them as guides before. I guess I was hoping that maybe someone had already done this and had a list of Scott numbers I could get. You know, cheat! LOL

Thanks again and I'm still open to suggestions,

Drew

I just bought the inexpensive one that's currently on ebay. I didn't feel like springing for anything too expensive. I'm a retired graphic designer and owner of a printing firm. I know how many variables there are in the color viewing world. But I thought a color guide for less than ten bucks (it seems this printer has printed a large quantity of these) is worth the fling. I'll report back when I receive it and put it to work.
Allan

If I'm not mistaken, there are actually different color guides designed around different issuing authorities. For example, the one I own is specifically called a U.S. color guide.

I wonder if we could Janet Klug to join our stamp community forum. Does anyone know her?