One of the most frequently asked questions about this site is 'why don't you show your colours on the site?' The simple answer is - we can't be sure that the colour we are trying to show is the colour that you are seeing! There are three reasons for this:

1. Computers and monitors differ - hugely. To see how monitors can differ, simply go to your nearest electrical goods store and look at the TV's - the picture on each will look slightly different. This is also true for monitors.
Next, try turning down the brightness and/or contrast on your monitor. Does the colour of this page look the same? We have no way of telling how you have your brightness and contrast set.
Does your computer display 8-bit, 16-bit, 24-bit or 32-bit colour? This makes a huge difference. For instance, 8-bit colour means your computer is capable of displaying 256 colours. 32-bit colour displays can show over 42 billion colours.
Finally, are you looking at this page on a PC or a Macintosh? If it's a Mac, the colour will look different because the Mac uses a different colour palette to the PC.

2. Monitors produce colour using an additive method - they combine Red, Green and Blue to create a range of colours from Black to White. The colour of a coating, however, is created using a subtractive method. Pigments in the coating absorb different wavelengths of light, producing the colour you see. Thats why a coating will look slightly different under a fluorescent light - artificial light uses slightly different wavelengths to daylight.
The additive and subtractive methods produce different ranges (or gamuts) of colour. There are certain colours that we can make in a coating that your monitor cannot reproduce.

3. It is impossible to accurately reproduce the colour and effect of a metallic product on screen. A monitor is simply incapable of reproducing the metameric effect of metallic products. Metamerism is the effect where a metallic product will appear to subtly change shade and degree of metallic effect when the viewing angle is changed. This is due to the orientation of metallic pigment particles within the coating, and is one of the reasons why metallics coatings can be so attractive.

We want to be sure that the colour you specify is the colour you get. To help ensure this, we offer our free sample panel facility. There are many ways to request sample panels and colour swatches from us:

1. Use our online request facility. In the product range pages, click 'Add to request list', and our shopping cart technology will guide you through the request process.
2. Email us panels@synthatec.com
3. Phone us on +44 (0)121 322 6900
4. Fax us on +44 (0) 121 322 6903
5. Write to us. Synthatec, 95 Aston Church Rd, Birmingham, B7 5RQ UK