Coatings, Inks & Specialty Chemical Production worked example

Color Match Workload at 25% drawdown, cure, and approval allowance: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop drawdown, cure, and approval allowance to 25%, then walk the calculation through step by step. Estimate color-match workload from requested matches, matches completed per minute, and allowance for drawdowns, spectro readings, and revisions.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Color matches or revisions required: 18 matches (held at the documented default)
  • Color matches completed per minute: 0.12 matches / min (held at the documented default)
  • Drawdown, cure, and approval allowance: 25 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 35)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Base color match workload = color matches or revisions รท color matches completed per minute.
  • estimated color match workload works out to 188 hr at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • base color match workload works out to 150 hr at these inputs.
  • drawdown, cure, and approval allowance works out to 25 % at these inputs.
  • color matches completed per minute works out to 0.12 pieces / min at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where drawdown, cure, and approval allowance sits at 35% and the headline result is 203 hr, this scenario comes in 7.41% below the baseline at 188 hr.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to drawdown, cure, and approval allowance, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. It assumes a steady average match rate; a single difficult metallic or high-chroma organic match can take many times the average and skew a small queue.

Results at a glance

  • estimated color match workload: 188 hr (headline result)
  • base color match workload: 150 hr
  • drawdown, cure, and approval allowance: 25 %
  • color matches completed per minute: 0.12 pieces / min

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Color Match Workload calculator, set drawdown, cure, and approval allowance to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.