The Resene Total Colour System offers this flexibility through a wide range of colour services, from colour tools such as colour charts and drawdowns through to special colour matches and complete colour scheme development by specialised staff to help with the colour decision-making process.

Sophisticated tinting technology enables Resene to produce durable colour options that remain true to colour long after they have been applied. Interlinked systems for decorative and high-performance coatings allow you to achieve the same spectrum of colours in a wide variety of products.

Because the Resene Total Colour System is regularly upgraded, it can be difficult for you to keep abreast of the repertoire of colours and colour tools available. This brief insight into the Resene Total Colour System demonstrates how quickly colours and colour specifying are changing, embracing new virtual painting technologies and an increasing range of sampling options.

The Resene Total Colour System includes:

Colour Charts
Thousands of colours showcased on a wide variety of colour charts. From The Range collections of the latest fashion colours, through to the special effects finishes of the Resene Metallics and special effects chart, there is something to suit all projects and all tastes. Colour charts are available from Resene ColorShops and resellers or can be ordered online.

Virtual Painting
‘See’ the finish before the painting has even started with Resene’s virtual painting software which is free to download. Virtually paint preselected images from Resene's image gallery or your own images using Resene EzyPaint, or let Resene do the work for you. Using Resene RenderRite, a computerised rendering service, Resene can develop a colour scheme using a photograph of a current building and show you what the building will look like after your colour scheme has been applied.

Virtual colour
For those who prefer to create their own electronic renders using architectural software, Resene colours are available in AutoCAD/Revit colour files, ArchiCAD files, SketchUp files and Spirit, preloaded into selected architectural software files, or you can download jpeg image files or RGB values.

Explore a world of colour online with the Resene online colour library and wallpaper library. Search for your favourites using a variety of search options, then download or print if desired. View reflectance values, tone information and complementary colours. Or if you have a colour in mind and wish to find the nearest Resene colour options, try out Resene Find-A-Colour - click on a colour and the closest Resene colour options will be displayed for you.

Mobile Colour
Resene’s ColourMatch application gives you instant access to thousands of Resene colours, enabling you to colour match from any image taken on your iPhone. Or use the colour spectrum to select a colour and find the nearest Resene paint colour.

Once you’ve matched your colour to a Resene colour, use Resene ColourMatch to find complementary colours simply by touching the screen, save your favourites and share with others by email.

Or try Resene iSwatch, which enables you to view Resene paint, wallpaper and curtains on your mobile phone, iPhone or iPod Touch. The Resene iSwatch includes: Resene iFandeck with thousands of paint swatches, Resene iWallpaper with thousands of wallpaper swatches and Resene iCurtain with swatches of the Resene Curtain Collection. Designed to be a quick reference library to Resene swatches, it can be easily installed from virtually anywhere within 60 seconds.

There are two options to choose from – the ‘live’ version designed to work on a wide range of mobile devices that accesses information on the fly from an online database or the app version that is stored on your phone but is updated less frequently.

Drawdowns
This is a direct order service for A4 screenprinted colours to aid your critical evaluation of colours. Drawdowns are delivered direct to your letterbox. Folders of Resene drawdowns are also available for viewing at Resene ColorShops and resellers.

Testpatches
Try out your colour without having to lift a paintbrush. A Resene Testpatch is just like a Resene Testpot, except the painting is done for you. Peel off the back of the Resene Testpatch, attach it to the area you plan to paint and view it at different times of the day and night to check your colour concept works under different lighting. Then peel it off and attach it onto other parts of the painting project.

Adhesive Colour Chips
10 cm x 6 cm adhesive colour chips screenprinted in Resene colours are available for direct adhesion to your sample board or specification.

Handy testpots
Small, 55 ml pot samples of individual colours - a handy way to confirm your colour choices. 8 0ml testpots are also available for the Resene Waterborne Woodsman range.

Colour Match Pencils
Over 100 Faber Castell Pencils supplied complete with an extensive list of formulations enabling you to match every Resene colour using different pencil combinations. The Colour Match system can be purchased through Resene representatives. Formulation lists are updated following the launch of new colour ranges and can be downloaded from the online Resene colour library.

Colour Matching
Resene can match special colours using the Resene Total Colour System. Its Colour Laboratories use the latest technology to match colours to your specifications, making this the ideal way to ensure that the colour you get is the colour you want.

Colour Helper
Need to match an existing colour, fabric or swatch and you’re not sure which Resene colour might be closest? Or perhaps you have a colour sample and you’re happy to take a similar Resene colour, but you’re not sure which colour to choose? The Resene ColourHelper has been designed to provide you with some quick suggestions.

Simply take the Resene ColourHelper, push it down to ‘read’ the target colour and it will let you know three Resene colours closest to the colour you have measured. It can also suggest complementary colour options, tell you the difference between two colours so you can see how similar, or different, they are and suggest other colour options. It is available for use at Resene ColorShops and resellers.

Colour Palette Generator
Turn your images into Resene colour palettes quickly and easily with the online Resene Colour Palette Generator. The Resene Colour Palette Generator will create a Resene colour palette based on the most common colours that occur in the image and tell you what proportion (%) of the palette they are to help give you an idea of the colour balance. Once done you can click on the colours for more information, download swatches and save, email or share your colour palette.

Colour Assistance
Even with all the best colours and tools, sometimes you still need assistance. Resene can provide colour assistance to help you develop your customised colours and colour schemes.

Samples
Samples of a range of Resene products from decorative topcoats to specialist steel coatings can be viewed in our Architectural Sample Box, Resene Colorwood and Resene Woodsman sample boxes - ‘hands on’ resources to supplement our product manuals.

Other Useful Information and Services

Total Colour Awards
The Resene Total Colour Awards programme celebrates and encourages excellent and creative use of colour, across a variety of project types including commercial, residential, sustainable and landscape.

Keep Your Project Cooler
Dark colours outside soak in the sun’s rays, placing significant relentless stress on the coating and the substrate. The Resene CoolColour™ range, formulated with special pigment technology, reflects more of the sun’s energy, reducing heat build-up and stress in the substrate and coating, keeping your projects cooler.

The colours work by reflecting energy in the near and far infra-red region of the spectrum, even though they absorb strongly in the visible region. A Resene CoolColour looks like a standard colour but surface heat will build up slower and to a significantly lower level than a ‘not so cool’ traditional colour. Available in a wide range of exterior paints, stains and colours.

Less is More
To enable specifiers to get their favourite Resene colours without creating an unnecessary environmental burden, Resene has pioneered Resene Non VOC tinters, enabling a full spectrum of colours to be achieved without adding unwanted VOCs (volatile organic compounds).

Greening Charts
Resene proactively prints colour collateral on sustainable paper stocks. Resene colour charts are finished in Environmental Choice approved Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen, Resene SpaceCote Flat, Resene Enamacryl Metallic and Resene Non-Skid Deck & Path, while the remainder are finished in waterborne inks. Not only do the Resene paints give a truer representation of the actual colour, but they also reduce solvent emissions compared to traditional solventborne lacquers usually used for direct deposit colour charts.