Patent ID: 7509271

Claim:
A color-designating server for designating color of a product to be manufactured, which displays a screen for designating color at a user terminal, which can be connected to a network, the color-designating server comprising: a processor program for receiving information directed to a product to be manufactured; a matchable color database which stores data required for determining matchable colors; a conditions-designating processing unit which transmits a conditions-designating screen for designating conditions data, required for determining the matchable colors, to the user terminal in which the conditions data displayed on the conditions-designating screen includes use information specified for a user; a color data transmitting unit which determines colors which can be matched under the conditions specified by the conditions data, designated in the conditions-designating screen, by consulting the matchable color database, and transmits a result to the user terminal; and a customer database which stores user information, the user information comprising a user ID for specifying users of the color-designating server and said use information, the use information including requirements relating to items to be colored predetermined in correlation with the user ID, and types of resin and dye or pigment which can be used in dependence upon the requirements; wherein, the user has been identified, the conditions-designating processing unit transmits the conditions-designating screen to the user terminal, wherein the requirements and the types of resin and dye or pigment are stored in the customer database in correlation with the identified user, so that the user can designate the conditions data by selecting it from a range specified by the requirements and the types of resin and dye or pigment displayed on the conditions-designating screen, and wherein the color-designating server comprises a use data receiving unit which receives, from the user terminal, the conditions data designated by the user.