Patent ID: 8244032

Claim:
A method, comprising the steps of: providing a computer system including or connected to a database of stain information containing a plurality of records associated with a plurality of colored stains, such records including: (a) data representing a transparent or semitransparent stain, and (b) at least one of: (i) a first digital color image of such stain or (ii) spectral data for such stain as applied to a plurality of building material substrates, and such records including one or more such stains as applied to an earlywood region of a plurality of building material substrates having earlywood and latewood regions; and displaying to a user of such system an array of such first digital color images or of second digital color images representing such spectral data so the user can select a desired color stain match, wherein the displayed image array includes a target image of a stained building material and, from the system database, a plurality of images of colored stains as applied to the same target building material or other building materials, and when such displayed image array includes a substrate having earlywood and latewood regions, then the displayed image array will include at least one image of a colored stain as applied to an earlywood region.