SW has all the Ben Moore color formulas in their computer. If you want a match, just go to their store and ask them for it. It's easy. :)

I have not had good experience with SW attempting to match other brands' colors. I have not specifically attempted Affinity colors. I believe that a certain amount of the success has to do with the rep's eye at your particular paint store, but a certain amount has to do with specific components of the paint and how similar they are to the pigments and bases of the paint that you wish to match.

I'll try to not make this a novel. There is more than one way to make a paint color. Different combinations of colorants can result in a color that appears identical to an "original" sample. There is a scale of acceptable difference between two colors called Delta E. Every color "match" can be qualified against this scale: Delta E value Meaning 0- 1 A normally invisible difference 1 - 2 Very small difference, only obvious to a trained eye 2 - 3.5 Medium difference, also obvious to an untrained eye 3.5 - 5 An obvious difference > 6 A very obvious difference Every color can be measured with a device, like a spectrophotometer. The result you get from measuring the color is called a spectral reflectance curve. It's a breakdown of the color by wavelength of energy. (wavelength in the visible color spectrum) Another way to think about is, a color's spectral reflectance curve is a lot like your fingerprint. It's a unique identifier to each color. You can use different colorants to create colors with almost identical spectral reflectance curves which means the colors all appear to "match" - despite the fact that each is indeed unique. Sticking to a single, original color formula is not guaranteed to happen even within the same brand. For example, it is possible the formula for XYZ Paint Color will be different for different quantities of paint, i.e. a different formula for a Color To Go jug, a different formula for a quart, a different formula for a gallon. Some colors are simply easier to copy from brand to brand, quantity to quantity. Some colors are not so easy. In fact, every time a manufacturer updates their bases or colorants, there is a risk that some of the colors in their palettes can no longer be mixed. That happened with Sherwin Williams the last time they changed their paint recipe - there are colors in the SW palette that can no longer be made to match the original chip, there are stain colors from Pratt & Lambert that can no longer be made, etc. Without a doubt buying the color from its home brand is the easiest thing to do. But it is possible for the color to be matched in a different brand, using different 'ingredients'. The problem is color matching using different ingredients is hard. You can not color by numbers and computers alone. Color matching/mixing is a specialized skill set that combines color math, computerized aids, and a professionally trained eye. The color mixer person must understand the 'ingredients' they're working with extremely well. Which usually means, that color mixing/matching is the job they do every day, all day. The problem is not so much the unique ingredients each paint brand has. It's more about the lack of a skilled workforce of colorists. But that's a long story to tell. And paint manufacturers most certainly do not want to admit that they lack anything, especially skilled colorists. So, instead of telling it like it is, and/or dealing with the reality of finding the right people who know how to mix/match color, it's much easier and shorter to just say you have to buy your paint color mixed in its home brand. Full spectrum paint colors are often part of this conversation as well. Because even tho it may be possible to mix up something that appears to be a color "match" to a full spectrum paint chip, the energy is not matched. Full spectrum paint colors are mixed using a representational amount of colorants from each spectral hue. Which means their spectral reflectance curves, their measured wavelength energy, should be full and balanced across the entire visible spectrum. And, of course, this can lead to bigger conversations about 'regular' colors too. Like, if one is very sensitive to the energy color brings to a space. Something to ponder is, it's possible one can be attracted to the energy from a color mixed in its home brand and completely disappointed by how an attempted color match using another brand's ingredients not only looks but how it *FEELS* -- despite the fact that the color match is qualified as a "match" per that handy dandy Delta E chart thingy.

Draw-down card. Most professional real-deal paint stores have pre-printed draw-down cards. Usually with their store name and logo,blanks for misc information, etc. If they don't, they should. Or at the very least they have *something* prepared for use as a draw-down card. For every single gallon of paint for every single one of my clients, I make the store personnel make a draw-down card and tape it to the actual can. Every single gallon. A draw-down card is typically the size of an index card. It's not just a dot on the lid or lable. They have to brush out the card. They often will use a disposable shop cloth to swipe the color from the can on to the card. Just once is enough to get a read on if the gallon was mixed to match the chip. If there is any question about the match, we do a second coat on the draw-down card, dry it and take a look - usually outside. If it doesn't match to the point I say it's a match, the can is reworked, remixed or I don't buy it. The truth is there are some paint colors that simply do not cross brands successfully. Despite effort upon effort, it just doesn't work. Many of the factors influencing quality of a *color match* have already been pointed out. And there is no industry standard that officially qualifies what is a match and what is not. So, it's up to you. You're kinda on your own. Just remember you're the customer and you walked into the paint store to get what you want - not what they want to give you.