Color-Picking Pen Concept Imagines Real-World Photoshop Eyedropper Tool

Lol fail. RGB is only used for computer monitors.

cool idea though

I think they mean purely Red, Green, Blue. Not in the computer sense of RGB

I think Mr. Park has more work to do before he builds a prototype. RGB is fine for scanning and displays but not for inks. He needs cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks in the pen.

It's all about the way light combines to form different colors. RGB (projected light, computer monitors) is additive, CMYK is subtractive (Color printers). You wouldn't be able to do this with RGB ink, it wouldn't mix to create the color you're picking

sorry mark already answered that

Apart from CMYK you'd need some sort of thinning agent to allow for lighter shades (assuming a white surface).

Aside from the kinks mentioned, this is great! I wonder how he'll overcome the problem of capturing whites and off-whites, like dancupid commented on. Maybe if he actually used a thicker white ink that would show on darker paper...Hmm...

If this guy does get all the problems fixed and overcomes all of the challenges in a few years...i'm so getting one.

They mention already that he would need to shift to a CMYK model at the end of the article. I'm sure the guy making the prototype has actually thought of this but he has a pretty big problem for a small package, the actual conversion from RGB to CMYK. First off, how much space does he need to include the hardware to convert? Commenter's have already mentioned that RGB is good for projected light, computer monitors (how about scanners?) For best performance, the scanner will be RGB, then it will have to be converted - resulting in a loss if brighter colors and pastels are scanned. Then output in CMYK at possibly less than optimal results (depending on the original color).
So, the designer is faced with the problem of size first, and even if he had the technology available to make it small enough he is dealing with color loss between the modes. Might as well just print with RGB for now and be impressed that it works; then continue to make improvements as technology improves.
Does this mean we'll have to carry photo paper notebooks with us everywhere?
I'm with golferguy, sign me up for one when he's got those stumbling blocks conquered!

thats kinda cool.

but for kindergarteners who want to swithc colors in their art class, theyll have to find the color they want around the classroom rather than just picking a color out of the box.

Love this idea!It seems very complex to get the scanner and the pen to work in combination and also I would assume besides this being cool, it would have a limited market unless the price is dropped low enough for the masses. BUT, what about a product with just the color scanner. So create a scanner which could scan colors of objects in a super portable hand unit (something which would fit on a keychain). Allow the user to scan and save / label colors for future use. Extra feature could allow wireless/bluetooth/wifi transfer of colors to laptop/computer easily.

Indeed the RGB/CMYK issue is a hurdle that has to be overcome but I think the technology is getting pretty close. There exists already a pen sized scanned that can get 24bit color and up to 400dpi. Can see that here(http://planon.com/docupen_rc800.php). This really reminds me of those pens that were popular years ago that had like 20 separate inks in one and were as fat as a hotdog :)

This would be an awesome product if you could scan metallic objects and get metallic colours... i wonder if he is accounting for reflections and other light interference...

Ok so maybe this is out on a limb here... but why not incorporate this technology with another new technology? Like this... http://www.beyondthefold.net/About.html or perhaps the technologies being created at MIT and by the fine men and women at WACOM, or E Ink. I can see plenty of applications for this that don't have to include ink at ALL, just a bluetooth connection to a digital device.

-Chris Mayer
Designer by trade, unemployed by economy.

Oh Boy! What a perfect pen!

So, how about a paint roller for walls that did this? I can't see a pen having the capacity for the ink cartriges and remain small enough or light enough to draw with it well. I personally would rather just have a set of Prismacolor pencils.

"Currently, the device is more fanciful than practical--Park could start refining it toward a working prototype by first including CMYK inks instead of RGB."

Key part there! Did everyone miss the part about it still not even being a prototype?

The pen maybe should have one button for scanning the color, and then one button to scan the material-color that the pen are gonna be used at. That way if both colors are the same, well there will be no color output saving money for the owner of the pen, and the pen would proof it works wonderful in choosing the right color-setup for writing. In fact, I tested it out myself and pretended my finger were a such pen, and it.. well.. IT WORKED. :O

How they would clean the ball point between color changes could also be an issue

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