MERLIN COLOUR MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE INFORMATION

                     
Merlin Customer Edition Version 2.1 Release Information.
Summary of features of Merlin Colour Management System for the Customer.

Release Date: 1 July 2013 (Version 2.1.0.0)

Merlin Colour Management Systems is a customer software application developed for the PPG ANZ General Industrial Business to manage colour for the Industrial product lines manufactured typically through the POS system. The software is a modified version of Merlin Server Edition and is designed as a formulation look up tool using exported server based data.The customer edition has the look and feel of the server edition but with only slightly less features.

The software features are summarized below:

 MerlinCE (Customer Edition – Used by the General Industrial Business Customers)

• User friendly easy to follow graphical user interface (GUI)
• Local Site Development allows rapid changes and improvements to application in short time line.
• Database selector to allow the user to use the PPG Merlin Colour Formulation or the Customer own Custom Colour Formulations database, by simple use of a database selector radio button change.
• Database file paths are clearly shown, so user can confirm they are telling the software to look in the correct location for the database files.
• Database Selected information to advise user which database he is currently working with.
• Tinter Price Setup button, the displayed from allow the user to customize a new price for tinters, clears, flatting clears and other additives used in formulations. When pricing data is modified here, formulation weighted average prices are changed accordingly.
• Select Valid Product Lines to Query via a Data Grid Selector Viewer or via Drop down List box Selector.
• Displays Current User Information.
• Search by Line Number or Search All by selecting appropriate button option.
• Tool menu at top of form that duplicates the button options.
• Cross Over Feature, allows users to cross formulation matched in one product line to another product line I.e. 600 Line à 295 Line)
• Matched Colours Viewer shows Data Viewer showing ‘Shade Name’,’Colour Chart’, ‘Customer’ and ‘Formula Version’
• User can search for a formulation by:
• Shade Number
• Shade Name
• Colour Chart
• Colour Formula Viewer, shows Formula Details information and Formulations Details on this form users can:
• NZ HSNO Compliant Labels can be printed to which are formatted and printed via the software itself using pre-designed labels (large / small) and GPS / Oracle HSNO Data obtained from MerlinSE CQDB Data tables.
• The Print Out of a Formulations is produced as an html document in well set out and clearly readable format showing pricing information and then labeling information.
• The Formulation can also be exported to a Microsoft Excel format worksheet for editing or manipulation in Microsoft Excel.
• Print Product and Formulation Labels to a Dymo Label Writer Model 450 or Similar printer.
• Print Jenkins JL2/JL4/JL6/JL8 Paper Labels using the new print paper labels feature.
• Print Product Labels to a Dymo LabelWriter 450 or similar model printer.
• Print Formulation Labels to a Dymo LabelWriter 450 or similar model printer.
• See where the price group fits in the price group matrix using the price group matrix viewer window.
• Calculate Weighted Average Price (WAP) using PPG Standard Costing Data or Use the Customer Customised Pricing Data.
• Help Icon, click on these display embedded pdf help documents.
• Displays Cross Over From Information
• Date / Time the Colour Formulation was last modified.
• Displays Lead Content Information (if lead containing tinters were used in the formulation)
• Shows Price Group Determination Information (shows price group range to which the WAP falls with in)
• Shows the Product Line
• Shows the Shade Number
• Shows the Shade Name
• Shows the Part Size
• Shows the Gloss Level
• Shows the Price Group
• Shows the Oracle Price Group Class (data is extracted from Oracle 11i and imported into Merlin database to provide the data source information)
• Shows the Size
• Shows Whether a Trace Tinter has been used in the formulation.
• Shows Whether a Texture Additive has been used.
• Considerable Background logic within the Merlin CE application based on similar logic as is in MerlinSE to interpret rules and coded logic for General Industrial Tint System from supporting data tables in the database. These Rules are all maintained by separate Merlin sub applications on the business side designed to allow the user to edit data for specific Merlin rules/definitions, this rules data is passed to the customer edition databases via data export code and logic. Thus MerlinCE database contains has same internally logic as MerlinSE and same data when using the PPG database.