Allen,

We recently purchased a new Munsell book. We bought in late 2008, so it is not the new one coming out this summer you speak of.

Anyway, we used it on a rather wet day a couple weeks ago, and a number of the color chips floated off the page. They were not brushed or rubbed off, rather they just started floating off the page and moving around. Needless to say we were somewhat aghast.

Back in the office, I took a page from an old book we have. It is beaten up and dirty from years of use. I thoroughly wetted that page using a plant mister, and kept it wet for an hour. No problem, these old paint chips didn’t go anywhere. If anything, it cleaned them up a bit.

So I called up the publisher, and ended up speaking to the Munsell Sales Rep who told me that yes, they had some problems with a batch of books, and that there was not way to tell that batch apart from their other batches, except when you get them wet, I guess. They would replace them free of charge by returning them through the original vendor.


Environmental Technology Consultants
John McConnaughey, M.S.
Fisheries Biologist.
4317 NE Thurston Way, Suite 210
Vancouver, WA 98662
(360)-696-4403, FAX (360)-696-4089
Email: JohnM@etcEnvironmental.net
Web: www.etcEnvironmental.net www.SisulEngineering.com

________________________________________
From: Allen Martin [mailto:georesources@hughes.net]
Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 12:37 PM
To: Allen Martin
Subject: new Munsell soil color book

To anyone considering purchasing a new Munsell soil color book:

I spoke with a Munsell representative today and was told that a new version of the Munsell book will be available later this summer. The new version will have more color chips, different page composition and improved color chip attachments. The rep mentioned that the changes were the result of suggestions and field testing of new products from some Oregon wetland consultants. Just in case Munsell’s new version does not measure up, I won’t identify the consultants unless the changes are truly improvements and then we will find out who to thank. Note the 2009 edition will be more expensive.

If anyone knows of a source for the out-of-print soil color book, Earth Colors, Soil Color Book – A Guide for Soil & Earthtone Colors, please let me know.

Allen Martin
Geo Resources
georesources@hughes.net

I remember reading an article several years back that stated Munsell Color Charts were only reliable for about 4 years of average use before color fade started. Have they fixed this issue as well?