Scanning colours and matching them in a colour space

The system (10) comprises a scanning apparatus (14) which can be a flatbed scanner or a digital camera scanning an object having a colour. The colour image data signal produced by the scanner is then used by processor to map the object colour to a defined space colour. This may include using a colour lookup table. When the colour is ascertained, the computer (10) informs the user of the corresponding colour. If a reference number is associated with this colour, the user may be informed of the reference number. Alternatively, this number may be inputted by the user to match a colour. The user may select a colour region on the object (34, figure 4) for its colour to be matched. If the object has a texture, processor may remove the influence of the texture from the colour image. The device can be used for home shopping via internet.