The use of identical colorants in sample and standard is widely recognized (but not widely enough practiced) as the best means for rapidly obtaining satisfactory color matches. Its main advantage is that, when similarly prepared in the same material, the sample and the standard can have identical spectrophotometric curves. Their colors can therefore match to all observers and for all illuminants. In order to identify the colorants in a sample, an analysis of their chemical nature must be made. Three methods are in current use: (1) spectrophotometry or colorimetry; (2) wet chemical analysis (primarily for inorganic pigments); and (3) the identification of organic colorants by their characteristic solution spectra. Of these methods, the third is both the most useful and the least widely practiced. The advantages it offers are discussed, and techniques for extracting organic pigments from the substrate are given. Separation techniques for mixtures of pigments are also discussed. Examples are given to show the usefulness of the technique.