Northborough, MA, November 18, 2003 - ei software, inc. has teamed up with Do it Best Quality Paints and the Sherwin-Williams Consumer Brands Group to develop the Virtual Color Gallery paint color visualization software.

Below is the Do it Best Corp. press release regarding the launch:

Do it Best Corp. Introduces Virtual Paint Gallery to Assist Do-it-Yourselfers

(Fort Wayne, Ind.) - Because painting projects continue to rank as the top do-it-yourself project, Do it Best Corp. has created the Do it Best® Virtual Paint Gallery, an interactive CD-ROM that enables customers to select and see what their paint color choices would look like before applying even one drop of paint to their walls.

Customers can purchase the software and load photos of their own rooms onto the CD. "Do-it-yourselfers can purchase the Do it Best® Virtual Paint Gallery for $9.99 from participating Do it Best Corp. retailers, load the software on their home computers and then use the easy-to-follow directions for loading the photos of the rooms they want to paint and applying the virtual paint to see what the end result would look like," said Dick Wise, Do it Best Corp. Product Manager for Paint & Sundries.

"From the consumer viewpoint, paint is one of the quickest and easiest ways to give any room, or even an entire house, a fresh new look. However, it is also one of the easiest ways for do-it-yourselfers to make costly and frustrating mistakes," Wise said. "The Do it Best® Virtual Paint Gallery can help customers avoid some of those errors by letting them physically see how the paints will look on their own walls and gives the shopper a full color palette to play with."

Customers can also use the CD in participating Do it Best Corp. stores to get general ideas about paint projects. The software allows customers to click on an entire wall or part of a wall of several model interior rooms and exteriors to see how any of the more than 1,000 available shades of paint through the Do it Best Quality Paint program would look when applied. In addition, the CD provides users the opportunity to visualize how paint choices would affect siding, trim, shutters and the entry door. Customers can also click on a virtual paintbrush featuring varying widths to see how their paint choices could affect trim, floorboards and other existing interior surfaces.

"While paint chips are helpful to do-it-yourselfers, customers usually take them home to lay them up against their walls. Shoppers can get that same effect in the store, eliminating some of the project planning time," Wise said. "Plus, if do-it-yourselfers decided that none of their initial color choices would work, they have more than 1,000 alternatives at their fingertips without having to travel back and forth between their home and the store."

Do it Best Corp. is the first co-op to offer the virtual paint color gallery to its members and their customers. Of the co-op's 4,200 members, 3,500 offer paint and sundries. "This software is an opportunity for these members to better meet the needs of their do-it-yourselfers while also opening the door for them to increase sales in this product category," Wise said. "Visualization software helps shoppers select their colors, influences their color selection and sells more paint. In addition, the new technology provides retailers the opportunity to work more closely with do-it-yourselfers to help them visualize the finished look, including giving retailers greater avenues to suggest which applicators would be the best for the painting project."

Based in Fort Wayne, Ind., Do it Best Corp. is the only U.S.-based, member-owned hardware, lumber and building materials buying cooperative in the home improvement industry. With annual sales approaching $2.5 billion, Do it Best Corp. is the second largest co-op in the industry, serving 4,200 member-retailers in the United States and in 45 foreign countries.

ei software, inc. is the leader in photo-realistic color and product imaging for the paint and home building products industry. ei software creates custom imaging software packages for each client, and continues to implement new ideas and technologies into its offerings. ei software, inc. was founded in 1996, and its products are currently sold and used worldwide