Always take great care to verfy the validity of data you enter into your raw material files. These files are the basis for all calculations performed by Matrix.

Raw Material information may be obtained from a number of different sources.

The Manufacturer - this is usually the best quality data available. When requesting information from this source ensure that it is supplied with the date when the manufacturer obtained his/her laboratory analysis. These days more and more manufacturers have web pages where you may communicate with them about there products.

Retail Supplier - this is secondhand information which may be out of date. Look for the date when the analysis was done and if it is not reasonably recent ask the supplier if they can obtain a more recent analysis for you. All suppliers should be encouraged to have this information on hand. Supporting retailers who provide material analyses is one way of encouraging them to obtain this important information.

Ceramics Books - the validity of data from books needs careful scrutiny as it is not usually included with dates as to when the analysis was carried out. Before using this data communicate, if possible, with the authors seeking information about the validity of the data. Perhaps they can tell you who the manufacturers are so that up-to-date information can be obtained.

Other Computer Glaze Programmes - similarly the validity of this information needs checking to ensure that it is as up-to-date as possible. Glaze programme authors can usually be contacted via the internet. When obtaining information from other software packages look for entries which refers to when the analysis was carried out.

The Clayart listserv - is a very useful internet forum for seeking information about raw materials.

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