A system and method for performing multispectral color addition imaging. An optical image is obtained for a sample scene comprising one or more target materials. Spectroscopic data is obtained for one or more target materials. A first and second waveband of interest are obtained for one or more target materials. A ratio of the first and second wavebands of interest is obtained and compared to one or more ranges of threshold values. Based on this comparison, a result is displayed wherein this result comprises a pseudo color overlay on said optical image. The pseudo color image may comprise one or more pseudo colors assigned to one or more target materials so as to differentiate and identify the target materials present in the sample scene.