String (int row, int col) { Object value = myTable.getValueAt(row, col); if (value instanceof String) return (String)value; TableColumn tableColumn = myTable.getColumnModel().getColumn(col); Component component = tableColumn.getCellRenderer().getTableCellRendererComponent(myTable, value, false, false, row, col); if (component instanceof JLabel) { // see ValueCellRenderer return ((JLabel)component).getText(); } return String.valueOf(value); }