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Well you definitely shouldn't be using RGB/Hex for print. Lots of these colours cannot actually be printed, and there are different algorithms for converting th

by shocks 10y ago

Well you definitely shouldn't be using RGB/Hex for print. Lots of these colours cannot actually be printed, and there are different algorithms for converting them to printable formats (that give different results). As for CMYK, there is a difference between spot and process colour. CMYK is process colour, made of lots of small spots of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink. There are different ways you can do this and you will get different effects. For example you could have grids of dots, but you could have the grids at different angles. Spot colour (pantone) is just ink that is that colour. You get exactly the same every time, no matter the printer.

ja30278 10y ago
NB: you've mixed up spot and process colors ( spot = pantone, process = CMYK dots ), but otherwise correct.
- shocks 10y ago
  Blah, you are right. I will correct my comment.
medmunds 10y ago
(I believe you've swapped the labels: process color mixes dots of CMYK inks to approximate other colors; spot color uses an ink pigmented to the precise color you want. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMYK_color_model https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMYK_color_model )
- shocks 10y ago
  You are correct. How embarrassing! I have edited my comment. Thanks. :)
cheath 10y ago
so, humor me this. I understand that a Pantone color is definite. A designer with the swatches should be able to expect that matched outcome in, for example, a manufactured textile. In that scenario, what is the deliverable to the manufacturer or the printer as it pertains to a specific color? What specifications are they using to match against a defined pantone? Is it too a matter of matching against a swatch? That seems arduous at best!
- makomk 10y ago
  Pantone is essentially a system of pigments. The idea is generally that the printer uses a mixture of the correct Pantone pigments in the correct proportions, and get exactly the same colour as on the swatch.
  - cheath 10y ago
    I'm flogging a dead horse here, I apologize. But doesn't a color simply consist of levels of Red, Green, and Blue and the Pantone is essentially directing the user to achieve those levels. And therefore, couldn't that be easily achieved through something like RGB? I understand that the answer is a "no" and that I'm wrong. I just don't know why I'm wrong.
    - wmeredith 10y ago
      Because mixing those RGB/CMYK?else levels are not the only factors affecting the actual color produced. You have environmental factors, human error, local temperature, media temperature, curing environment humidity, and on and on (and on). But if YOU have a pantone swatch and I have the same pantone swatch. We now have a reference that is the SAME color. I can tell you to keep adjusting your local parameters until the thing you're coloring (paper, fabric, plastic, rubber, metal) matches the swatch.
    - andreareina 10y ago
      In theory, a given value -- say xff0000 -- and a color profile -- sRGB is the standard for most "consumer" uses e.g. monitors, cameras, etc -- specify an absolute point in color space. In practice, my monitor's 0xff0000 is going to look different from yours due to differences in manufacture. In LCD monitors it would be the backlight (color and intensity) and filters; in CRT monitors it would be the phosphors and beam strength. It's possible to bring them in line with calibration, but they'll drift again since phosphors and filters change their properties with age and use. It's the same with printing, except that calibration is more effort and expense. Enter Pantone. Pantone inks are pre-mixed so the color is always consistent. What printers do is they print most of the image using the normal four-color process (CYMK) on a "best-effort" basis and then do a separate pass on critical areas using specific Pantone inks that are guaranteed to yield a specific color. The extra process is expensive so spot colors are typically limited to brand-specific colors (e.g. Coca-Cola Red) and other things where precise color reproduction is important.

by shocks 10y ago

ja30278 10y ago

NB: you've mixed up spot and process colors ( spot = pantone, process = CMYK dots ), but otherwise correct.

shocks 10y ago
Blah, you are right. I will correct my comment.

medmunds 10y ago

(I believe you've swapped the labels: process color mixes dots of CMYK inks to approximate other colors; spot color uses an ink pigmented to the precise color you want. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMYK_color_model https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMYK_color_model )

shocks 10y ago
You are correct. How embarrassing! I have edited my comment. Thanks. :)

cheath 10y ago

so, humor me this. I understand that a Pantone color is definite. A designer with the swatches should be able to expect that matched outcome in, for example, a manufactured textile. In that scenario, what is the deliverable to the manufacturer or the printer as it pertains to a specific color? What specifications are they using to match against a defined pantone? Is it too a matter of matching against a swatch? That seems arduous at best!

makomk 10y ago
Pantone is essentially a system of pigments. The idea is generally that the printer uses a mixture of the correct Pantone pigments in the correct proportions, and get exactly the same colour as on the swatch.
- cheath 10y ago
  I'm flogging a dead horse here, I apologize. But doesn't a color simply consist of levels of Red, Green, and Blue and the Pantone is essentially directing the user to achieve those levels. And therefore, couldn't that be easily achieved through something like RGB? I understand that the answer is a "no" and that I'm wrong. I just don't know why I'm wrong.
  - wmeredith 10y ago
    Because mixing those RGB/CMYK?else levels are not the only factors affecting the actual color produced. You have environmental factors, human error, local temperature, media temperature, curing environment humidity, and on and on (and on). But if YOU have a pantone swatch and I have the same pantone swatch. We now have a reference that is the SAME color. I can tell you to keep adjusting your local parameters until the thing you're coloring (paper, fabric, plastic, rubber, metal) matches the swatch.
  - andreareina 10y ago
    In theory, a given value -- say xff0000 -- and a color profile -- sRGB is the standard for most "consumer" uses e.g. monitors, cameras, etc -- specify an absolute point in color space. In practice, my monitor's 0xff0000 is going to look different from yours due to differences in manufacture. In LCD monitors it would be the backlight (color and intensity) and filters; in CRT monitors it would be the phosphors and beam strength. It's possible to bring them in line with calibration, but they'll drift again since phosphors and filters change their properties with age and use. It's the same with printing, except that calibration is more effort and expense. Enter Pantone. Pantone inks are pre-mixed so the color is always consistent. What printers do is they print most of the image using the normal four-color process (CYMK) on a "best-effort" basis and then do a separate pass on critical areas using specific Pantone inks that are guaranteed to yield a specific color. The extra process is expensive so spot colors are typically limited to brand-specific colors (e.g. Coca-Cola Red) and other things where precise color reproduction is important.