22 ms·

That's a real piece of shit move. Why not make a lookup table to convert to regular colors?

beardyw 4y ago
Probably a legal issue. A converted pantone colour might still be interpreted as being a pantone colour. Madness I know.
fxtentacle 4y ago
You need multiple LUT for different profiles black 100% with Fogra39 will come out differently than black 100% on a desktop inkjet. And this collection of look up tables to make color reproduction more predictable, that's precisely what Pantone licenses... So that's probably why Adobe wasn't allowed to add it for free.
- superchroma 4y ago
  It doesn't have to be accurate. Anything close is better than black.
  - traceroute66 4y ago
    > It doesn't have to be accurate. Anything close is better than black. No. Because that breaks design intent. If the client and designer agree on "Pantone XYZ", then you can't just go replacing that with "something that looks vaguely like Pantone XYZ". That would be a breach of the agreement between client and designer. It would also, as explained further up this thread, "its not that easy". "Pantone XYZ" is not "just another name for C:1,M:2,Y:3,K:4", its all about ensuring consistent reproduction of that colour across all desired substrates.
    - probably_wrong 4y ago
      How about letting the user choose? Because if Adobe stopped acting like they know better they could solve this with one click: > You are using Pantone colors, but you don't have a license for them. > [X] Replace with a similar CMYK value, obtained from printing the color in Bob's old home printer. > [ ] Purchase rights to the Pantone library. Now the x% of designers who really need Pantone colors can pay for them and the remaining (100-x)% users can use their files in peace. This is similar to what Inkscape does when converting a PDF with unknown fonts, and it's (IMO) a much better solution.
    - superchroma 4y ago
      The point is not to get it almost right, the point is to not maim the file by turning everything black so you can't see anything and have to start from zero. Obviously the file is damaged either way, but we can do a hell of a lot better than all color data eliminated altogether.
kuschku 4y ago
Exactly that lookup table is the entirety of Pantone's business. They've got a list of colors (which are just indices into this table) mapping these color names to a specific CMYK combination as well as chemical formulas for exactly that color in printing, plastic, in all kinds of materials. That ensures that any two people naming the same pantone color will always know exactly which color is meant. And this lookup table is what's copyrighted under database rights.
- CodeWriter23 4y ago
  Selling spot color inks is a non-trivial portion of Pantone’s business. There’s no such thing as a hexachrome flexo or offset press.
sokoloff 4y ago
Not all Pantone colors can be expressed in CMYK colorspace.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

Probably a legal issue. A converted pantone colour might still be interpreted as being a pantone colour. Madness I know.

fxtentacle 4y ago

You need multiple LUT for different profiles black 100% with Fogra39 will come out differently than black 100% on a desktop inkjet. And this collection of look up tables to make color reproduction more predictable, that's precisely what Pantone licenses... So that's probably why Adobe wasn't allowed to add it for free.

superchroma 4y ago
It doesn't have to be accurate. Anything close is better than black.
- traceroute66 4y ago
  > It doesn't have to be accurate. Anything close is better than black. No. Because that breaks design intent. If the client and designer agree on "Pantone XYZ", then you can't just go replacing that with "something that looks vaguely like Pantone XYZ". That would be a breach of the agreement between client and designer. It would also, as explained further up this thread, "its not that easy". "Pantone XYZ" is not "just another name for C:1,M:2,Y:3,K:4", its all about ensuring consistent reproduction of that colour across all desired substrates.
  - probably_wrong 4y ago
    How about letting the user choose? Because if Adobe stopped acting like they know better they could solve this with one click: > You are using Pantone colors, but you don't have a license for them. > [X] Replace with a similar CMYK value, obtained from printing the color in Bob's old home printer. > [ ] Purchase rights to the Pantone library. Now the x% of designers who really need Pantone colors can pay for them and the remaining (100-x)% users can use their files in peace. This is similar to what Inkscape does when converting a PDF with unknown fonts, and it's (IMO) a much better solution.
  - superchroma 4y ago
    The point is not to get it almost right, the point is to not maim the file by turning everything black so you can't see anything and have to start from zero. Obviously the file is damaged either way, but we can do a hell of a lot better than all color data eliminated altogether.

kuschku 4y ago

Exactly that lookup table is the entirety of Pantone's business. They've got a list of colors (which are just indices into this table) mapping these color names to a specific CMYK combination as well as chemical formulas for exactly that color in printing, plastic, in all kinds of materials. That ensures that any two people naming the same pantone color will always know exactly which color is meant. And this lookup table is what's copyrighted under database rights.

CodeWriter23 4y ago
Selling spot color inks is a non-trivial portion of Pantone’s business. There’s no such thing as a hexachrome flexo or offset press.

sokoloff 4y ago

Not all Pantone colors can be expressed in CMYK colorspace.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]