Color matching without a million printed swatches

[altereddezignz]

So with all the other things i have going on with colors i have a new question to see if anyone might have a heads up or trick to speed up the process.

1. Customer wants you to try and match the green on a boat logo to use for his or her game and fish numbers. This is theoretically speaking.

1. Try and get close to the color in a swatch and print a bunch till you get it right.
2. I have a x-rite i1pro 2 eye. Any way to use this to get closer.
3. Pay someone else to figure it out.

Im going to leave out the do not do it as this is for informational purpose in the process that you or i or anyone can use to try and get the color match you need.

Thanks.

I have done the swatch style pinting block on block of colors.
I have paid someone else before.
The xrite is all new to me so not sure if i can do this or not.

Thanks

 

[Andy_warp]

You don't need to measure any individual colors. Search in the onyx/sample/pantone folder for Pantone Coated Solid.

Print it.

Pick the closest matching color.

Use swatchbooks to refine your color. I like to use the LCH method.

We have the pantone chart printed and on the wall for anytime reference.
Many times a different pantone color will be closer to the actual spot color.

We replace it in illustrator, and done.

A lot of times there is a close enough match on the pantone chart...there will always be finicky ones.

 

[bannertime]

If I have to get an exact match, I use a Pantone color chat as well a printed chart of colors based off of Orcal 751 vinyls. Find a color that's close enough, convert it to a LAB color, and make minor adjustments to the L variable. I'll make 5-10 variations, print it on a recently calibrated profile. You can get pretty dang close on one test print. I'm not familiar with LCH color space, but it's the same concept as LAB.

 

[HP-Simon]

The workflow depends a bit on the software and hardware you are using.
But its basically the same.
1. Measure the physical sample with your spectrophotometer
2. Create a new spotcolour in your RIP software with the same LAB values. The Rip will decide the CMYK values based on this.
3. Create the same spotcolur in Illustrator and use that spotcolour in the jobs you want to print.
4. Print a sample
5. Measure the sample
6. Add the sample measurements in the RIP Softwares spotcolour table.
7. The Rip will now adjust the CMYK values to better match the wanted colour

 

[MikePro]

we have CMYK & Pantone charts printed on boards. one print, gives you unlimited uses for color matching.

 

[bob]

As others have suggested print a Pantone chart and use it to find the closest match. If you have a tweener between two colors choose the darker of the two. If a tweener and either the light or the dark sample just won't do then create two rectangles. Fill one with the lighter color, fill the other with the darker. The create a 10 step blend from one rectangle to the other and print it. You should find something that will do in one of the rectangles in the blend.

The chart represents what you print. If a satisfactory color cannot be found on the chart and you have to go off into a frenzy of color matching, charge accordingly.

 

[altereddezignz]

As others have suggested print a Pantone chart and use it to find the closest match. If you have a tweener between two colors choose the darker of the two. If a tweener and either the light or the dark sample just won't do then create two rectangles. Fill one with the lighter color, fill the other with the darker. The create a 10 step blend from one rectangle to the other and print it. You should find something that will do in one of the rectangles in the blend.

The chart represents what you print. If a satisfactory color cannot be found on the chart and you have to go off into a frenzy of color matching, charge accordingly.

This is what i did in the beginning. I have a chart printed out for each way i might print a file. From PS as a tiff, PDF, JPG, PSD and from PS to AI in EPS, PDF, JPEG and from AI as a EPS and a Jpg and PDF

Little over kill and there really are not much different between them but i like to know exactly what i am getting. We profile in house so it helps with color consistance so yes overkill lol..

I was ust meaning for the colors i dont see on chart that i need to try and match and so on.

Thanks everyone for all the help...

 

[GSG Mark]

If you are an onyx 11 or 12 user its fairly easy.
1) print the pantone solid coated chart (from samples folder in onyx) on the same substrate then match a color as close as possible
2) enter that swatch color into onyx swatchbook and it will give you the device values necessary to print that color.
3) do a color replacement in Job Editor or create a new color in user defined colors.

You could also use your i1 to take a sample in user defined colors.