Free files - Make your own printed Pantone book

[CanuckSigns]

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but why are we as an industry still using Pantone as the gold standard? Very few if any of us are buying spot colour inks, 99% of us use digital printers that require quite a bit of work to hit most of the pantone colors. Even traditional print shops are moving to digital more and more.

Why has no one come up with a modern alternative to the PMS system that focuses on digital? I know there is the bridge book but I find that to be fairly inaccurate as well (colours that the bridge book says shouldn't be close with digital i can print no problem)

 

[Malkin]

I seriously hope that no one is putting 100% faith in a digital file combined with their printer setup alone to produce an accurate "reference" of the desired spot colors.

I hate how much it costs to buy a spot color swatch book of Pantone colors. But there is ZERO substitute for having a valid, physical copy of an actual Pantone swatch book with inks that are still valid (they do fade over time). That's the real reference for whether the output from a printer is matching or at least getting in the ball park of looking like a specific Pantone spot color.

I do really like the idea of having a digital file with all the swatch colors set and ready to print. But I feel the best value of such a thing is to tell end users just how well their print setup is reproducing Pantone colors. The only way to know for sure is to have an up to date swatch book from Pantone.

100%
I probably should have been more clear upfront that this was the assumption, that is, to compare your own result with the official book. That's 1 of the reasons why I matched it all to their pages numbers, etc. otherwise it would have been simpler to put the colors in numerical order.

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but why are we as an industry still using Pantone as the gold standard? Very few if any of us are buying spot colour inks, 99% of us use digital printers that require quite a bit of work to hit most of the pantone colors. Even traditional print shops are moving to digital more and more.

Why has no one come up with a modern alternative to the PMS system that focuses on digital? I know there is the bridge book but I find that to be fairly inaccurate as well (colours that the bridge book says shouldn't be close with digital i can print no problem)

Dunno, mostly because it's there and ubiquitous, I would welcome other options with open arms.

 

[icedhot]

great work!! would someone share an efficient way to use it?

 

[Jester1167]

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but why are we as an industry still using Pantone as the gold standard? Very few if any of us are buying spot colour inks, 99% of us use digital printers that require quite a bit of work to hit most of the pantone colors. Even traditional print shops are moving to digital more and more.

Why has no one come up with a modern alternative to the PMS system that focuses on digital? I know there is the bridge book but I find that to be fairly inaccurate as well (colours that the bridge book says shouldn't be close with digital i can print no problem)

It would be nice, but unfortunately, there are enough other industries that use it in parallel with digital printing. When a firm designs a logo digital printing isn't the only version, painted dimensional logos, sign cabinets, flexo printed packaging, screen-printed T-shirts, embroidery... I doubt they want to be limited to our much smaller color gamut.

A better question would be, when is the digital printing industry going to universally widen the color gamut for the printing industry with colors and metallics that last 3 to 5 years. I'm not looking forward to the day every sign hack can print neon though...

 

[Jester1167]

I forgot to mention, I don't feel like the Pantone system is a gold standard for digital printing, we know we can't hit many of the colors. I see it as a way to communicate color intentions, then try and get the closest match.

If you have a customer who is anal about their colors, have them bring in 2 or 3 versions of their logo, business card, flyer, and vehicle graphics, then pull up their website. Guarantee you every one of them will be different. The web site doesn't really count, but it will help illustrate your point with the customer.