How do you manage your color match

[Kali539]

We also have pantone color charts printed at the shop. We have found it doesn't really matter what the screen shows, it matters what the printer prints on specific materials. The calendared and cast color charts are different and so we match against what type of material we will be printing on for the job at hand. We start there and then adjust as needed.

 

[Joe House]

I want to know what the CMYK values are based on?

These CMYK values are based on offset printing using vastly different inks than most of us are using. So the CMYK formulas that you find on a Pantone cross reference - either the book or the web lookup - may get you close, but likely won't be a match - (here's where you need to decide what Delta E value is acceptable for you and your customer.
Most RIP software includes Pantone look up tables which define the color in LAB values. Then based on the profile will convert to the closest CMYK value that your printer will produce. This usually results in a better match, but is dependent on the profile.
If you're not fully color managed and need to match colors, Kali's method works well, but can take some time. You should print out a reference chart for each media and print mode that you use as both (and more factors) can affect the color output.

 

[Kali539]

There is also that Cone app for $3 that does a good job of cross referencing and getting close if you don't need EXACT. Especially if someone wants, "you know, a dark blue-like your shirt"

 

[binki]

We use a Pantone Bridge book which gives us the 4 color equivalent and then see if VersaWorks has a matching color (we have a printed swatch board for that). Colors like Blue are often not great. Sometimes we have to make a custom swatch sheet to get the best match.

 

[Andy D]

We also have pantone color charts printed at the shop. We have found it doesn't really matter what the screen shows, it matters what the printer prints on specific materials. The calendared and cast color charts are different and so we match against what type of material we will be printing on for the job at hand. We start there and then adjust as needed.

If you have outside sales, it's not a bad idea to print them a couple charts to keep with them.
I use my chart in a couple ways; I have found out the hard way when a customer says (for example) "Navy Blue", everyone seems to have
a different version of blue in their heads for Navy Blue, so I make them pick a color off my chart.
I also have scaled down prints of the chart, that a customer can take with them, usually for their wife to look at.

If someone calls out PMS 282 (for example), I take out my PMS book and find the color on my chart that matches that color best, it could be an entirely different #,
& I might have to tweek it, but it gets me close.

 

[gabagoo]

We recently started using Production Manager's color mapping. It does pretty well, but for some stupid reason the settings disappear and color matching to another job becomes even more time consuming. BUT when it works, it's pretty quick.

Thanks for posting this video. I am fairly new to the subscription Flexi and appreciate the info. I am excited to try this out!!

Thanks

 

[bannertime]

Thanks for posting this video. I am fairly new to the subscription Flexi and appreciate the info. I am excited to try this out!!

Thanks

It's pretty great when it works. I honestly hope you don't have the same issues I have. To reiterate, after running the color match and getting it perfected, the settings will completely disappear before I can print the job. Some times I can print a few jobs with it, but 100% of the time the settings are gone by the end of the day.

 

[gabagoo]

Just curious, once you have chosen the best color match, can you then double click the colour and see the break down of cmyk or once you do that it changes again. In my old photo print I would sometimes just choose a colour off the color templates and then make changes to it. When the computer was shutting down for the day a message would pop up asking if I wanted that colour change to be associated to that pallette colour. I usually opted out for fear it could interfere with colors later on in some other file