Matching PMS colors Signs365

[Jean Shimp]

I buy a lot of prints from Signs 365 and am happy with their service. I had a couple of prints made that were to be matched to a PMS color. The prints came out OK but not close enough for my ultra picky customer. They reprinted them for free, but still they don't look dead on. I know it is not practical to expect a 100% match. I know it could be possible that my Pantone book colors may have shifted since I bought the book several years ago. I asked 365 which version Pantone book they use so I can buy the same book to make sure my colors match theirs. They told me they are using the solid color V4 fan book. I have not been able to find that online. Any suggestions on where to find the V4 Pantone book? Thanks.

 

[Johnny Best]

S365 matches my panitone colors perfectly. Probably on your end on how you save your file. I save them as a .pdf in Adobe Illy color settings / rgb color, adobe rgb 1998 US web coated (SWOP) v2, preserve embedded profiles

 

[Jean Shimp]

S365 matches my panitone colors perfectly. Probably on your end on how you save your file. I save them as a .pdf in Adobe Illy color settings / rgb color, adobe rgb 1998 US web coated (SWOP) v2, preserve embedded profiles

Thanks for your feedback. I don't have Adobe Illustrator. I am using CorelDraw.

 

[Johnny Best]

Thanks for your feedback. I don't have Adobe Illustrator. I am using CorelDraw.

That is probably why it is slightly off color, Adobe has all the color info and contracts and they started the .pdf format. ( probably will hear back on my information )

 

[weyandsign]

I don't think that matters. S365 has a box where you type in what PMS colors you want them to use. I type in Green=PMS999 Red=PMS888, etc. etc. I don't think they use just what's in your file, unless you don't specify any.

 

[Jean Shimp]

I don't think that matters. S365 has a box where you type in what PMS colors you want them to use. I type in Green=PMS999 Red=PMS888, etc. etc. I don't think they use just what's in your file, unless you don't specify any.

Yes, I have been using the color match option and typing in the PMS color number. So far, the color matches have been very close but on the grays and beige colors, not as good.

 

[unclebun]

Thanks for your feedback. I don't have Adobe Illustrator. I am using CorelDraw.

You can still set those same color settings in Corel Draw.

 

[unclebun]

Yes, I have been using the color match option and typing in the PMS color number. So far, the color matches have been very close but on the grays and beige colors, not as good.

Grey and beige are some of the hardest colors to hit. Might just be limitations of their UV printers.

 

[JBurton]

Just to confirm, you are looking at a process book and not just a coated book, right? Process will have two samples, one done with pantone inks, one done with CMYK only. It's meant to slap designers with when they insist a color is not as it should be, by confirming that the best process version of this color compared to the best mixed ink version.
Like this, you want to look at the color on the right hand side of the left book. Those are the best results you'll expect to see. The book on the right is really only good for checking mixed paints or other processes that have more than 4 colors.

 

[weyandsign]

Just to confirm, you are looking at a process book and not just a coated book, right? Process will have two samples, one done with pantone inks, one done with CMYK only. It's meant to slap designers with when they insist a color is not as it should be, by confirming that the best process version of this color compared to the best mixed ink version.
Like this, you want to look at the color on the right hand side of the left book. Those are the best results you'll expect to see. The book on the right is really only good for checking mixed paints or other processes that have more than 4 colors.

I bet I could print BOTH shades of that cyan your showing on the left. The shades in the left column are not impossible to print. Maybe only impossible if you strictly follow their CMYK values, and can't tweak.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I agree, light grey and beige are not easy. Order a 12"x12" sample print using a bunch of different shades and have the RGB / CMYK values labeled. Pick from there and order the full print.

 

[Jean Shimp]

I agree, light grey and beige are not easy. Order a 12"x12" sample print using a bunch of different shades and have the RGB / CMYK values labeled. Pick from there and order the full print.

I have gotten different color shades by sending the same RGB colors at different print times. I was told by 365 the only way to get matching colors is to request a match to a PMS color number. On a large project I can't order all the prints at the same time so that is why the PMS match is important.

 

[Jean Shimp]

Just to confirm, you are looking at a process book and not just a coated book, right? Process will have two samples, one done with pantone inks, one done with CMYK only. It's meant to slap designers with when they insist a color is not as it should be, by confirming that the best process version of this color compared to the best mixed ink version.
Like this, you want to look at the color on the right hand side of the left book. Those are the best results you'll expect to see. The book on the right is really only good for checking mixed paints or other processes that have more than 4 colors.

I have the book on the right side. I thought that is what they (Signs365) are using. I am going to have to get with them and find out exactly which PMS book they are using.

 

[Stacey K]

I have the book on the right side. I thought that is what they (Signs365) are using. I am going to have to get with them and find out exactly which PMS book they are using.

Jean, the colors are all the same in both books but when you send to the printer, printers cannot hit the exact match for all colors. Use the book on the left and if you choose color 297, it's not going to print as shown on the left side of book or the right book. It's going to print as the middle color (the paler one). Sometimes you might find a specific color might actually print closer to a different than it's actual color. So, in the 297 example, if we page through the book, we might find that "301" is closer to 297 when printed than if you print 297. And what WeyandSign said, is true also. The colors can be tweaked to get them super close but each printer is different. WeyandSign might add a bit more magenta and Signs365 maybe a bit more cyan.

I was having a lot of issues for a while until I bought the book on the left. If you page through it, you notice when CMYK is printed, it's not quite as vibrant, unfortunately.

I have ordered from SIgns365 many times and they hit my colors OK but not always. I have the biggest issue with matching Oracal 751 Light Blue. Don't recall the PMS number but sometimes it's grayish, sometimes it's nice and blue.

 

[JBurton]

Again, the book on the left should

I have the book on the right side. I thought that is what they (Signs365) are using. I am going to have to get with them and find out exactly which PMS book they are using.

They probably have several coated, uncoated, solid to process, and probably numerous revisions. The only one I can imagine they'd warrant their printing capabilities to would be a solid to process book, as stated by pantone, it's the limit of what is achievable with the cmyk ink set. A lot of these blues could be printed, but this book is just the evidence I need on hand when a customer is demanding a reprint that I know won't please them any more than the first. It's also helpful to let them see what their selected pms color will look like printed, whether they order printed billboards from me, or restaurant menus from vistaprint.
This is all assuming you're not running a fancy printer with orange, chrome, red, snot etc. Not sure how they would handle explaining their gaumet limits in the same way...

 

[tedshock]

We have had great success with Signs 365 matching Pantone colors. One project had some difficulty, so we re-designed a file that had 12 different "versions" of the color (12 boxes), and only asked them to match one (we set it up in Illustrator with each box having a number). After having those 12 swatches printed, each with a slight variance, we were able to have the client pick the color "closest" to what they expected, and then kept that information for future orders. As someone else said, the greys and beiges are some of the most difficult. Don't forget, matte and gloss laminates shift the colors as well, just as C (coated) and U (uncoated) show in the books.

 

[FrankW]

Pantone is a color system based on - as far as I remember - 18 basic colours which are mixed in specific ratios to get specific solid colors for use in a printing machine or for screen printing. The swatchbook on the image above shows samples of this solid colors and the next possible CMYK-colour (it is named Pantone color bridge swatchbook). But CMYK is a device-dependent color space, it does not mean that any CMYK-Printer can reproduce that colors when using it with the values mentioned. I´m sure the values are related to some standardized reference color space. If you use a Fine-Art Printer with a bunch of additional process colors like red, green or orange and print on semi-matte Photo Paper, you have a better chance to match Pantone colors as if you order banners printed on a CMYK Solvent machine. If printer manufacturers say that they could match 60% or 80% of the Pantone Colors with that printer, they regularly means the process color side of that swatches.

You should inform your customer that matching pantone colours is difficult and can not be guaranteed, depending on what prints he orders.