Imagine a large stationery project for a new business venture. Business cards, Letterhead, labels and multiple envelopes all carefully thought out and designed. You worked hard to choose the layout, fonts and the one color that best represents what your business is about. You are starting with a small order, but you know this is a killer idea and you will be back to print more soon.
You march to your printer, who looks over your design and asks, ” What is the PMS on this?”
What do you do? Do you stare blankly awaiting further explanation? Or do you smile confidently and say something like, “Oh, thats 485”.
If you are a designer, you probably follow this conversation perfectly, and you may even know the bright red we are talking about. But for many folks you are probably staring blankly wondering what all this is about.
PMS, stands for Pantone Matching System, and it is a system designed by the Pantone company to ensure that colors are printed consistently across multiple media, and across several jobs. These colors are for the inks used in offset printing. A Pantone color can be purchased as a pre-mixed ink, but is also represented as a recipe for a pressman to follow. An experienced pressman (like our crew at cutpasteandprint) can mix up these formulas with great precision. This ensures that the perfect red you have chosen for your business cards will be the same red on your letterhead, envelopes and whatever else you might like to have printed.
PMS colors are also often referred to as spot or match colors, this is because while Pantone is one of the most well-known systems available today, it isn’t the only one. Spot colors can also be custom or specialty inks such as metallics. The great advantage of these is of course there ability to create consistent color across multiple runs and projects. That said, there are a few things to keep in mind when using them.
1. The colors on your screen won’t be a perfect match to the Pantone. Only looking at an actual Pantone swatchbook or chip will allow you to match the colors.
2. Likewise, a proof printed digitally (or anything printed digitally) will not match the colors exactly. Since the colors in digital are created from process CMYK toners and inks, the final color isn’t the pure ink, but an approximation. These can be close, but they won’t be perfect, and they won’t be as consistent. If you have a laser print from your office printer, don’t expect the PMS to match it exactly. Always check with your printer about how the final color will appear. Perhaps there is a better PMS match to your printout then the color you chose on screen.
3. PMS colors will print differently on separate stocks of paper. Be sure that you have the correct swatchbook for the project you are working on. Pantone has 2 basic swatchbooks we use in printing – a book for uncoated paper and a book for coated papers. Some colors in the 2 books are drastically different in hue and value depending on the paper. If you have concerns about the ink, you can always request a sample drawdown of the actual ink to see the color as it will actually print.
Of course if you are looking to have something printed, we will be able to assist you with selecting a PMS color and paper that will work for your project. We are more than happy to answer your questions and assist you with all aspects of creating a great stationery project, so feel free to email, call or drop-in.
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