Pantone Color Matching for Graphic Overlays

 

The Pantone Color Matching System or PMS is a general industry standard for color reproduction. It is commonly used in graphic overlay design, publishing and printing companies. Pantone not only asks you to provide the "green" color, it can also provide you with the exact shade of green and allow you to convey red to others in a standardized, concise, simple, and communicative way.

 

Why is the Pantone Color Matching System used?

The Pantone color matching system is used to help clearly communicate specific and standardized colors and prevent confusion or manufacturing and printing problems. It allows the use of special colors, and can use special colors from metal to fluorescent. PMS allows companies and customers to refer to and match colors, regardless of the medium used: ink or online. It provides a basis for consistency and uniformity, and will not cause confusion in the final product.

 

How does PMS Work?

There are many ways to use PMS, one of which is called CMYK process, which uses only four primary colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. You may realize that this is the color used by printers at home. The guidelines are used to provide the correct cyan, magenta, yellow and black colors-because there are multiple "versions" and shades. These colors are then mixed in a specific amount to create other colors, which are calculated and passed through the number of each of the four color distributions. However, this process cannot create several colors, but instead uses 14 colors mixed in a specific number. Assign a specific number to Pantone colors, and then communicate that number to produce consistent colors between media.

 

What kinds of PMS tools are available?

The Pantone formula guide is three sets of guides, which provide 1,114 specific Pantone colors, with coating, uncoated and matte coating. There are several different books, each for a different industry, but each is similar because it shows the corresponding formula for each color.

 

There are some "chip" books available for quality control. Manufacturers use these chips to ensure that the color on the product matches the selected chip, so that the final product is exactly what the customer requires. Pantone also provides chips and guides with colors produced by four-color processing. There are other color reference guides, including metallic, pastel, film and foil. There is also an online Pantone guide that can be used to reference colors on a computer or design program. When viewing and selecting colors on a computer screen, you should be extremely careful because the color output of each monitor is different, and most monitors are not calibrated to maintain consistency.

 

What affects the accuracy of PMS?

The three main factors that affect the accuracy of the PMS are the lighting, the color sent through the computer, and the surface material on which the ink will be printed. It is best to perform color matching under controlled daylight to obtain more accurate readings. In order to make the final decision on the color, it is also a good idea to view the color under different kinds of light/different lighting (such as natural, fluorescent, ultraviolet and incandescent). This is usually done through a color viewing station.

 

The computer may not be able to display the correct colors for you because every computer screen is different. The contrast of your computer may be higher or lower than the contrast of the customer, and most monitors are not calibrated to the same standard output.

 

When using the same color on it, different materials may lead to different results. The absorption reaction of each kind of absorbent may be different, and the treatment is completed with colored ink. Some surfaces absorb more ink than others and will therefore give the color a glossy or softer appearance. Therefore, it must be noted that the use of different color finishes and the same color on the overall product will look different, and often the effect is not good. Sometimes it can be controlled by using different coating methods and techniques to obtain the correct appearance that customers require. The materials and finishes used in combination with all colors of the product must be considered.