Comments on: Quick–what Pantone color is that?

By: Emma

Emma — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:49:27 +0000

I would use the Pantone swatch book anyday, how do you know your screen is perfectly calibrated?

By: Patrick

Patrick — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 12:54:22 +0000

Thanks to all of you. I just had this problem and checked out all solutions. The Photoshop trick is good as well as the javascript from wundes.com. Of course I used the swatch book to verify. By far the worst match is done by “Art Directors Toolkit”, it is allmost unusable.

By: Mordy Golding

Mordy Golding — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 08:03:42 +0000

Guess what? The new Color Guide feature in Illustrator CS3 can do this quite easily…

By: erique

erique — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 04:47:25 +0000

Yu could also take note of the CMYK break-up and then run John Wundes ‘CMYKtoPMS script in Illustrator (http://www.wundes.com/js4ai/displayFilesWTemplate.pl#CMYKtoPMS.js). I have found this to be more acurate than using Art Director’s Toolkit and with a visual swatch comparison as back-up an almost foolproof method.

By: woz

woz — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 17:29:00 +0000

That is correct (some apps use Lab, other Pantone’s libraries. These libraries become more and more optimised with each version). Of course it also depends on what CMYK you use (coated, uncoated).

By: Jerome

Jerome — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 01:08:06 +0000

Matt is very right. I also seem to remember having slightly different conversions from PMS to CMYK in different programs for the same PMS number. If I recall even Illustrator and PhotoShops used give slightly different values in the conversion, and yet another when doing the eye dropper trick that was suggested. It may be OK if all you need to do is get close, but if you need to match the colors then pull out the swatch book.

By: Bob Levine

Bob Levine — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 20:19:24 +0000

Matt, I agree with using a swatch book but by using the eyedropped to get close at least you have an idea of where to start in the swatch book. BTW, choosing to display spots using Lab values will usually result in a better on screen “match.”

By: Matt Finish

Matt Finish — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 19:20:11 +0000

Pantone colors only exist in the swatch book and on the press. A human being must mix them. Not in your computer. Never ever ever pick a PMS color on the screen! That is downright STUPID! I’m sorry if that was a little harsh but come on! Just the other day a client of mine picked PMS 484 for her logo. Kind of a dull ruddy red. When you see on screen its like bright orange-red. Not even close. Obviously some people here need to get thier hands dirty in the press room. Go buy yourselves a swatch book, and leave the eyedropper alone!!!
This isn’t “old-school” this is HOW IT IS DONE. Remember: InDesign is a Pre-Press app first and a Design app 2nd. Learn the Pre-press stuff first (separations, overprinting, trapping, etc.) then go play with your drop shadows!

By: Bob Levine

Bob Levine — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 13:47:36 +0000

Excellent tip, David. I never knew that could be done. Works like a charm.

By: David Blatner

David Blatner — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 13:10:21 +0000

I have to agree, Tim: Using a swatch book is always a good idea. Also, just because Photoshop thinks it’s a good match doesn’t mean it’s the best match. In my experience, the Pantone it picks is far from the original color and I can better replicate it by eye — if I’m willing to accept a more desaturated color, or a darker color, or any of the other variables that come into play.

That said, Claudia’s tip gets me much closer, especially when working fast!

Wa: I had forgotten about Art Director’s Toolkit. I haven’t played with it for a long time, and it’s no longer bundled on my Mac. Too bad. Looks like a great program and has a much better color matching system.