Excellent video, almost every place and person talking about this situation has overblown it. Saying that you can no longer use 'pantone colours' without paying is the most common line but it doesn't explain anything and isn't technically true. They are really just impeding your means of implementing their colours in a specific place (adobe software pantone libraries). I worked with pantone colours regularly but never used their libraries. I don't know if clients did either, but it doesn't matter either way. If they need colour matching, then the colour will be matched (which is my job). And as gene said, you can just create your own colour. It's just a set of numbers and a name. In my work I only ever dealt with 1-5 pantone colours at a time for digital printing. Very easy to manage even if they all turned to black in illustrator. It would be annoying for sure.
Thank you! Having spent years mixing inks and stripping films it’s easy to step away from digital constraints and apply analog solutions to todays little problems. Appreciate your comment!
I made scripts which does the conversion automatically. I can now do pms coated and uncoated by feeding it cmyk colors. Still works even when the colorbooks are not there
Keep in mind that the printed colour whether it's process colours (CMYK) or spot colours (Pantone) are heavily influenced by the substrate; i.e. paper stock or polymer stock used. Therefore the Pantone guide booklet is only an approximation of what the colours could look like printing on similar gloss or matt substrate.
Think Pantone are pretty idiotic to not include or allow update of their latest colours; as have access or reference to these promotes use of their colours inks. We live in a digitally open world in which creative freely share ideas, information and techniques. All that will happen is that creatives will share the RGB or CMYK mix reference values on line and creatives will simply mix the colour and name it the Pantone reference they wish to use. The fact is that the Pantone reference colours within Adobe Apps are simply broad reference to the actual Pantone ink which will be printed. To counter this possibly Adobe should consider creating their own spot colour range of inks that more accurately are reflected in their application library - that would get Pantone thinking a bit better. Wake up Pantone you not the holy grail of colour - there could be alternatives filling the gap.
Check this out, color pirate Stuart Semple just launched his own version you can add to adobe free of charge! www.culturehustleusa.com/products/freetone
Adobe doesn't want to own physical products, but I think you're on the right track. It's an opportunity for Toyo Inks to become a bigger player in color internationally.
@@packagingunboxd you the goat for that link! Thanks man. I’m new to dtf and been doing all types of research to figure out why my images are different than on screen. now I’ve been educated on rgb and Pantone’s. That link was a major blessing. You also saved me major money as I almost bought the Pantone book. Thinking that you just type those values in, but I didn’t know they removed part of their library which would’ve been a waste to buy the booklet since all those colors won’t show til I get the subscription.
@@calw8085 Love it, there are many ways to get design from on screen to in hand and this is just one. Once you get a good print partner they are going to be more than happy to share their Pantone books with you. Knowing how to build your files for production is almost as important as knowing how to design. Glad you saved money, can't wait to see what you design!
and if you convert to RGB it'll print a third. Because Pantone is not CMYK based so it is converted into the closest representative color. In production you can then adjust the color to get it closer but you'll likely never match to a Pantone at 100%. Also, even Pantone books have a tolerance, so if you look at 2 different Pantone books the color may vary from book to book 🤯
Good video. Used this to help my wife calm down when she got all uppity about Pantone rinsing her wallet 😂 no connect needed - she spent our mortgage on a swatch book 😂
Do you know a way to print the complete color library that they offer with out going through each individual color to make a swatch book. I print/manufacture across the world and need to have a swatch book to reference that match vinyl colors. Pantone has been nice to streamline the color conversions. From client to production.
Are you wanting to print the color guide on vinyl for your personal reference? But are printing offset or digitally to vinyl for car wraps and billboards? There are color charts you can download that you can print digitally, I think epson provides some as well. Then eye dropper the colors you’d like to match when designing. But let me know if I’m thinking of what you’re doing correctly.
So lets say I want to print PMS 032 RED. Are you saying that in illustrator I could make my own random color swatch that possibly looks like an orange but it won't matter...because as long as its labeled/named as O32 Red it will print properly?
110% because offset production requires someone to actually mix the ink to the specific color specified in the artworks which is also listed in the plate. A PMS number is nothing more than an identifier for production. You could label a blue swatch 032 Red and a good printer will probably call you to double check you meant red. But yes that’s how it works. Anytime you are specifying an offline process like foil stamping, embossing, UV, etc… you have to do this. You pick a color not found in the artwork so it stands out, make a swatch, and label it “Spot UV” or whatever.
1) Yes you create a swatch tuned by CMYK sliders 2) Make sure it is set to "Spot Color" 3) Name it the PMS color you need By setting your swatch to "Spot color" this color now gets separated into its own plate. By labeling it the PMS color you want the printer will know what ink to use for that specific plate. This is how Pantone works when you were able to select in Illustrator before, it was basically just a spot color swatch. If you are going to set artwork to be foil stamped, embossed, spot UVd, you do the same thing except you name your swatch Gold Foil, or Set UV, etc... It's knowing how the software interacts with the real world. Everyone got crazy about Pantone leaving adobe, but it really wasn't a big deal, just added 3 clicks to your color process.
@@theocschannel4111 Hey here's a secret tip, Stuart Semple created his own Pantone-ish swatches for Adobe called "Freetone" and they're totally free. You can read more here: culturehustle.com/products/freetone
Really hoping you can help - what colour management do you have your Illustrator set up to? Using some bright coated pantones and they honestly show up so dull with any colour profile I use. The closest I've got it is setting up the document as sRGB and then using the HEX references from Pantone Connect, though that feels like an absurd work around? I'll owe you a drink if you answer as nowhere else on the internet can!
@@packagingunboxd It's for print, but my problem is no matter what profile I put illustrator into, it never looks anywhere near the Pantone i've clicked on through Pantone Connect - I'm talking way off and really de-saturated. If I use the HEX reference from Connect and set Illustrator to sRGB, it's the closest to the chip book pantone reference. It's so frustrating!
@@JoshFray-e7d ok. No sweat. If this is for print and you are actually selecting Pantone colors to be printed as spot colors and not trying to get CMYK colors to match a Pantone (which is impossible, literally). Then, here's what you do: 1) Set your document color mode to CMYK 2) Create swatches as shown in this video and make colors that are in the neighborhood of what you are after. If it's a pink, just bump up the magenta, orange? adjust the CMYK sliders to get some type of an orange. Then name them whatever the proper PMS color is, make sure you set it to a Spot Color. That's literally it. You got this. What may be getting you is the fact that the colors don't match the book or what you see in Connect. There are a millions reasons for this, but basically they don't matter. You'll never get a Pantone from a printed book to match your screen. Also if you are using a coated color it is because you are printing it on a coated paper. You're printing it on a coated aper right? Keep your color mode to CMYK, this is how your professional offset printer, silk screen printer, who ever you are using to print this project will work. CMYK automatically dulls the colors because it is trying to visually represent a CMYK environment with RGB light. Don't worry how the colors look on screen as long as you have labeled them properly in the Spot colors, it'll be great. Just make sure to get a color proof to make sure it's what you want.
@@packagingunboxd Yep selecting pantones to be printed. So the problem is I need the colours on screen, especially the vibrancy to match at least the vibrancy of the Pantones on the screen via Pantone Connect, just so I can check copy legibility when designing on Illustrator. When proofing in CMYK, I can't nearly get to this vibrancy hence why I tried it in sRGB, to then essentially change that to CMYK once I was happy, and set as the correct spot references for print. See my frustration?
@@JoshFray-e7d I understand, but you can't check legibility due to ink vibrancy on screen. Best case here is to print to an inkjet that you can adjust the color preferences. Or send the files to your offset printed and have them provide a color proof from their digital printers that are matched to their fingerprinted presses. It's the only way to get close, it's a pain. Otherwise you can put the two swatches side by side and decide if one of those swatches were letters would you be able to read or would be too scintillating that your eyes would hurt. As a matter of fact, I just designed packaging with Pantones that were chosen due to the scintillation the two colors produce so you see it but it almost hurts to read. That can create a faux 3D effect especially when used with moving wavy line art.
Hello, I loved your video, and I think you really touched on the key aspects. The alternative you provided, I would say, is even better! We all know that there is no perfect solution, and there will always be too many variables that influence color, as you mentioned. However, there is always a 'but' :) - since there is no universal standard for CMYK primaries the way there is for Pantone base colors and without a physical reference for the printer like the one you have (magazine), won't this spot color 'that you created' produce different colors every time? Are we not adding another layer of complexity? Cheers
Great question. Actually no. Only because the CMYK sliders are creating a color representative of a Pantone on screen only. The color it represents is based on the Pantone swatch book. For example a Red PMS 185 can be represented on screen as C0 M100 Y90 K0 but be labeled a swatch PMS 185. The printer will purchase PMS 185 or mix it in house to the pms 185 spec never looking at the CMYK values as the color has been identified as a “spot color swatch” that part is critical.
Thank you for taking the time to answer me :) In this case (custom spot color), without a physical reference and not using CMYK values since they were only used to create our visual representation, would the printer mix the colors in-house and compare them to the screen representation? Or is there any other information or steps I might be missing for achieving the color "we want"?@@packagingunboxd
Anytime you reference a "Pantone Color" the printer will mix the ink to the color recipe as defined by the Pantone book. No printer will ever mix ink to match on screen color as screen color is generated by light. Also each screen will show color differently. Open a photo on your phone and on your computer and you will see that the same photo looks differently because the colors are not identical. So printer will always match to a Pantone or a physical sample as best they can.@@DiogoBarbosaDB
I was expecting that, but without color values, without a physical reference, the only thing that was left, was a digital representation. Then in order to create and use our spot color we will always need to have a physical sample. Thank you for clarification!@@packagingunboxd
Always have a physical sample in a coated and uncoated version as the color mix will likely change based on the substrate you are printing on. @@DiogoBarbosaDB
Thank you for this! Had a massive headache working with a screen printer today. But this helps a ton. On a side note, were you in the Marine Corps? You look familiar
TLDR: go to swatches, make a swatch color that looks like 406U so light greige, select “spot color”, name it PMS 406U. That’s it. When it goes to the printer the Spot Color will separate as a plate named PMS 406U and that is the ink they will mix to print from that plate. Hope that helps.
Was upset you said it could be CMYK but later you do point towards LAB. The important thing is if you are using a real spot colour. Photoshop is a pain because you need a spot channel if you’re using spot colours and that’s not so common because spot channels don’t work with layers, effects adjustment or any modern tools. If you will be printing in process the LAB way is how to go.
Yeah LAB is much more complicated to explain in a short video if the audience is just learning spots. Channels in PS are pretty simple as long as you flip your thinking completely upside down and think in inverted colors and close your eyes.
@@packagingunboxd let me know If you want to do a chat about how i teach spot channels in Photoshop. Mainly a technique that simulates the darkroom, but gives a Hyde amount of creative freedom. It’s two step process, step 1 simulate, step2 convert to channels.
Photoshop and illustrator work different due to being vector and pixel formats. That's why Photoshop has such a different approach. Yet the outcome is the same, they both put out a channel plate for a pms color or spot color so to say
Correct. This video shows how to communicate Pantone colors to your printer. For this you will need a physical Pantone book so you know what color you are actually creating.
This video is from a year ago and shows you how to rename swatches to PMS colors and print correctly. There’s also a way today that you can import the Pantone books back in. I’ll be making that video soon.
I have this feeling this move from Pantone or at least the mother company, will backfire and have known nda the opposite effect of what they want. It's seems an easy fix is backup your colorbooks folder of an older illustrator or Photoshop version and then move that into the new version. I myself, hardly use pms. But I've made this CEP panel for illustrator which automatically makes logo versions for print and web and can also convert to pms, Valck and white. It will also do all the exporting automatically
Wow that’s a great work around. Hadn’t heard that one before. But pms in the apps are just easy references, they’re nothing more than swatch colors. If you’re a designer you should own the Pantone books to select the colors IRL vs on screen. Then make your own swatches.
You say that you can have two of the same Pantone colors look different in identical swatch books because they are reference only. This does not make sense to me if Pantone prints the books with the exact same solid color which is the whole reason to choose Pantone. People pay extra money to have exact colors, and those books are expensive on top of it. Not saying you are wrong for pointing out the possibility of variances, just pointing out that it’s bad if this is fact and a scam in a way. Plus, the reference is the most important part. Yes, it doesn’t matter if you want a certain green and your screen is showing red as long as the printer uses that certain green. But if that person has a swatch book that is off, then their whole print job is off. So frustrating.
Yeah, they print thousands of these at different printers, different machines, different weather conditions, different press operators... Each of those variables carry tolerances. In one press run, on the same sheet, with the same color you can get varying densities. Not to mention that the swatch book you are looking at is from a different print run than your printer. Could be years different and faded compares to someone else's. Just a fact, the swatch books are a reference for the ink mix listed below the color.
@@packagingunboxd I get the faded part over time because of environmental conditions. They are supposed to be stored in a dark place, etc. I’m talking brand new. Variables in CMYK makes sense because now it’s about dots and even alignment. But isn’t Pantone just one solid color? If I paint a house using a 1 inch brush or a 4 inch brush, the color should be the same. If I paint pine vs cedar, should look the same unless it was a stain. Humidity should only increase drying time for the ink or paint on top in my example. Maybe I’m just bitter because of the high prices we pay for something that’s not even 100% accurate, and ends up ruining thousands of dollars worth of product because of it. I dealt with color for years and it was so frustrating trying to have a room perfectly lit, monitor set perfectly, walls the right color, hood on monitors, proofing under same conditions, etc., just so the client/customer could look at the end result under crappy fluorescent or incandescent lights. Anyway…as you can tell, it doesn’t bother me anymore. Lol. :)
@@TheNordicHunter We live this battle every day. I always share color in poor lighting based on where this will live and show a client how it will look in real life vs under D50 lighting. Clients don't get how nuanced color can be. I'm right there with you.
Not at all - the printer purchases the specified Pantone colour in a tin and applies that colour to the print job. The ink is either formulated for coated or uncoated print stock. At the end of the day although the colour has been formulated as per Pantone codes, the paper or plastic stock onto which ink is printed has different surface and reflective qualities that effect the luminosity of the ink - i.e. how much light reflects of it - so how bright or dull it will appear. The other aspect is the quality of light under which you view colour has a dramatic effect on the course viewed. To view colour print under 5000 Kelvin light is ideal or pure sunlight. The science of colour is a pretty tricky business.
@@thusspokezarathustra I’m not comparing plastic to paper or textures. I’m trying to say if I order 2 of the same Pantone books, which should be printed on the same type of paper, and viewing under the same light, forget optimal, it should look identical. If it’s a micro hair off, I get that, but if it’s off to the point one swatch in one book now looks like a different swatch in the other book (like one step up or down), then that’s a problem. Clients couldn’t give two squirts about all the variables, that’s for us to worry about, they just want it to look like what was shown to them.
Yep. Now you can pay for Pantone connect or just follow the steps here. Pick a cmyk color similar to the pms color in the book you are referencing and turn it into a spot color with the correct pms name. All PMS colors are, are spot colors with a brand name. Make your own and it works the same if you don’t want to pay for Pantone connect.
@@packagingunboxd Yeah, Pantone connect is terrible for exploring color option in a design. Would be happy if you could load the swatch library as before. Current solution until they make the pantone app better, open 2022 that still has the pms libraries, save all pms solid spot colors as an ase file and then open it in 2023...gets you halfway there.
@@daveturton In Illustrator 2022 (2021 has even more pms swatches available if you still have that installed) click swatches drop down menu, open swatch library, color books, select which book you want to use, select all swatches (click first, shift click last), click and drag to add to your swatches, click the swatches drop down menu again and click save swatch library as ASE. Open 2023 click open swatch library and then other library at the bottom and open the ase file.
It is important because if you are designing for offset, filk screen, flex, or any other type of non digital printing you have to be able to specify spot colors. Pantone Color Matching system was how you would select colors in Adobe for your spot colors until Pantone left Adobe. People were freaking out that they could no longer select spot colors for printing. This video explains the process to create and identify your own Spot colors that allows you to still name the colors with PMS naming conventions. So Pantone leaving Adobe shouldn't change your workflow other than a few extra clicks, unless you want to spend an extra $100 to add Pantone to Adobe. If you're not designing for print, then this doesn't affect you, if you design for print, this should be part of your everyday workflow.
A lot of people find this video helpful. But this is not a solution. It's a work-around. On top of that, I honestly find it super annoying when the host hasn't bothered to be prepared
Ok. I’d love to hear how you’d solve Pantone not being available within Adobe apps and how designers that still need to reference PMS colors can accomplish this. Looking forward to your answer, always looking to learn something new.
That dude in the chat say Ng; i always miss x my own inks so it matches the screen. Clearly has no idea what he is saying. That's never gonna happen that's light mixing vs inks mixing. He also stated earlier Pantone actually made it easier now, since the pms colors never matched those on the screen. He is just bs-ing, has no clue what he is doing
Crazy part is every screen is going to present colors differently. You’re right trying to match light with ink is impossible. It’s practically impossible mixing inks to match each other on slightly different substrates like 95 whiteness paper vs 93 whiteness paper.
I don't know why people are bitching, but Adobe has announced that they no longer support pantone back in March-2022 , if you are into print design, best thing to do is get ink drawdown based on the substrate that you will be using from your print supplier. at the end of the day, its the ink that matters not the PMS color on your artwork.
20:17 - Great question and summary answer!!! Thanks so much!
Excellent video, almost every place and person talking about this situation has overblown it. Saying that you can no longer use 'pantone colours' without paying is the most common line but it doesn't explain anything and isn't technically true. They are really just impeding your means of implementing their colours in a specific place (adobe software pantone libraries).
I worked with pantone colours regularly but never used their libraries. I don't know if clients did either, but it doesn't matter either way. If they need colour matching, then the colour will be matched (which is my job).
And as gene said, you can just create your own colour. It's just a set of numbers and a name. In my work I only ever dealt with 1-5 pantone colours at a time for digital printing. Very easy to manage even if they all turned to black in illustrator. It would be annoying for sure.
Thank you! Having spent years mixing inks and stripping films it’s easy to step away from digital constraints and apply analog solutions to todays little problems. Appreciate your comment!
I made scripts which does the conversion automatically. I can now do pms coated and uncoated by feeding it cmyk colors. Still works even when the colorbooks are not there
Keep in mind that the printed colour whether it's process colours (CMYK) or spot colours (Pantone) are heavily influenced by the substrate; i.e. paper stock or polymer stock used. Therefore the Pantone guide booklet is only an approximation of what the colours could look like printing on similar gloss or matt substrate.
Nietzsche was a printer.
@@packagingunboxd 😂 he may have been even further depressed had he been!
Think Pantone are pretty idiotic to not include or allow update of their latest colours; as have access or reference to these promotes use of their colours inks. We live in a digitally open world in which creative freely share ideas, information and techniques. All that will happen is that creatives will share the RGB or CMYK mix reference values on line and creatives will simply mix the colour and name it the Pantone reference they wish to use. The fact is that the Pantone reference colours within Adobe Apps are simply broad reference to the actual Pantone ink which will be printed. To counter this possibly Adobe should consider creating their own spot colour range of inks that more accurately are reflected in their application library - that would get Pantone thinking a bit better. Wake up Pantone you not the holy grail of colour - there could be alternatives filling the gap.
Check this out, color pirate Stuart Semple just launched his own version you can add to adobe free of charge!
www.culturehustleusa.com/products/freetone
Adobe doesn't want to own physical products, but I think you're on the right track. It's an opportunity for Toyo Inks to become a bigger player in color internationally.
@@packagingunboxd you the goat for that link! Thanks man. I’m new to dtf and been doing all types of research to figure out why my images are different than on screen. now I’ve been educated on rgb and Pantone’s. That link was a major blessing. You also saved me major money as I almost bought the Pantone book. Thinking that you just type those values in, but I didn’t know they removed part of their library which would’ve been a waste to buy the booklet since all those colors won’t show til I get the subscription.
@@calw8085 Love it, there are many ways to get design from on screen to in hand and this is just one. Once you get a good print partner they are going to be more than happy to share their Pantone books with you. Knowing how to build your files for production is almost as important as knowing how to design. Glad you saved money, can't wait to see what you design!
If you are digitally printing.... a PANTONE converted to CMYK will print two different colors, not sure why?
and if you convert to RGB it'll print a third. Because Pantone is not CMYK based so it is converted into the closest representative color. In production you can then adjust the color to get it closer but you'll likely never match to a Pantone at 100%. Also, even Pantone books have a tolerance, so if you look at 2 different Pantone books the color may vary from book to book 🤯
Have you done an update video since everything is gone now?
Great idea, thanks will do!
This is such an informative and helpful video!
Good video. Used this to help my wife calm down when she got all uppity about Pantone rinsing her wallet 😂 no connect needed - she spent our mortgage on a swatch book 😂
those swatch books aren't cheap! but this way you don't have to buy a subscription to Pantone and still get the work done.
wow i cant wait for black and white movies because every color is a shade of a pantone color or a color of pantone
🤔
Very Helpful, thanks dude!
Glad it helped!
Do you know a way to print the complete color library that they offer with out going through each individual color to make a swatch book.
I print/manufacture across the world and need to have a swatch book to reference that match vinyl colors.
Pantone has been nice to streamline the color conversions. From client to production.
Are you wanting to print the color guide on vinyl for your personal reference? But are printing offset or digitally to vinyl for car wraps and billboards?
There are color charts you can download that you can print digitally, I think epson provides some as well. Then eye dropper the colors you’d like to match when designing. But let me know if I’m thinking of what you’re doing correctly.
So lets say I want to print PMS 032 RED. Are you saying that in illustrator I could make my own random color swatch that possibly looks like an orange but it won't matter...because as long as its labeled/named as O32 Red it will print properly?
110% because offset production requires someone to actually mix the ink to the specific color specified in the artworks which is also listed in the plate. A PMS number is nothing more than an identifier for production. You could label a blue swatch 032 Red and a good printer will probably call you to double check you meant red. But yes that’s how it works.
Anytime you are specifying an offline process like foil stamping, embossing, UV, etc… you have to do this. You pick a color not found in the artwork so it stands out, make a swatch, and label it “Spot UV” or whatever.
شكراً ، موضوع مفيد ومهم 👍🏻
I don't get it. So you basically make a cmyk swatch and name it a pms color? For EACH? What happens if you want to print it out separated by plate?
1) Yes you create a swatch tuned by CMYK sliders
2) Make sure it is set to "Spot Color"
3) Name it the PMS color you need
By setting your swatch to "Spot color" this color now gets separated into its own plate. By labeling it the PMS color you want the printer will know what ink to use for that specific plate.
This is how Pantone works when you were able to select in Illustrator before, it was basically just a spot color swatch.
If you are going to set artwork to be foil stamped, embossed, spot UVd, you do the same thing except you name your swatch Gold Foil, or Set UV, etc...
It's knowing how the software interacts with the real world. Everyone got crazy about Pantone leaving adobe, but it really wasn't a big deal, just added 3 clicks to your color process.
@@packagingunboxd Okay-I think I can do this now-THANKS! Too bad it’s a one-by-thing.
I also noticed AI will import pms from older files; I wonder if I made a slew of pms colors in CS6, AI CC will import them so I have them.
@@theocschannel4111 Hey here's a secret tip, Stuart Semple created his own Pantone-ish swatches for Adobe called "Freetone" and they're totally free. You can read more here: culturehustle.com/products/freetone
Really hoping you can help - what colour management do you have your Illustrator set up to? Using some bright coated pantones and they honestly show up so dull with any colour profile I use. The closest I've got it is setting up the document as sRGB and then using the HEX references from Pantone Connect, though that feels like an absurd work around? I'll owe you a drink if you answer as nowhere else on the internet can!
Is what you're creating for print or digital use? I'm assuming digital since you're using HEX, but thought I'd ask before offering any advice.
@@packagingunboxd It's for print, but my problem is no matter what profile I put illustrator into, it never looks anywhere near the Pantone i've clicked on through Pantone Connect - I'm talking way off and really de-saturated. If I use the HEX reference from Connect and set Illustrator to sRGB, it's the closest to the chip book pantone reference. It's so frustrating!
@@JoshFray-e7d ok. No sweat. If this is for print and you are actually selecting Pantone colors to be printed as spot colors and not trying to get CMYK colors to match a Pantone (which is impossible, literally). Then, here's what you do:
1) Set your document color mode to CMYK
2) Create swatches as shown in this video and make colors that are in the neighborhood of what you are after. If it's a pink, just bump up the magenta, orange? adjust the CMYK sliders to get some type of an orange. Then name them whatever the proper PMS color is, make sure you set it to a Spot Color.
That's literally it. You got this.
What may be getting you is the fact that the colors don't match the book or what you see in Connect. There are a millions reasons for this, but basically they don't matter. You'll never get a Pantone from a printed book to match your screen.
Also if you are using a coated color it is because you are printing it on a coated paper. You're printing it on a coated aper right?
Keep your color mode to CMYK, this is how your professional offset printer, silk screen printer, who ever you are using to print this project will work. CMYK automatically dulls the colors because it is trying to visually represent a CMYK environment with RGB light.
Don't worry how the colors look on screen as long as you have labeled them properly in the Spot colors, it'll be great. Just make sure to get a color proof to make sure it's what you want.
@@packagingunboxd Yep selecting pantones to be printed. So the problem is I need the colours on screen, especially the vibrancy to match at least the vibrancy of the Pantones on the screen via Pantone Connect, just so I can check copy legibility when designing on Illustrator. When proofing in CMYK, I can't nearly get to this vibrancy hence why I tried it in sRGB, to then essentially change that to CMYK once I was happy, and set as the correct spot references for print. See my frustration?
@@JoshFray-e7d I understand, but you can't check legibility due to ink vibrancy on screen. Best case here is to print to an inkjet that you can adjust the color preferences. Or send the files to your offset printed and have them provide a color proof from their digital printers that are matched to their fingerprinted presses. It's the only way to get close, it's a pain. Otherwise you can put the two swatches side by side and decide if one of those swatches were letters would you be able to read or would be too scintillating that your eyes would hurt.
As a matter of fact, I just designed packaging with Pantones that were chosen due to the scintillation the two colors produce so you see it but it almost hurts to read. That can create a faux 3D effect especially when used with moving wavy line art.
Hello, I loved your video, and I think you really touched on the key aspects. The alternative you provided, I would say, is even better! We all know that there is no perfect solution, and there will always be too many variables that influence color, as you mentioned. However, there is always a 'but' :) - since there is no universal standard for CMYK primaries the way there is for Pantone base colors and without a physical reference for the printer like the one you have (magazine), won't this spot color 'that you created' produce different colors every time? Are we not adding another layer of complexity? Cheers
Great question. Actually no. Only because the CMYK sliders are creating a color representative of a Pantone on screen only. The color it represents is based on the Pantone swatch book. For example a Red PMS 185 can be represented on screen as C0 M100 Y90 K0 but be labeled a swatch PMS 185. The printer will purchase PMS 185 or mix it in house to the pms 185 spec never looking at the CMYK values as the color has been identified as a “spot color swatch” that part is critical.
Thank you for taking the time to answer me :) In this case (custom spot color), without a physical reference and not using CMYK values since they were only used to create our visual representation, would the printer mix the colors in-house and compare them to the screen representation? Or is there any other information or steps I might be missing for achieving the color "we want"?@@packagingunboxd
Anytime you reference a "Pantone Color" the printer will mix the ink to the color recipe as defined by the Pantone book. No printer will ever mix ink to match on screen color as screen color is generated by light. Also each screen will show color differently. Open a photo on your phone and on your computer and you will see that the same photo looks differently because the colors are not identical. So printer will always match to a Pantone or a physical sample as best they can.@@DiogoBarbosaDB
I was expecting that, but without color values, without a physical reference, the only thing that was left, was a digital representation. Then in order to create and use our spot color we will always need to have a physical sample. Thank you for clarification!@@packagingunboxd
Always have a physical sample in a coated and uncoated version as the color mix will likely change based on the substrate you are printing on. @@DiogoBarbosaDB
Thank you for this! Had a massive headache working with a screen printer today. But this helps a ton. On a side note, were you in the Marine Corps? You look familiar
Awesome man glad it helped. Yeah was at Pendleton for a while.
@@packagingunboxd yeah I trying I remember you now. Back in the 90s. I was at SOI and 5rh Marines. Semper Fi!
@@donmelendez8224 crazy how we're everywhere.
Karen -
Manistee MI
Pantone isn't in the color books anymore
But this process works exactly the same to create spot color swatches regardless.
I don't have all those Pantone books when I open mine. I only have the CMYK ones.
Do you have any physical Pantone Books?
@@packagingunboxd I do indeed. I've also had to pay for Pantone Connect to get these swatches into Illustrator for design jobs.
could someone give me tldr?? I need the colour 406U and its not there..?
TLDR: go to swatches, make a swatch color that looks like 406U so light greige, select “spot color”, name it PMS 406U. That’s it. When it goes to the printer the Spot Color will separate as a plate named PMS 406U and that is the ink they will mix to print from that plate. Hope that helps.
Hi from Palm Coast Fl
Is there a lot of Pantone usage in real estate?
Was upset you said it could be CMYK but later you do point towards LAB. The important thing is if you are using a real spot colour.
Photoshop is a pain because you need a spot channel if you’re using spot colours and that’s not so common because spot channels don’t work with layers, effects adjustment or any modern tools.
If you will be printing in process the LAB way is how to go.
Yeah LAB is much more complicated to explain in a short video if the audience is just learning spots.
Channels in PS are pretty simple as long as you flip your thinking completely upside down and think in inverted colors and close your eyes.
@@packagingunboxd let me know If you want to do a chat about how i teach spot channels in Photoshop. Mainly a technique that simulates the darkroom, but gives a Hyde amount of creative freedom. It’s two step process, step 1 simulate, step2 convert to channels.
@@lukasengqvist let’s do it. DM to schedule for January
Photoshop and illustrator work different due to being vector and pixel formats. That's why Photoshop has such a different approach.
Yet the outcome is the same, they both put out a channel plate for a pms color or spot color so to say
My color book does not show Pantone.
Correct. This video shows how to communicate Pantone colors to your printer. For this you will need a physical Pantone book so you know what color you are actually creating.
Pantone does not show up in my color books window
This video is from a year ago and shows you how to rename swatches to PMS colors and print correctly. There’s also a way today that you can import the Pantone books back in. I’ll be making that video soon.
I have this feeling this move from Pantone or at least the mother company, will backfire and have known nda the opposite effect of what they want.
It's seems an easy fix is backup your colorbooks folder of an older illustrator or Photoshop version and then move that into the new version.
I myself, hardly use pms. But I've made this CEP panel for illustrator which automatically makes logo versions for print and web and can also convert to pms, Valck and white. It will also do all the exporting automatically
Wow that’s a great work around. Hadn’t heard that one before. But pms in the apps are just easy references, they’re nothing more than swatch colors. If you’re a designer you should own the Pantone books to select the colors IRL vs on screen. Then make your own swatches.
You say that you can have two of the same Pantone colors look different in identical swatch books because they are reference only. This does not make sense to me if Pantone prints the books with the exact same solid color which is the whole reason to choose Pantone. People pay extra money to have exact colors, and those books are expensive on top of it. Not saying you are wrong for pointing out the possibility of variances, just pointing out that it’s bad if this is fact and a scam in a way. Plus, the reference is the most important part. Yes, it doesn’t matter if you want a certain green and your screen is showing red as long as the printer uses that certain green. But if that person has a swatch book that is off, then their whole print job is off. So frustrating.
Yeah, they print thousands of these at different printers, different machines, different weather conditions, different press operators... Each of those variables carry tolerances. In one press run, on the same sheet, with the same color you can get varying densities. Not to mention that the swatch book you are looking at is from a different print run than your printer. Could be years different and faded compares to someone else's.
Just a fact, the swatch books are a reference for the ink mix listed below the color.
@@packagingunboxd I get the faded part over time because of environmental conditions. They are supposed to be stored in a dark place, etc. I’m talking brand new. Variables in CMYK makes sense because now it’s about dots and even alignment. But isn’t Pantone just one solid color? If I paint a house using a 1 inch brush or a 4 inch brush, the color should be the same. If I paint pine vs cedar, should look the same unless it was a stain. Humidity should only increase drying time for the ink or paint on top in my example. Maybe I’m just bitter because of the high prices we pay for something that’s not even 100% accurate, and ends up ruining thousands of dollars worth of product because of it. I dealt with color for years and it was so frustrating trying to have a room perfectly lit, monitor set perfectly, walls the right color, hood on monitors, proofing under same conditions, etc., just so the client/customer could look at the end result under crappy fluorescent or incandescent lights. Anyway…as you can tell, it doesn’t bother me anymore. Lol. :)
@@TheNordicHunter We live this battle every day. I always share color in poor lighting based on where this will live and show a client how it will look in real life vs under D50 lighting. Clients don't get how nuanced color can be. I'm right there with you.
Not at all - the printer purchases the specified Pantone colour in a tin and applies that colour to the print job. The ink is either formulated for coated or uncoated print stock. At the end of the day although the colour has been formulated as per Pantone codes, the paper or plastic stock onto which ink is printed has different surface and reflective qualities that effect the luminosity of the ink - i.e. how much light reflects of it - so how bright or dull it will appear. The other aspect is the quality of light under which you view colour has a dramatic effect on the course viewed. To view colour print under 5000 Kelvin light is ideal or pure sunlight. The science of colour is a pretty tricky business.
@@thusspokezarathustra I’m not comparing plastic to paper or textures. I’m trying to say if I order 2 of the same Pantone books, which should be printed on the same type of paper, and viewing under the same light, forget optimal, it should look identical. If it’s a micro hair off, I get that, but if it’s off to the point one swatch in one book now looks like a different swatch in the other book (like one step up or down), then that’s a problem. Clients couldn’t give two squirts about all the variables, that’s for us to worry about, they just want it to look like what was shown to them.
Nope... all PMS spots color libraries are gone. You get some CYMK builds.
Yep. Now you can pay for Pantone connect or just follow the steps here. Pick a cmyk color similar to the pms color in the book you are referencing and turn it into a spot color with the correct pms name. All PMS colors are, are spot colors with a brand name. Make your own and it works the same if you don’t want to pay for Pantone connect.
@@packagingunboxd Yeah, Pantone connect is terrible for exploring color option in a design. Would be happy if you could load the swatch library as before. Current solution until they make the pantone app better, open 2022 that still has the pms libraries, save all pms solid spot colors as an ase file and then open it in 2023...gets you halfway there.
@@reidstephenson3898 How do you save the library as an ase file?
@@daveturton In Illustrator 2022 (2021 has even more pms swatches available if you still have that installed) click swatches drop down menu, open swatch library, color books, select which book you want to use, select all swatches (click first, shift click last), click and drag to add to your swatches, click the swatches drop down menu again and click save swatch library as ASE. Open 2023 click open swatch library and then other library at the bottom and open the ase file.
Germany
kühl
You can just.... make the colors with sliders.
How is this important Adobe??????????????????
It is important because if you are designing for offset, filk screen, flex, or any other type of non digital printing you have to be able to specify spot colors.
Pantone Color Matching system was how you would select colors in Adobe for your spot colors until Pantone left Adobe. People were freaking out that they could no longer select spot colors for printing.
This video explains the process to create and identify your own Spot colors that allows you to still name the colors with PMS naming conventions.
So Pantone leaving Adobe shouldn't change your workflow other than a few extra clicks, unless you want to spend an extra $100 to add Pantone to Adobe.
If you're not designing for print, then this doesn't affect you, if you design for print, this should be part of your everyday workflow.
Ohio
Prime example on how to stretch out a topic with unnecessary verbiage, I'm gone
Bye.
A lot of people find this video helpful. But this is not a solution. It's a work-around. On top of that, I honestly find it super annoying when the host hasn't bothered to be prepared
Thanks for watching. Glad I could be of help.
OMG. There is so much wrong in this video. Should be titled: WHAT TO DO TO PISS OFF YOUR PRINTER.
Ok. I’d love to hear how you’d solve Pantone not being available within Adobe apps and how designers that still need to reference PMS colors can accomplish this. Looking forward to your answer, always looking to learn something new.
That dude in the chat say Ng; i always miss x my own inks so it matches the screen. Clearly has no idea what he is saying. That's never gonna happen that's light mixing vs inks mixing. He also stated earlier Pantone actually made it easier now, since the pms colors never matched those on the screen.
He is just bs-ing, has no clue what he is doing
Crazy part is every screen is going to present colors differently. You’re right trying to match light with ink is impossible. It’s practically impossible mixing inks to match each other on slightly different substrates like 95 whiteness paper vs 93 whiteness paper.
I don't know why people are bitching, but Adobe has announced that they no longer support pantone back in March-2022 , if you are into print design, best thing to do is get ink drawdown based on the substrate that you will be using from your print supplier. at the end of the day, its the ink that matters not the PMS color on your artwork.
Love the passion. You're 100% right.