Color Matching Tools

[JStein]

Just curious if anyone has advice on color matching. I am a graphic artist at a custom sign shop in a small town. We don't often have to match colors so precisely but we have started doing it more often lately.

Are there any tools that you all would recommend to make the process easier? Other then a PMS Swatch book, which I already have.

The last color matching project that I did ended up with me running a ton of prints before I got a color that was close to the one that I needed.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Modern Ink Signs]

What rip software are you using? ONYX Thrive has a great swatch tool

 

[DunbarPG]

What type of printer are you using?

 

[laserman70]

Print out you pantone chart. Take it with you to the job you need to match up.
We took ours, cut it and grommets.

 

[JStein]

What rip software are you using? ONYX Thrive has a great swatch tool

I'm using Raster Link 5 sg

 

[Pauly]

If you're serious about colour, and matching ect. start looking at RIPs like onyx that have a swatch book option.
With the swatch book, You either choose the PMS colour you want to match, or an LAB value that you get of a spectrophotometer Then print off the swatch chart on the material you're trying to match with. Then with the PMS swatches you already have, you can match the printed colour with the PMS one. Or with a Spectrophotometer, you measure and find the closest DeltaE.

But also note, with a very good ICC profile, Most colours should already match.

 

[31legen]

Id print an rgb chart as well as a cmyk chart.

 

[Jester1167]

I agree with having a printed PMS chart to get you close. If you use Corel and need further tweaking you can use "Color Spectrum Pro". Just realize that these printers can't print the full spectrum. Sometimes you have to settle for close.

 

[Correct Color]

The best way to match colors is first to have absolutely dead-on profiles of all your printers on all your media.

Then either use library colors such as Pantone, or for custom matches -- even including samples printed by competitors that were supposed to be certain Pantones but really aren't -- read them directly into your RIP, name them as spot colors, and call them by that spot name in your artwork.

This is the color workflow I set up at every Correct Color client and it works. Done correctly, it completely negates the need to ever print a chart, or a series of test patches from whatever swatch-generating application you might use, because the fact is that all of those procedures are to one extent or another just work-arounds for less-than-perfect profiles.

Because in this business, you're not really creating images, you're creating dots. And profiles tell your RIP what dots to make.

Which, um, unfortunately, means that since Rasterlink isn't capable of making profiles at all, and has no built-in Pantone libraries, that if you're serious about this, job 1 in this process would be getting a more robust RIP.

 

[TXFB.INS]

The best way is like Correct Color suggested is to get your machines and medias profiled.

the "Quick Fix" is to print colors on the different medias used and use that for references.
We will be using the banner & grommet idea for an easy field kit reference starting point

 

[Modern Ink Signs]

All great points here.

In my opinion, for you it might be best to print off a Pantone chart, find the color that best fits and either use that or tweek the color from there. I would do this for all medias and modes that you print with.



Best solution, get a RIP software with more functionality. Then profile your media(s).

 

[mmblarg]

I agree with most of the posts on here - taking a little time and material to print the full pantone chart will save you time and material later.

We have a three ring binder with a pantone chart from both of our printer brands that we use when color matching (because of different settings, printers, and programs, there is a shift in color between the official pantone and our colors)

 

[Andy_warp]

Mike is right. Good profiles rule. There is no substitute.

We use the Pantone chart method but can get in the ballpark with most straight out of the profile.

One way I've done this without a color managed workflow is to make a blend of swatches in Illustrator with specified steps.
It's a fast way to give you a variation from warm to cool.

Have your start color a little cooler and your end a little warmer than your original build.
It's wasteful and time intensive, but can bail you out for the time being.

 

[JStein]

Thanks everyone for your input. I will look into these options. I don't think new rip software is in our budget due to learning curve and initial cost.

I do like the idea of a printed PMS chart in the binder. That is something that would just take a little bit of time but worth while in the end.

I'll share what we end up doing with the hopes of it helping anyone else.