Matching Red Vehicle Color for 1/2 Wrap

[Signs4Realtors]

How can I print a nice fire engine red color on 3M IJ180 that will somewhat match the red color of a 2012 Honda Fit?

I have printed every color red in my color swatches and can't get a close match. I have even taken a picture of the car and brought it into AI and the printed color is still way off.

I simply need a fire engine red or a ketchup red...the CMYK default red isn't close and the Roland color chart reds aren't close either?

Thanks!

 

[Flame]

Sorry but it's just not going to happen. Eco Sol printers can't hit the same colors as paint, and you'll NEVER get the two to match up perfectly. You can try until you're blue in the face, or you can just become like all the other wrap companies and accept it isn't happening and work you design around that knowledge.

 

[J Hill Designs]

where does it have to match? cut it at the black line

 

[mudmedia]

by the looks of your proof your dealing with metallic red base on the car and it seems pretty dark..your not gonna get anything really bright redder then lets say 0 100 100 0 ... thats the best that works for us or pantone 186c red isnt bad...

 

[CanuckSigns]

where does it have to match? cut it at the black line

I'm wondering this myself, use the red in the car to your advantage, make this a partial wrap.

 

[thesignexpert]

Sorry but it's just not going to happen. Eco Sol printers can't hit the same colors as paint, and you'll NEVER get the two to match up perfectly. You can try until you're blue in the face, or you can just become like all the other wrap companies and accept it isn't happening and work you design around that knowledge.

What Flame said... you have to remember that you are trying to digitally "fake" a red using C,M,Y,K as compared to the automotive paint which is true color, bright & brilliant. You can play with different profiles for better saturation in an attempt to get a more brilliant red out of your printer but at the end of the day you are still only tricking the eye into seeing red.

 

[SignosaurusRex]

I'm wondering this myself, use the red in the car to your advantage, make this a partial wrap.

+1

 

[Signs4Realtors]

Thank you all for your input! It is greatly appreciated! The red is only in the lettering/outlines and it is only a partial wrap. My client just picked a red swatch that is close enough for him so hopefully when it is printed, laminated and installed it will look good installed and in the sunlight.

 

[Gene@mpls]

Cut out the red lettering? I wouldn't bother with the outlines.

 

[rjssigns]

Could do that job with black, white and gray hi perf vinyl. No need to print anything since you would "knock-out the lettering and use the car's base color for the red.

We do this on a smaller scale when we have to exactly match a boat color. We cut registrations and graphics that are the outline/shadow/accent to the base color. No it is not cheating.

 

[wildside]

with all that black between the red outline and the paint, and if your laying the red along the bottom, just close is good enough, the eye will automatically think it is the same color just by association

we have done two different colors of red on a white truck before, didn't have time to order more of the right color, with the 3 feet space between them, he thought it was a dead on match, but lay the pieces side by side and looked completely off

 

[Patentagosse]

Sometimes I have to print some patches of colors in order to save me from ordering colored vinyls. In these situations, colormatch may be crutial but we can't re-invent the wheel and have the deal with CMYK mix, not true OEM pigment. I have a client that owns big Kenworth and honestly, the paint is so much flash red that you can't look at it under direct sunlight w/o hurting your retina (...) No way you can match this in CMYK. In your office it looks amazing but you place your sample over the paint and suddently your "amazing" red (under neon lights) is turning brownish or pinkish (read UGLY). The only way I found is to print the red twice (overpass: 2 in VersaWork) or by using sunflower yellow as base color. Sure, it only works when you print a "patch" for cutting separate letters, not for wrapping.

To me your half wrap looks easy to do by simply using the red of the car's paint (for bottom section) and picking the closest red for the letters in the middle. With the distance from the actual paint, nobody will notice it.

 

[J Hill Designs]

you light your office with neon?!?

 

[Kentucky Wraps]

Simple test. Take a photo of the car on the shaded side, then one on the side with the sun hitting it. Also one with indirect light on it. Now compare all 3 photos next to each other and you'll see 3 completely different colors. Due to flakes in the paint, and the thickness of the clear coat bouncing the light around, ....what they said...it's not possible.