color matching
The accuracy of color is critical in design. Because what you see on your monitor is never what will appear on a printed sheet, designers need a standardized color key.
It can be very frustrating to see the logo or art you worked hard to create look deep blue on your letterhead, blue-greenish on your business card, and light blue on your t-shirts.
A way to prevent this is by using a standardized color matching system, such as the Pantone Matching System. Though Pantone is not the only color standardization system, it is the most widely used and the one that most printers understand. Aside from being able to have consistency, Pantone colors allow you to use colors that cannot be mixed in CMYK.
At Alaska Serigraphics we use the Pantone Plus Series Solid Coated inks when screenprinting. While we don't charge to color match while screen printing, some of our promotional product vendors do charge for color matching.
The Pantone Color Matching System is a standardized color reproduction system. By standardizing the colors, different manufacturers in different locations such as us can refer to the Pantone system to make sure colors match without direct contact with one another. The Pantone Matching System (PMS) is a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries, primarily printing, though sometimes in the manufacture of colored paint, fabric and plastics. The Pantone color guides have been widely adopted and are used by artists, designers, printers, manufacturers, marketers and clients in all industries worldwide for accurate color identification, design specification, quality control and communication. Pantone recommends that PMS Color Guides be purchased annually, as their inks become yellowish over time. Color variance also occurs within editions based on the paper stock used (coated, matte or uncoated).
Pantone formula guides can be purchased here.
Download the myPantone app for your Android device here.
Download the FREE Pantone Studio app for your iPhone here.