Optimised PANTONE to CMYK Conversion

Especially when defining corporate designs, special colours are often used. A new trend is also to create corporate designs "Digital First" and thus in RGB. But what if these special colours are to be reproduced for brochures in four-colour printing? For some colours, such as PANTONE, CMYK values are available. But are these really the optimal colour values? And what if there are no CMYK values for the special colour?

Converting RGB colours or special colours such as PANTONE into CMYK presents numerous difficulties

• Do you need CMYK data for PANTONE colours on brightened natural paper according to PSOUncoatedV3 / Fogra 52 or for printing on cream-coloured paper? Here, the PANTONE Bridge CMYK values usually produce poor results because they were not designed for these standards.
• Have you determined CMYK values using a CMYK fan for image printing, but now need matching values for natural paper and newspaper printing?
• Do you only have a material sample, such as a powder-coated surface, for which matching CMYK values are to be determined?
• Do you need a natural paper CMYK value for a film colour such as Oracal or a varnish colour such as RAL?
• You are producing packaging in a vibrant, bright PANTONE red. If the product name is in white text on the packaging, you would prefer a saturation-preserving but slightly darker interpretation of the PANTONE tone for readability. If the product name is in black text on the packaging, you would prefer a brightness-preserving value with lower saturation so that the name remains more legible.

We provide optimised, individual CMYK values for the implementation of special colours

In a multi-stage process, we determine your optimised CMYK definitions

1.: Measuring the original template

If you have a PANTONE colour as a reference, we determine the LAB value specified by PANTONE for the implementation. Since PANTONE fans sometimes deviate noticeably from their own LAB values, we additionally measure several fan colours and compare the values with each other. In consultation with you, we select the fan colour or the digital reference as the basis for our next steps.

2.: Determining different base implementations

Based on the selected colour reference, we develop five to six different CMYK implementations using different rendering intents for your chosen output process, proof them and measure the various colour fields. We send you this implementation and use this initial selection to establish the basis for the next optimisation step for the conversion.

3.: Determination of variances for visual optimisation

In the next step, we create a matrix based on the best CMYK implementation from step 2. Using software, we develop and proof a systematic colour matrix to visually check the selected implementation once more and optimise if necessary. By varying the colour components in each case plus/minus two levels from the starting value, between 25 and 125 variations of the originally selected colour are created for visual coordination. You will find a graphic example in the product images. This allows you to fine-tune the implementation of the final colour values based on the selected base colour. To make your selection easier, we provide you with measurement-based evaluations in Delta-E for the individual colours for the most important values.

For each colour to be optimised, you will receive several proofs with inspection reports and measurement-based evaluations in Delta-E00.

The price is per special colour and per output condition. If you would like optimised CMYK implementations for a PANTONE colour for coated, uncoated and newspaper paper, for example, you must order the item 3 times.