Pre Mixed Pantone Inks
Does anyone have colours pre mixed? It’s difficult to know what a pantone colour will come out like when letterpressed so was wondering if anyone had a few pantone codes for colours they use and what they print like? i.e. navy, sky blue etc
edit.
I mix colours using opaque white, not transparent as the pantone chart specifies. What would be the result of matching a colour I have mixed to one on the chart and having it mixed by the ink supplier. I’m guessing they’d use trans white? I should call them I know.
It’s just consistency of colour over orders I’m after.
If all you want to do is maintain consistent colors from run to run, you don’t have to have colors pre-mixed by an ink company. All you have to do is save wet samples of the ink from the first run. (Wet samples are samples of wet ink which is not dry). Then, after you make a batch of ink for the next run, do a drawdown of the original ink next to the new ink. If the color of the new ink is off, make adjustments to it, including new drawdowns as necessary, until it is right. I was going to explain the whole process, but it is quite well explained in the following
http://www.magical-secrets.com/content/managing_your_inks_step_by_step
If you have any questions, let me know.
I was told by a supplier to use 30% of what the Pantone mix calls for transparent white when mixing with opaque white.
We have on cation custom mixed a color based on the clients direction. We keep track of the changes we make to original mix and then store that final result with final printed samples for future reference.
We have once taken a printed sample of a custom mixed color to our ink supplier to have them match in order to make us 5 lbs of the ink.
I routinely have custom PMS colors mixed in order to satisfy customers who require a particular color, and now have a very nice selection of colors to choose from as a result.
Since Pantone swatch books are printed offset, the general rule of thumb for purchasing a mixed match for letterpress is to specify a single hue lighter if the form runs light. If the form requires more heavy inking to achieve sufficient coverage, (based on the combination of paper tooth and surface area to be covered) specifying two hues lighter or more may be in order.
All bets are off when mixing with opaque white, since what you are then mixing are tints, whereas Pantone matches presuppose that the ink is translucent, and the stock is white. The color depends on the sparkle of the paper to impart its hue.
That said, I have ordered a mix from Pantone using opaque white as the base for a job which was going to run on a dark gray stock. I ended up modifying the color with PMS 877 metallic silver, so the success or failure of the opaque white base was neutralized. (I suppose it was a failure.)
To my mind it’s far more efficient to order custom mixes rather then to mix your own, as inevitably you will waste ink by over-mixing attempting a match. Let the pro’s do it, and build the ink cost into the cost of the job, expense it come tax time, and build a library of inks.
mjb
interrobang letterpress