Meeting the Corporate Color Match Challenge
By Guest Columnist Carol Cluppert
Carol is the Marketing Director for Ripon Printers in Ripon, WI, and was one of our participating PBI Print & Media 2012 sponsors. After the conference, she emailed me about her interest in this topic, so I encouraged her to write a Print Tip for everyone’s benefit. Voila!
While attending one of the sessions during the recent PBI Print & Media Conference in Chicago recently, I was intrigued by comments about the frustration of matching corporate colors accurately and consistently. The discussion gained my attention because, even as the marketing director for a G7-certified printing company that features top-notch equipment and craftspeople, I, too, occasionally experience slight variations in corporate color reproduction.
The discussion inspired me to revisit the topic. Here is some helpful information that should help you with corporate color matching.
PMS vs. Process Colors
Obviously, there are built-in advantages to using the actual PMS colors, but that’s not always possible. You may want to save money by printing your logo in four-color process, or there may be equipment limitations.
Yet even spot colors aren’t foolproof. The Logo Factory design center correctly points out that some colors will vary significantly from coated paper to uncoated paper. For best results, you need to ensure that your printer uses two different sets of inks, each formulated to match. This situation often occurs when companies print business cards on coated paper and stationery on uncoated.
Further, some colors like yellow and orange shift more than others. That’s because they require the reflection of the paper to create their particularly sensitive hues. One possible solution is to always print in four-color process, though that might not always be practical. And be aware that many spot colors do not accurately convert to process.
But should you elect to print in CMYK, be certain to use the Pantone Color Bridge Coated or Uncoated book that will convert your spot color with the greatest accuracy possible – and it also includes RGB blends. You can also try converting business cards from dull or gloss finishes to matte, which will perform closer to uncoated while still giving more pop to the printing.
Paper Color
The different colors of white paper stocks are also something to take into consideration if you’re particular about your corporate colors. Paper colors vary from cool to warm shades. While the differences may not be major, the color of your paper selection will influence the reproduction of your corporate colors. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when specifying paper:
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- Process printing reproduces most accurately on neutral white paper. The neutral shade ensures that all colors printed on it will be in color and gray balance.
- Consider setting up paper standards that specify particular paper brands and lines as preferred choices. Any variations from the specifications should still conform to grade, color, brightness and other applicable factors. But keep in mind that even within the same brand and line there can be slight variations from run to run.
- Consider asking your printer or paper supplier for ink draw downs on the papers you’ve selected for PMS color usage as a further visual assurance that you’ll get what you’re expecting.
In general, it pays to learn as much about the paper as possible. For example, International Paper’s Pocket Pal reminds us that artificial brighteners, such as fluorescent additives, can affect color reproduction since most are not neutral in color and have excess blue reflectance.
Building Printer Relationships
There’s value to building long-term relationships with a limited number of printers. Experience tends to contribute to a better understanding of your preferences. We suggest that print customers look for a few things that contribute to a printer’s ability to consistently reproduce accurate color:
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- Modern, well-maintained equipment
- Experience of their craftspeople
- Continuous improvement programs
- A collaborative approach to problem solving
- Paper expertise
- G7® certification, a method developed by the IDEAlliance GRACoL Working Group that enables printers to reproduce a similar visual appearance across printing types and substrates
While nothing ensures perfection every time, following these suggestions should help reduce any frustrations you may be experiencing in your corporate color matching.
© 2012 Carol Cluppert. All rights reserved. You’re free to forward this email. However, no part of this column may be reprinted without permission from the author.