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CMYK numbers to Pantone colours
Hi there,
could someone explain how to find out the pantone colours from the CMYK details given to me from the designers.I need to match vinyls to the clients specification.
I’ve bought a brand new set of pantone guides, but can’t seem to find what I need. 😮
The numbers are:
C45 M15 Y20 K10
C55 M100 Y45 K10
C55 M65 Y45 K20I’d appreciate knowing the pantone colours, but would be even more grateful to know how you got to convert it so that I know next time.
Many thanks,
Cheryl 😕
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22 Replies
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Have a look here but they may not be pantone colours.
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Thanks for your help Nick.
But I’m afraid I’m still in the dark. 😕
Cheryl
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Cheryl do you coreldraw? if you open the uniform fill box > model cmyk > type in the cmyk numbers then click on the palettes tab > pantone and that should say the closest pantone colour I think.
Nick.
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Hi Nick,
I tried to do that in corel before I posted this question.I’ll give it another go.
C x
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Cheryl,
You can buy a swatch from any of the ink suppliers…. which have pantone colours & their CMYK aquivalent
not every Pantone colour has a CMYK match though & even some of the colours that do have matches are not really that close
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Cheryl,
I Don’t think your colours are Pantone colours. You may be able to find something close, but if you are going to match a vinyl to the colours it may be a good idea to get an actual colour sample from your customer as different printers and different inks and different profiles will give different results when you input your colour values. If they can give you a sample then it should be easy to match to vinyl swatches or your pantone swatches.
Sorry if it makes things worse but this colour matching can be such a pain.
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Hi Guys,
thanks for your help.Unfortunately, I can’t get a sample.
This is a new project. The logos and colours have been designed for my clients new Travel Agency business by a design and marketing company.
All I’ve got are the cmyk numbers the design and 10 shops to do between coventry and Bristol by Christmas :yikes:
Ooooh my God !
C 😀
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Cheryl,
I have just done a test print on my Cadet with Activasol ink and the printed colours are different to the on screen colours, the middle colour is close but the other two are not. Maybe if you print a swatch with inkjet or laser and get your customers approval then you can match that to your vinyl swatch or your pantone swatch.
Frank
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Frank,
Many thanks for your help.I’ll run a print of those colours on my versacamm in the morning.
Cheers,
Cheryl. 😀 -
Cheryl,
Flexi has a colour match system – although I cannot vouch for its accuracy.
Have put in your CMYK values – and the blue, purple and grey(?) ones come out at 570C, 2603C and 668c respectively. It does say that all three are not a complete match – the blue is a closer match than the others.
Guess you have no option but to double check but at perhaps this will give you a starting point.
Martin
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…guess I mean light green -not blue – in the post above…
martin
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Cheryl, if you are trying to match a vinyl to a cymk then good luck, you will need a sample though, or a colourimeter as your print may not match anyway. The only sure way is to get a sample swatch from the designer or client, dont be afraid to ask, the designer must have provided a hard copy to the client for approval, even if it was only from a dulux colour card!
Peter
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Hi Martin,
many thanks for your help. You’re not far off with a couple of them. The pantone numbers check out, so thanks very much.Cheryl 😀
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Hi Peter,
I’m printing out the cmyk values on my versacamm now.I’ll see what they look like and try to get a vinyl to match and send them to the client.
This is such a massive job and I just want to get it right. If necessary, I’ll ask the client to go back to his designer for more details.
However, it would appear that there isn’t an exact pantone to work with, so he’ll have to look at sample vinyls that are close.
Many thanks,
All the best,
Cheryl -
Have you considered simply printing the CMYK colours out on your versacamm and using these instead of trying to colour match vinyls. I’ve used my Cadet before to colour match awkward colours and it has worked very well. That’s what I would do unless of course you can find vinyl matches that are close enough anyway.
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just print cmyk values cheryl, you dont match it to pantone unless you have been told to.. if you need vinyl then print 5mtr block of that colour then feed it into your cutter and treat it as oracle vinyl if you cannot vinyl match it.
CMYK values are printer values so thats the most accurate way of getting the right colour.
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Hi,
right I’ve printed out a sample of each colour. They look ok and I’ll hopefully match them to a vinyl thats close.The top one is a blue/grey, then a burgundy and a sort of burgundy/purple.
If all else fails and the client is picky, I’ll do as Phill and Dave suggest and just print the graphics that I need.
Thanks for all your help Guys.
Cheryl 😀
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Cheryl,
You’ve answered your own question in a large part. If it is a new project there will be no previous work that must match exactly, so don’t knock yourself out too much.
Colour matching can be a nightmare and you’re doing the right thing in printing off samples and getting them approved.
I do it all the time, even when given Pantone numbers, because the same PMS number will look different printed on a swatch, in vinyl, and different again in paint. The density, reflectivity etc etc of the base material will affect the appearance of the colour. They’ll look different under different types of lighting as well.
Get approval, then whatever happens you’re covered.
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Many thanks John,
I’m probably worrying unnecessarily.
My client is buying out lots of very well known travel shops, so I just want to get it right.
Thanks again,
C x 🙂 -
if you could get a hold of someones PANTONE swatch books you can cross reference them at the bottom. If you do a great deal of this kind of matching though, invest in a PANTONE Color Cue 2. This tool saves me so much time its ridiculous and the best part is, you dont need to replace your swatch books each year.
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quote George Kern:If you do a great deal of this kind of matching though, invest in a PANTONE Color Cue 2.i was thinking of getting one of those…thought it was mainly geared for the litho/screen printing and its a bit pricey too…for all the time i use my pantone book, i use the pantone chart now on the cadet it works well with corel draw & illustrator 😀
nik
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That little gadget is a timesaver and I think it was originally intended for that market, but everyone from graphic designers, to printers, to interior decorators are using them. PANTONE makes interior paints too. Another nice little application you could invest in is PANTONE’s Colorist. Such a useful application when you are trying to match PANTONE colors over multiple programs, this software will ensure 100% consistency throughout.
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