Can anybody help me with the colour settings in flexisign?

[Jean Oakley]

Hi liam, if you are cutting this in two colours I’m confused as to why its bothering you as to what you’re seeing on the screen? surly you just cut in the vinyls that match the colour you’re looking at black and a light blue?

[Liam Pattison]

Hi Jean,
Thanks for your message. I’m not cutting it I am using it to prepare artwork that needs to be given to printer.

Liam

[John Harding]

so again you dont need to worry

if outsourcing to a printer you just specify the colours you want the printer to reproduce ie pantone refs

or if sending to your own printer change the colours in the output/rip software (i use versaworks and have a swatch with versaworks colour refs which I can change in signlab)

john

[Jean Oakley]

ok, Are you adding to this artwork? if not just send directly to printer and specify colours

[Liam Pattison]

Thanks John,

I’m a bit confused and I think I may have lost my mind over this.

It’s my fault for not explaining. But what i am trying to achieve is the same colour mode throughout all of my software. So say if I receive a PDF like I have in this case, I want to be able to look at that PDF on my screen in adobe reader and know it will be the same when I open it in flexisign. And then if I want to export it as a PDF from flexisign to show my adjustments to the customer, I want it to still be in the same colour. And then if I want to use that PDF to edit it in photoshop, I still want the same colours. Because I need to edit it in photoshop to send to a magazine so they can use it as an advert. And then I need to edit it and use it to send to another printer to make it into business cards. And I need reasonably consistent colours throughout. None of said printers will be matching Pantone colours.

I hope I am not talking complete nonsense, sorry if I am.

At the moment it seems to come out different colours in every software I use.

Can I change flexisigns input or output to match the PDF? Or what is the most accurate colour mode to work in for saving to PDF? I have had problems with this before but in this case it seems to be worse than ever.

Thanks

Liam

[John Harding]

Right people with more knowledge tham myself may have better answers for you but in my experience colours will vary on screen between differing programs and the same file in the same programme will look different on different pcs due to the screen calibration (or lack of) therefore you have no way of guaranteeing what you look at and what your customer looks at in terms of files you have sent them being correct.

So in summary always use colour values and advise customers the image they look at on screen may not be correct.

In flexi you can add pantone colours to the colour swatches which will help output to print but is not a guarantee in itself.

john 😀

[Liam Pattison]

Thanks John and Jean for your help. You have cleared a few things up for me about screen colours. I realise now they will be slightly different In all programs.

I just did what I should have before I made all this fuss and went and read flexisign instruction manual! If you go to ‘view’ in the menu bar and select ‘soft proof’ that will allow you to work in a cmyk preview mode which seems to be the best mode with closest colours to the PDF I was sent.

Hope this helps someone else who goes through the same trouble.

Thanks again

Liam