Topic awaiting preservation: Pantone conversions...

Anyone know a good website on converting RGB and CMYK values to 2pms?

no

sorry

Jason

I doubt you will find a accurate one, it would most likely it would be bootleg site, Pantone makes it's cash, selling inks and guides to those Inks.

But the best way is just to use Photoshop's, built in Pantone library and color picker.

Double click on the Forground or Background color, choose "Custom", pick a Pantone color. It will give you the values in LAB but if you click the "Picker" It will return to the normal color picker giving you the values in RGB and CYMK ect. This works in reverse as well from 4-color to Pantone based on it's lab values.

The same can be done using displaying the Pantone Swatches using the Swatch pallete while viewing the Info pallete or Color pallete and setting them to display cymk or rgb values.


If you do a lot of 4-color work you might want to consider getting a process guide, as pan tone is ment for spot color work.and may colors are not reproduceable with standard CYMK. I like the TruMatch guides, I have used one for years now, It is what my printer recommend and it work well with most SWOP workflows. (The primary US press standard.) But you have to rember these are all just guides. There will always be varied results even with Pantone Inks and in most cases they are hand mixed from stock colors.

jstuartj

I did find a site with a chart, haven't tested it however.

http://www.degraeve.com/reference/pantone.shtml


jstuartj

jstuart... You are a print mecca!!!! Thanks for the info. That is all I needed!
I am not doing much in the lines of print work, but I have to do some color matching for a friend.

Thanks!

jstuart, not to sound like an idiot, but what are the differences between "solid coated", "solid matte", etc., etc.??

I actually have that page stripped and bookmarked on my local webserver, that's why I posted what I did =) I use it for reference but be careful! a printed proof is about the only way I've found that I can be comforatabe with color choices (admittedly not a lot of experience in print here)

quote:

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jstuart... You are a print mecca!!!! Thanks for the info. That is all I needed!

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my warning stems from your liberal use of exclamation marks and zero room for error attitude, afraid you may be disappointed. Hopefully you're right though. Good luck.

Jason

JK, I understand where you're coming from !!(heh)!!!! Really, I just need to get Pantone matches from an image I am helping out on. The printer just needs some Pantone matches for a few panels that have company colors. I realize nothing is confident until printed, but I just wanted to make sure I was passing useful information to the printer.

Coated ect.. are the various types of paper stocks. Basicly there is coated, matte and uncoated guides, with examples on various paper stocks. The ink mixes are the same in most cases.

In photoshop they appear to be group by the various guide published by Pantone. It is best just to stick with one system or the other, try not to mix matte and coated, while the mix of Pantone Inks is the same. The RGB or CYMK conversion may or may not.

"Solid to Process Coated" is best if you converting from Pantone to CYMK values. I don't have it but it should match Pantones Solid to Process Guide.

I perfer uncoated for most work with actual Pantone Inks as it's sort of the worst case, that and I have not seen or used a matte guide.

jstuartj



[This message has been edited by jstuartj (edited 12-18-2002).]

jstuartj,
Sorry about the late response...Thanks for the additional info. This has all been much appreciated. I know I am just picking up basic fundamentals here, but I've got to start somewhere! Today I am ordering a Pantone color guide, something I'm sure I'll need in the future. Thanks again!

Of course, the best way to pick colors is to know your final output media and budget from the very start. Then you'll know whether to use spot or process color, what kind of inks to plan for, and so forth. Pick up both a Pocket Pal (it's a small but very useful handbook on all aspects of printing, some service bureaus get boxes of them from major printing houses to give out for free) and a larger book on publication design.