If you’re a color freak (like all of us at Imbue), you want your brand’s color to be reproduced consistently from print run to print run. 4 color process printing has become very affordable in recent years, but colors will shift a bit each time you print. When matching a specific color is critical, designers use spot colors instead of process colors. What’s a spot color? Basically, it’s a pre-mixed ink that follows a specific formula, so that same formula can be used later to achieve the same, virtually exact, color (similar to having paint mixed, but even more precise). The Pantone Matching System (PMS) is probably the most widely used collection of spot colors, and you may have heard terms like “our red is PMS 200” or “the Imbue Blue is Pantone 300” when working with designers or agencies.
Sometimes, slight color variances are not a problem; and sometimes tweaking color at press time will achieve good results from press run to press run (if you’re willing to spend the time and money). But when your orange needs to be “spot-on” and you don’t have the time to adjust on press – use a spot color instead. And remember, you can’t proof color on a computer monitor! You need to see a physical proof, or a spot color swatch book, to really see how color will look in print.
