Hi,
I am starting to design logos, mainly for the websites I create. So usually I’ll just design in RGB.
However often my clients wish to use their logo for print. I know that the RGB doesn’t always convert to print too well, so I am thinking I need to also create my logos using CMYK colours and/or Pantones.
My questions are:
Is CMYK sufficient, or is it best practice to also create a Pantone version of a logo?
What is the best way to get the CMYK colours? Do I need to buy a CMYK colour book? If so what type of book is appropriate and where can I buy one?
I’m trying to keep costs down, so less expensive recommendations are appreciated! Thanks guys.
Pantone and CMYK are 2 different types of ink systems. Pantone being a specific colour mix and CMYK being a mix of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK. So there are situations where there are print benefits to having a specific Pantone colour for your logo (provided the printer stocks that Pantone colour) as it is a single process. To achieve the same Pantone colour you may have to mix the 4 different colours of CMYK (4 inks vs 1).
As for the design process it is mostly done on computers which display in RGB and light (as opposed to print which is CMYK and how much light is absorbed/reflected off pigments) so naturally colours will render more vividly in their native format. This accounts for why there is a seeming colour discrepancy between print and web, they are different processes with different parameters.
The colour mix for print is designed to be specific. You can rely on a Pantone colour being exactly the same the world over. And CMYK are applied in percentages and vary minimally so are also fairly reliable. This is in direct contrast to the millions of non-calibrated monitors the world over. Unless you are used to using and viewing your work on a calibrated monitor then the colours you see when designing can be completely different from the guy next to you and the girl next to him.
So designing in CMYK isn’t such a bad thing. Most logos worth their salt are going to end up being printed at some stage (eg business cards, letterhead). I’d suggest investing in a couple of swatch books, at the least a Pantone one and a CMY version. They just have swatches of colour and list the percentage combination of the colours or Pantone number. Just be aware that there are different Pantone libraries depending on what paper stock the ink is being printed on to eg coated/uncoated. I’ve always had them supplied in the graphic design studios I’ve worked at so I’m not sure where you can source them from. But they are also useful in matching a sample that someone walks in to the office with and says “I love this colour can you match it…”
This all assumes that logos will head towards being printed (which most are). The conversion process from CMYK to RGB is easier than the other direction so if you start with a CMYK palette and are happy you can tweak a little more for the web version. You may find that it is only the occassional logo that transitions in which case you can usually pick colours using the Photoshop picker and see their co-ordinates in CMYK and get a pretty close alternative.
Thanks very much for your reply. I am thinking just to get a CMYK swatch book first as Pantones are too expensive for me right now.
Do you know where I can buy one in Australia or online? I haven’t been able to find one anywhere.
my other post was done in hast, without really reading the previous posts all that well
so, to answer your questions
CMYK is what you should work in if it will be used in print
(Pantone colors are just specific ratios of CMYK used for color matching
pantone inks are used for spot color, when you need the exact match and are another color on top of the CMYK in the process)
well… photoshop has pantone colors built in, but, monitors are not correct unless it is calibrated correctly, so that isn’t all that accurate
but Pantone Coated Book, they are really kinda pricy, but it is straight from pantone.
