Color – ImageBlog

December 18, 2018

Pantone’s 2019 Color of theYear and the Color Shift from Spot to CMYK

Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2019 is Living Coral. Pantone selects their Color of the Year based on fashion and design trends, with an eye toward representing the current mood and culture of the creative market. While the color is receiving a lot of attention in the design world, be aware that it – like many colors – also comes with a fairly significant “color shift” when printed in CMYK. Here’s a brief explanation as to why:

Color Gamut Comparison

The human eye sees MANY more colors than are reproducible in print. Your computer monitor (which is RGB) also displays a different set of colors than either of those print processes. And the Pantone color libraries include many more colors than offset or digital CMYK print processes can recreate. Check out this blog for a more detailed explanation of color gamuts – but this chart is a pretty clear explanation of how a color you select out of a Pantone library may or may not fall within the ability of CMYK printing to create.

Pantone tries to prepare us for these facts of life. In their Color Bridge swatch book, you can see the difference in the spot color swatch and its CMYK equivalent. They include the following disclaimers on their “Tools for Designers” portion of the Color of the Year webpage:

*CMYK values are approximate and were established under specific criteria. To be used as a starting point only. When reproducing these colors in CMYK, please have the printer adjust them visually on the specific substrate and within your printing parameters so that the best possible simulation to the color is achieved.

+Please note: The color may appear different under various light sources due to metamerism. This metamerism is to be expected between multiple substrates due to varying methods of product manufacturing. (link)

About Metamerism

Colors that appear to “match” or look the same to the human eye under some lighting conditions but not others are called metamers. The colors are actually different in that they reflect different wavelengths of light, but can appear the same under some conditions of light or the substrates on which they are printed due to the limitations of human sight.

Pantone strives to supply us with a common language to share and interpret colors in our work. That’s a large job. The science of mixing ink for print is different than for dyeing fabric or mixing wall paint. You can imagine the complexity behind maintaining a consistent color definition when the substrates include silk, cotton, wool, polyester, plastic, glass, wood, paper, adhesives, drywall, plaster, and on and on.

Rely on your printer for advice and direction with color and consistency in branding. They should be able to answer any questions ahead of printing, and provide you with everything from initial inspiration to complete design, layout, copywriting, production, multi-purposing, online implmentation and distribution of your marketing outreach. If they can’t, you have the wrong printer! The best advice, always, is to ASK YOUR PRINTER!

ImageSmith is a full-service print and marketing provider located in Arden, North Carolina. Contact us at ImageSmith for quotes on all your marketing projects, and more useful tips on how to create custom, effective, high impact marketing solutions.

January 27, 2017

Transparency & PMS Spot Colors – How to Solve the Conflict for Print

We discussed the conflict between transparency and spot colors, and the ensuing print problems, in a previous blog post. That content is included below, but in addition we added some more information on how to resolve this conflict if you have already created your files in InDesign or Illustrator and either been contacted by your printer for file revisions, or worse, received a print job with “unexpected results.”

Using a spot or PMS color in a layout often makes sense to the designer – after all, we all want to ensure correct color output across our brand. But when you place a spot color logo, for example, in a project bound for CMYK process printing, you may be setting up a conflict that can ruin your print output. When you go to save or output your file to pdf, you may see the above warning – and it is an important one! If you have used a spot or PMS color in your InDesign, Quark or Illustrator layout and then applied some type of transparency effect — drop shadows, blending modes, gradients, feathering, etc — then this warning is telling you that your file will NOT print correctly. Your file will look fine on screen, and often even when printed from a desktop printer, but high quality print output will be compromised. Controlling your Swatches palette and color usage, and understanding color definitions, can prevent this problem. First a little background…

With the release of InDesign 2.0 back in 2001, Adobe integrated transparency effects directly into its layout program. New tools allowed us to apply editable transparency effects to text, graphics, and images, the result being a greatly enhanced set of design tools. PDF 1.4 debuted in Acrobat 5 at this time as the first version of PDF that supported transparency. The only catch was that most printer’s RIPs at the time were not ready to handle the transparency effects. Havoc ensued.

Times have changed since then and Postscript level 3 processors and pdf workflows effectively manage the flattening of transparent files at the correct time to produce accurate output. But the conflict between spot or PMS colors and transparency lives on. Saving your file as a PDF/X-1a doesn’t prevent the problem either as the X-1a definition allows for both spot and cmyk color definitions.

If your InDesign or Illustrator color palette is using nothing but CMYK (or RGB and LAB) colors, you can use transparency with no problems. If you place, for example, your logo or a piece of art with a predefined PMS or spot color into your layout, then you have imported that color into your Swatches palette. In turn, if you apply that swatch to color text or graphics and use a transparency effect on them, a high resolution output from offset or digital printing will result in the object printing as a blank or with an unintended color. Your print provider will most likely NOT be able to convert the spot color to process and retain the correct transparency effect. You must convert the spot color to process in your native file(s) and re-export to pdf.

The PMS Green with a transparency effect added will appear correctly on screen (left), but print as a solid (right).

The Fix: Keep Strict Control Over the Colors & Color Definitions in Your Swatches Palette

If you place your Spot Color logo into InDesign, that PMS color shows up in your Swatches palette and can not be removed or edited. (Deleting the logo will allow you to remove the swatch or change it.) So the simplest way to avoid any problems – and save time and prepress charges – is to create a CMYK version of your Spot Color logo for use in all projects bound for CMYK output, and to keep a close eye on all the colors that show up in your palette.

If you have already designed your project with spot colors brought in from placed artwork, getting rid of or redefining all those colors can be difficult. Replacing the artwork with CMYK versions is the first step. Once you have done that, the palette will allow you to delete and replace any UNUSED PMS swatches, or to redefine them to CMYK. This weeding out process can be complex, depending on how many colors have been created. In InDesign, you can delete color swatches tied only to native InDesign elements (i.e., not originating in any placed artwork) and be prompted to choose another color for all those elements currently using the one you are deleting. The final test is to choose “Remove all Unused Colors” from the pop-out menu on the Swatches Palette. If any PMS color swatches still remain, that color is being used somewhere in your layout. If it doesn’t interact in any way with a transparency effect, that will be fine. But if it does, you will get those dreaded “unexpected results.”

The Swatches Palette can quickly become a swamp of colors with conflicting names and definitions.

Obviously, the easiest fix is to be aware as you build your file of the colors in your palette, and notice how they change with each piece of artwork you place. If you see a PMS color show up, you know that last placed logo or element is bringing in that color. If you then use that color for a drop shadow, gradient, or transparent effect, it will not output correctly. Learn to control your swatches by experimenting with editing, changing and deleting them – getting an understanding of the differences in CMYK, LAB, RGB and spot color modes.

Why is “Transparency” Creating Trouble?

Before being “flattened”, transparency is considered “live” and exists as an optical effect onscreen and in video. It must be flattened in order to print. At this stage, the tranparent region is broken up into smaller non-transparent sections that can then be translated by the RIP (raster image processor) into a printable image. It is, however, a complex process and trouble spots arise from the use of spot colors as discussed above, where text or vector objects overlap pixel-based objects, and possibly with the overlapping of RGB and CMYK images. You can read Adobe’s Designers Guide for Transparency and Print at this link for further reference.

Rely on your printer for advice and direction with any questions you have when designing files that use transparency. They should be able to provide you with the time and money saving technical advice, and work with you on file preparation and submission. If they can’t, you have the wrong printer. The best advice, always, is to ASK YOUR PRINTER!

Shop our full ImageSmith catalog online here. We can work with you to find the best option to suit your needs. Please note, prices in online catalog do not include decoration, but call us for a quote at 828.684.4512. ImageSmith is a full-service print and marketing provider located in Arden, North Carolina. Contact us at ImageSmith for quotes on all your marketing projects, and more useful tips on how to create custom, effective, high impact marketing solutions.

July 11, 2016

Asheville Blues: Color Choice in Local Branding

Color is one of the foundational elements of graphic design and visual marketing both in print or online. Pondering color choice in the brands that surround us and the possible reasons behind those choices can be enlightening – so over a few occasional blog posts we will take a quick look at the local Asheville area and check out who feels blue, wants you to see red, and so on. Now about blue…

Blue is a winner worldwide in the “what is your favorite color” category. And while colors can shift meanings across cultures (blue in America can mean sad, while in Germany, drunk and in Russia, gay), the color of the sky and the sea is so integral to life on earth that it’s popularity in logo design is no surprise. Generally speaking, dark blue can represent trust, authority, stability, intelligence – while lighter shades evoke feelings of peace, spirituality, infinity and calm.

Whose brand invests in blue on an international scale? Well the tech world certainly embraced this color: Twitter, Facebook, Pandora, Skype, LinkedIn, Google Earth, intel, IBM, HewlettPackard, Samsung… whew! The list goes on. AT&T, WalMart, Ford, and Boeing are also a few traditional powerhouses who have dressed in blue for many years.

As we discussed in our quick look at the color red in Part 1: the challenge for marketers is to choose appropriate colors to work within the context of the larger message they hope to create and the product or service that represents. It is never as simple as “blue = trust.” Blue doesn’t draw more customers then red to trust one company over another. But blue, when used in the appropriate context, can help successfully attach specific feelings and energy to the experience of a brand. (For a clearer, more thorough discussion on that, here’s a great article about the importance and complexity of color in marketing.)

All this can begin to sound like a lot of psychological hoo-ha (a technical term) except for the fact that as humans we react emotionally to color, and we recall a set of connoted meanings attached to that visual experience. Smart marketing uses this to advantage through consistent branding, establishing a positive connection and memory through color.

So who chose blue in the Asheville area to speak for their business or organization? A lot of successful folks rely on the cleanliness, coolness and dignity of beautiful blue:

It’s no secret that Asheville itself has been a desirable destination both for tourists and new residents, and the city itself is branded with blue. In print media, PMS 661 is Asheville’s color – a dark, rich blue that leans toward the royal side. Blue is an obvious fit for an area nicknamed “Land of the Sky” and located at the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Two things that definitely say “Asheville” are beer and Tourists’ baseball. Both brand with blue. The Asheville Brewers Alliance promotes craft beer and breweries in Western North Carolina, representing by my count 36 local breweries! The Asheville Tourists are the local minor league baseball team, a farm team of the Colorado Rockies. They’ve been a part of Asheville as far back as 1897.

Education in our local area thrives on the blues! The Bulldogs of UNC Asheville brand with PMS 654. But other shades are also used for the Asheville School, Montreat College, Warren Wilson in Swannanoa, Mars Hill in nearby Madison County and South College Asheville. Blue clearly must stand for fine education and a commitment to scholarship.

When blue is part of your name, it’s pretty obvious that blue stands a good chance of being in some, if not all, of your logo and branding. The Blue Ridge Mountains themselves lend both their name and color to local professional enterprises like Blue Ridge Orthodontics, Blue Ridge Bone & Joint, and many other medical and dental practices. Another example, the Blue Dream Curry House is a natural for blue. The downtown high-rise Hotel Indigo uses a whole palette of colors in their stylish branding, but with a name like Indigo, it includes a deep blue as well.

Blue works across the gamut of businesses in successful branding: from the popular eatery Sunny Point Cafe in West Asheville to the pro bono legal experts at Pisgah Legal Services. Asheville Savings Bank, first chartered in 1936, uses trustworthy blue as well.

And of course, we’re a fan of blue around here, too – specifically PMS 549.

Call us at 828.684.4512 for any marketing needs. As a printer, we understand communication and design. Your printer should be able to provide you with the latest information, inspiration, technical advice, and innovative ideas for communicating your message through print, design and typography, signage, apparel, variable data printing and direct mail, integrated marketing and environmentally responsible printing. If they can’t, you have the wrong printer! The best advice, always, is to ASK YOUR PRINTER!

ImageSmith is now partnered with Extreme Awards & Personalization – our in-house partner providing custom engraved trophies and awards for employee recognition programs, sporting events, and promotional needs. With our new sister company, we will be sharing space, resources and expertise in a collaboration designed to further provide you with one place to meet all of your marketing needs… Under One Roof! Visit them online at www.extremeap.com or call direct at 828.684.4538.

Call us at 828.684.4512. ImageSmith is a full-service print and marketing provider located in Arden, North Carolina. Contact us at ImageSmith for quotes on all your print and marketing projects, and more useful tips on how to create custom, effective, high impact marketing solutions.

September 28, 2015

Seeing Red in Asheville – Color Choice in Logo Design

Color is one of the foundational elements of graphic design and visual marketing both in print or online. Pondering color choice in the brands that surround us and the possible reasons behind those choices can be enlightening – so over the next few blog posts we will take a quick look at the local Asheville area and check out who feels blue and who wants you to see red. Speaking of red…

Why choose red? Major corporations spend millions branding themselves, and you can bet the color of their logo is no random choice. Target, Coca-Cola, Adobe, Nike, Xerox and a host of other international enterprises look to the color red to identify and represent their essence in our minds. What is the message of red?

The current consensus on what red “means” traces back to the common experience we all share from nature of the color: fire and blood. Emotions associated with those two elemental red sightings center around, at least in western cultures, love, passion, intensity, aggressiveness, emotion, excitement, urgency and power. At the same time, marketers have to consider that every positive reflects its opposite or negative interpretation. For red, that includes danger, warning, injury and, from our experience in traffic, the need to STOP!

Subtle changes in the color can build new meanings: a shift toward burgundy can symbolize more warmth, experience, tradition or calmness; a lean toward light red and the emphasis shifts toward the attributes of pink, which include femininity, playfulness, affection or joy. Combinations with other colors increase and fragment the experience in increasingly creative ways.

All this can begin to sound like a lot of psychological hoo-ha (a technical term, no doubt) except for the fact that as humans we react emotionally to color, and we recall a set of connoted meanings attached to that visual experience. Smart marketing uses that to advantage through consistent branding, establishing a positive connection and memory through color.

So how does a brand call upon one perception of a color and not others, bearing in mind each consumer has individual tastes and preferences? The challenge for marketers is to choose appropriate colors to work within the context of the larger message they hope to create and the product or service that represents. It is never as simple as “red = power.” Red doesn’t sell more widgets than blue. But red, when used in the appropriate context, can help successfully attach specific feelings and energy to the experience of a brand.

So who chose red in the Asheville area to represent their business or organization? A lot of successful folks let red stand up for them with all its passion, intensity and aggression:

Different shades of red, but all making a strong statement: cyclist advocacy group Asheville on Bikes, Chef Anthony Cerratos’ Strada Italiano restaurant, Architect Robert M Todd’s Red House Architecture, Lexington Avenue eatery Mela Indian Restaurant, the world’s largest self-pour bar Pour Taproom, the Citizen-Times’ Asheville Scene website and publication, and the downtown institution Tops for Shoes. Aggressiveness, intensity, love, passion, excitement… all in line with the natural properties of how we experience red.

Red shares an equal spotlight with black in these well-known local brands: Asheville’s own 12 Bones Smokehouse, ABYSA – the Asheville Buncombe Youth Soccer Association, the Asheville Grown Business Alliance of independent businesses, and Loving Food Resources, the food pantry for persons living with HIV/AIDS or in hospice care.

Combining red with yellow or orange is an analogous color combination that further uses the palette of colors from fire. This combo calls to mind warmth, the sun, the hearth. It is a popular combo locally: New Belgium, the original Barley’s Taproom & Pizzeria, Mamacita’s Mexican Grill, Asheville Brewing Company pub, restaurant and theater, and Haywood Road’s West End Bakery.

Straying away from the regular PMS 185 or 486 reds are a few other local brands that tend more toward burgundy or a wine color: Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, East Asheville’s The Social bar and restaurant, AB Tech Community College and the home of local hard-hitting journalism, The Asheville Blade.

Need some more red inspiration? Here’s a great list of over 70 new, creative logos that prove the marketing power of red. We will follow up with an eye out for another local color in our next blog post.

Call us at 828.684.4512 for any marketing needs. As a printer, we understand communication and design. Your printer should be able to provide you with the latest information, inspiration, technical advice, and innovative ideas for communicating your message through print, design and typography, signage, apparel, variable data printing and direct mail, integrated marketing and environmentally responsible printing. If they can’t, you have the wrong printer! The best advice, always, is to ASK YOUR PRINTER!

ImageSmith is now partnered with Extreme Awards & Engraving – our in-house partner providing custom engraved trophies and awards for employee recognition programs, sporting events, and promotional needs. With our new sister company, we will be sharing space, resources and expertise in a collaboration designed to further provide you with one place to meet all of your marketing needs… Under One Roof! Visit them online at www.extremeae.com or call direct at 828.684.4538.

Call us at 828.684.4512. ImageSmith is a full-service print and marketing provider located in Arden, North Carolina. Contact us at ImageSmith for quotes on all your print and marketing projects, and more useful tips on how to create custom, effective, high impact marketing solutions.