Pantone Colors affecting print jobs

There are different ways in which Pantone colors affect how your job prints.

The first is using Pantone (PMS) colors in a job that is printing in a full-color process. Many Pantone colors do not have an exact process color match; this will cause the color to shift when the software converts it from PMS to CMYK. It is best to use a Pantone Color Bridge and create your colors according to the Bridge Color that best matches your desired outcome. Below are some examples of color shift when converting from Pantone to CMYK.

Pantone to CMYK conversion examples

You may purchase a Pantone Color Bridge here.

If your job must print in a PMS color, we do have the capability to print in PMS, just keep in mind that it will more than likely increase the cost of the job over CMYK by 50% to 100% or more. You may request a quote here.

The second way Pantone colors can affect the way your file looks is by using images with transparency. This means using effects like drop shadows and glows on top of the Pantone colors.

Here's how they look on screen:

Pantone shadow on screen
Pantone glow on screen

And here is how it will look on printing:

Pantone shadow issue when printed
Pantone glow issue when printed

Here is what an image with transparency looks like on screen:

Pantone transparency on screen

Here is how it will look like printed:

Pantone transparency issue when printed

So make sure to convert all your Pantone colors to CMYK before saving and fixing all the color changes that may occur. You could also flatten any image or object that has an effect or transparency to avoid these issues.