So you’ve made the decision to use silk-screen print or perhaps your CD/DVD replication company recommended that you opt for this print option. Your next step is to decide which pantone colour to use, which may not be as straightforward as you thought…
Silk-screen print with pantones is perfect for printing block colours – the result will be a smooth colour with a lovely gloss finish. Alternatively you could opt for a matt finish or even use metallic or fluorescent colours. Whichever option you decide upon, it is important to take great care when selecting your pantone colours.
If you are looking for an exact match to an existing colour, for example your corporate colours or company logo, you will need to select a pantone which matches your original CMYK colour as closely as possible. This can be done by using design software, such as Adobe Photoshop, or by using a Pantone Reference Guide. wewow even provide electronic pantone guides free of charge for their customers, so it’s worth asking.
If you want to make sure the pantone colours you have selected are a perfect match, your best option is to request a wet-proof from your supplier. This will probably come at an extra cost, but it is highly recommend. Alternatively, many suppliers offer chromalin proofs as a cheaper alternative to wet proofs.
It is also important to bare in mind that you will need to opt for a white base to accurately match pantone colours. Don’t worry if you want the silver base to be visible in part, as many suppliers will print a selective white base for no extra cost.
The next thing to consider is if you need your CD’s or DVD’s to match the colour of your paper parts or printed literature. CD/DVD replication suppliers generally print full colour CMYK for no extra charge. However, if you require pantone colours to be printed onto your paper parts, this may incur an additional charge. However, this can often lead to disappointment as the colour match is not 100% accurate, as you are printing onto 2 different surfaces, the print processes will be slightly different and there will be different drying times involved. For this reason, it is always advisable to see printed proofs of your artwork before stumping up the extra cost for using pantone colours on paper parts.
Finally, be wary of signing off electronic proofs if you are unsure about your colour choice. Electronic proofs display colours in RGB – unfortunately, this means that they may look different on your monitor than they will when printed. Also, they will look different on other people’s monitors, depending on the calibration of their screen. If accurate colours are important to your project, it is always best to see printed proofs before proceeding in order to avoid disappointment.
For more information on pantone colours, silk-screen and lithographic print, please visit: www.wewow.co.uk
www.pantone.com
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