Question about converting CMYK to spot color

[CathieHarris]

Hi fellow PrintPlaneters.

I have a question. I received a 4-color logo from a client and although I can fake it by making it any spot color I want, how can I figure out what spot color it is from its CMYK coordinates? Anybody have a reverse converter?

In this case, the logo is C51/M53/Y78/K35.

Please let me know and where to find it if it's an internet thing.

Thanks!
Cathie

 

[Stephen Marsh]

Best bet is to ask them. If they don't know, then ask them if the colour reproduction is critical. If it is, tell them that they should select a Pantone colour from your physical swatch book.

If colour reproduction is not critical, then you may be able to to perform a reverse lookup in Photoshop. In the colour picker, type in your CMYK values, these will pick up your CMYK working space in colour settings (or the assigned profile of the file) which are used for the Lab colour translation. Then click on the Colour Libraries button. This may or may not be "accurate".

An online resource can be found here, again this may or may not be "accurate":

CMYK → PANTONE


Stephen Marsh

 

[CathieHarris]

Thanks Stephen.

As it turns out when I asked her about the color, she said she just wanted it in black. Ok, easy enough. But it still would be nice for future reference to be able to do a reverse conversion.

Cathie

 

[Stephen Marsh]

Cathie, just keep in mind that the results of a reverse lookup may be "close enough" or "way off, as in totally the wrong hue". Don't put too much faith in these methods.


Stephen Marsh

 

[CathieHarris]

Yeah, I just used your link and it gave me everything from yellow to green. LOL It was a gold color. Thanks again Stephen.

 

[Stephen Marsh]

Yeah, I just used your link and it gave me everything from yellow to green. LOL It was a gold color. Thanks again Stephen.

I put more "faith" in the Adobe method, however knowing the complexities of the CMYK>Lab>Pantone lookup, I take it all with a grain of salt.

Stephen Marsh

 

[WharfRat]

I have had the best results using the script for Illustrator.
But still, you need to check the book.
MSD

 

[Bill W]

I have had some success using the method I describe in the attached PDF file. I created this before Pantone Plus library was out, so use PANTONE + ... instead of PANTONE solid coated.

Settings when selected in Color Settings might also be different if you know what the printer is using, eg it might be Custom using GRACol.

-Bill-

 

[JoeatData]

I found this website I use it for reference:
CMYK to Pantone - Find PMS colors close to CMYK color
The site gives you a broad selection and also allows you to narrow down your selection to something more specific.