spot color does not match pantone book

[SHAWN GUYETT]

Hi, i am having a color issue i order my color mixes and it does not match the book and another printer did the same color for the same client and there color doesnt match my color or my ink book. so are spot colors different from different ink suppliers. i have a pantone book from 10 years ago and it matches closer than anything that i am printing.
my ink book is from vanson and i have noticed that there reflex does not match gans reflex from years ago any thoughts.

 

[RGPW17100]

Good luck with this. We fight it all the time. Dry back is usually the hardest part. Reflex will look blue when printed then turn purple after drying. If you are using any inks with a good portion of transparent white in it the paper you are printing will throw off the color. We have had to have our ink company do draw downs and mix special inks for different stocks. We run a blue pastel on cougar and if we run it on Finch it does not look the same. The best I can offer in most cases the PMS book is a guide to get you close to the color you are looking for. Chances are you wont be able to hit it or in some lights you will have a match and others you wont.

 

[Lukas Engqvist]

Looking at different pantone books you will get different results. Changing paper, even though it might appear similar will change the colour of pantone. The popular misconception is that pantone ink is a specific colour, it is not it is an ink recipie. Some colours are very similar across substrates, others have great variation.
What is the Pantone number of the colour you have inconsistent?

(I have heard that some large companies shift all pantone books at the same time, and at regular intervals so that they will have all there pantone books similar)

 

[seejay]

As part of our procedures, we renew our pantone books every two years. Circulation is controlled, all books are dated. Pigments in pantone books/swatches are as vulnerable to fading just like every other printed product in addition, pantone occasionally change their colour formula's - consequently they have a limited shelf life. We replace all our books at the same time, but a random comparison of swatches from different books will highlight small variations in colour.

Several years ago we had a 'pantone book amnesty' - it was surprising how many books surfaced, but more interestingly, how old some of them were. As such, it is no surprise that you are experiencing the difficulties that you are.

 

[oxburger]

Let's see, what can affect the Pantone match?

The paper
The person mixing the ink
The type of ink (soy, etc.)
The Pantone book(s) being used
The press operator
The ink keys, cylinder packing and dot gain.....oh, my!
The lighting
Whether it's been varnished or UV'd
Applying color curves when ripping

The list goes on and on and on and on......

 

[Mike LaForest]

Not sure if these are available anymore but Flint produced a brochure that printed Cyan on 8-10 different stocks stepped them and bound them so that a 1/2" window it illustrated how big a difference substrate made. Color matching is still somewhat of an art . We have an in-plant with all the latest technology and have some of the same problems you have. As the noted scholar OXburger states above " list does go and on and on" . The best way to reduce some of the down time is drawdowns and QC incoming special mixes.

 

[SHAWN GUYETT]

I am having issues with 287 blue, i have been printing for about 10 years and 287 has allways been a dark blue and the job im to match they say it is a 287 but it is really light and thay is what the client wants so i will need to have it special mixed i think.

 

[RGPW17100]

287 is heavy on reflex. Our ink companies complain about the pantone books being too strong in pigment. What you are probably seeing is that when you push reflex to get it up to color it is impossible to keep the screens open and printing clean. The previous printer probably ran it light. Get a drawdown on the stock your printing. Running ink low on density is a pain. Hickeys being one problem and the other is keeping it consistent.