I'm working on a packaging design project and I'm going to choose the right red color. My goal is to find a red that gives mysterious feel and at the same time symbolize quality, high-end and have a powerful feel. My closest bet is CMYK C:0 M:100 Y:100 K:15 I found this color in a book since I don't think I can trust my screens colorcalibration. Any advice of how to find the right color is there any a guide somewhere to find the right color with the right feel and moods?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Finding the right red
- Thread starter jimbo110
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Pantone Formula Guides for spot inks, Pantone Process Guides and Color Bridge for process colors.
Blue Velvet > Thank Blue Velvet I'll try it out;-)
Snark > Great snark. Looks very interesting I'm really considering to buy The Designer's Complete Index.
primalman > Thanks the only problem i have with pantone products is the price;-)
Snark > Great snark. Looks very interesting I'm really considering to buy The Designer's Complete Index.
primalman > Thanks the only problem i have with pantone products is the price;-)
I personally wouldn't recommend the The Designer's Index for accurate colour-specifying.
We have The Colour Index (one of the three volumes within the entire set) at work and only use it for brain-storming; the swatches are tiny and are almost always shown in combination with other colours which makes them difficult to isolate. There's no guarantee of colour accuracy and furthermore, they're completely unsuitable for specifying spot colours. The red you're looking for might be better specified as a special anyway depending on costs and other factors.
Pantone guides are (one of) the industry standards for good reason; you get what you pay for. If I was setting up as a freelancer, they'd be at the top of my shopping list along with a new Mac and monitor; they're that important.
We have The Colour Index (one of the three volumes within the entire set) at work and only use it for brain-storming; the swatches are tiny and are almost always shown in combination with other colours which makes them difficult to isolate. There's no guarantee of colour accuracy and furthermore, they're completely unsuitable for specifying spot colours. The red you're looking for might be better specified as a special anyway depending on costs and other factors.
Pantone guides are (one of) the industry standards for good reason; you get what you pay for. If I was setting up as a freelancer, they'd be at the top of my shopping list along with a new Mac and monitor; they're that important.
Blue Velvet said:
Thank Blue Velvet. I got the book The complete colour harmony the I got the same problem. It's combinations with other colours. Since I have already taken the decision to use black and white text. And use the red as spot colour. With a good result. Any new colour combination wouldn't be helpful. I don't know how often I'm going to use the pantone. Maybe only this once to find the most suitable red for this project.
jimbo110 said:
eBay. I bought a matte formula guide, brand new, for $20 with shipping. Be diligent and you can find the deals!
primalman said:eBay. I bought a matte formula guide, brand new, for $20 with shipping. Be diligent and you can find the deals!
Cool primalman I'll have look on eBay. Have never bought anything on eBay before;-) Maybe this will be a great reason to try it out.
A little bit off the topic:
I study theatre lighting and have lit a few plays and understudied a couple of full time designers (who weren't very communicative).
I'm particularly interested in the the use of light and colour for abstract / experimental lighting.
I deal with this problem all the time, trying to find the perfect red, or the perfect straw gel for lighting effects.
Can anyone recommend a decent book for me?
Are the pantone books / The Designer's Complete Index good guides for me even though they deal with print media?
I study theatre lighting and have lit a few plays and understudied a couple of full time designers (who weren't very communicative).
I'm particularly interested in the the use of light and colour for abstract / experimental lighting.
I deal with this problem all the time, trying to find the perfect red, or the perfect straw gel for lighting effects.
Can anyone recommend a decent book for me?
Are the pantone books / The Designer's Complete Index good guides for me even though they deal with print media?
The coated/uncoated refers to what kind of stock, or paper, you will be using. For instance, on my desk, I have four pantone guides:jimbo110 said:
formula guide solid coated: for coated/glossy paper
formula guide solid matte: for coated matte paper
formula guide solid uncoated: for uncoated paper
solid to process: to determine the closest cmyk values for pantone pms colors for printing on coated paper
RedTomato said:
I doubt these would work well for you. We are talking about two different kinds of color creation: the additive type of light, versus the subtractive type for pigment.
The division of the Pantone books based on paper type point to an oft neglected point: Paper makes a difference.tobefirst said:
Coated/uncoated, the color of a stock, factors like these can play a significant part in how your finished piece will look.
Snark
You can usually get by with just the coated and uncoated PMS swatches; in some cases, they're either merged into 1 swatch book or they're split into 2 individual ones.
And (to reiterate) coated means those are the colors you will get on coated stock (think glossy paper and glossy cardstocks) versus uncoated being traditional uncoated stock (think regular 20# bond or any weight bond cardstocks).
eBay is a good place to get swatch books cheap, BUT - BEWARE of people selling OLD SWATCH BOOKS. Over time, the inks on the swatch books will begin to fade and therefore the colors won't be 100% true matches anymore. Every swatch book will have the year it was printed stamped somewhere on the outside of the book - I wouldn't buy any swatch book older than 1 year old (and ideally, you want one brand new ie current year). But yes, retail PMS books are expensive. Recently our company had to buy a new set of PMS swatches because a customer wanted a PMS ink that wasn't listed in our older books (including the one in front of me with a date of 1995). The cost? We paid $80 for a new coated/uncoated swatch book set. Ouch.
And (to reiterate) coated means those are the colors you will get on coated stock (think glossy paper and glossy cardstocks) versus uncoated being traditional uncoated stock (think regular 20# bond or any weight bond cardstocks).
eBay is a good place to get swatch books cheap, BUT - BEWARE of people selling OLD SWATCH BOOKS. Over time, the inks on the swatch books will begin to fade and therefore the colors won't be 100% true matches anymore. Every swatch book will have the year it was printed stamped somewhere on the outside of the book - I wouldn't buy any swatch book older than 1 year old (and ideally, you want one brand new ie current year). But yes, retail PMS books are expensive. Recently our company had to buy a new set of PMS swatches because a customer wanted a PMS ink that wasn't listed in our older books (including the one in front of me with a date of 1995). The cost? We paid $80 for a new coated/uncoated swatch book set. Ouch.
Thank everyone once again for very helpful advice. It's a new field for me and a little confusing.
The packing on which the red is going to be printed I have to choose between Pet/Foil/Pe. Since it's not paper does this mean I need a different pantone?
The packing on which the red is going to be printed I have to choose between Pet/Foil/Pe. Since it's not paper does this mean I need a different pantone?
You could choose a PMS colour and say match this but we're not doing the job for you...
When in doubt, talk directly to the printing company, preferably to the press operator or finisher rather than the sales rep. That's a vital thing to do whenever you have a technical query on anything to do with printing, particularly if it involves special finishes, materials or bindings.