Expert: Tom Rouze - 5/28/2006

Question
Hi Tom,

I am making a Poster in Illustrator using cmyk colors. I just found out that I am using several colors (it is a game board) and became concerned about the cost. I don't have much experience in printing and using colors and would like to hear your comments. Do you think it would be a good idea to have a Pantone color book? Can I get a copy from the Internet? If so, which website? I don't understand when using coated, uncoated, and so on...

Answer
Hi Marcia,

Most commercial printers will print in CMYK unless there are some special vibrant colors or metallic inks.
The best color book for you would be a Pantone Solid to Process Guide.  It gives you the Pantone color and next to it on the same page what it will look like as CMYK.  A standard Pantone book is nice to have because there are more colors than the CMYK book but spot colors cost money.  You can get a book from an Art supply store or I've seen them on the Internet or an art supply store online. If you don't have much luck finding one let me know I'll see if one of my suppliers will sell you one.  They should be around $50 for the solid to process and a little more for the standard guide.
As for coated and uncoated here's a very crude example brochures, magazines, etc..., are coated... newspapers, most flyers are uncoated.
It's mainly about stock selection.  The Pantone ink color is the same but the surface of the paper is what caused the color to change.  
Coated materials the ink colors tend to be brighter because the ink stays on the coated surface without absorbing into the paper.
Uncoated is the opposite.  The colors tend to print muted or darker because the ink absorbs into the paper.
Hope this helped!

Thank you,

Tom