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Why isn't my printer printing in color?

Printing: Should a printer adjust a spot color (Pantone) to compensate for the paper (substrate) color so it closer matches the swatch samples?

  • In today's on-demand printing environment (no press check) should a printer adjust their color mix for a Pantone color so that is closer resembles the swatch book example of that color if the substrate being used is different? If not, then why bother specifying a Pantone color choice from the swatch book?

  • Answer:

    For me - and this is a personal opinion - the responsibility for adjusting the pantone value, perhaps selecting a lighter or darker pantone according to the substrate to achieve the desired right effect or match with printed/screen versions of a logo belongs to the designer, not the printer. Full disclosure: I never worked on the printing side of the fence, only the designer one. Why? Well let's look at pantones first and the the role of the designer second. Pantones exist to tell the printer this is the exact colour I want you to use. I do not want to hear your opinion, I do not want to hear 'what might look better', pantone 215 is what I want and pantone 215 is what you will give me (dammit!). That is their entire raison d'etre and business model, to take guesswork or opinion entirely out of the occasion. Secondly the role of the designer in producing the finished artwork is to specify everything, everything for the craftsmen who will produce the printed material. The pantone/colour references as above, the exact images and artwork, the right dpi for the output size and medium, the crop marks, you get where I am going. Personally I produced the separated films myself also and effectively told the printer 'plate and print this'. Printers (I mean the humans!) come in all shapes and sizes, degrees of experience and inclination to assist a designer. A very high volume shop might insist on fully finished artwork and will run off 10,000 copies of something even if it looks obviously wrong (typos, un-aligned text, pixellated images) and stick you with the bill. Most printers though will print you a proof copy and if it is wrong and it was your fault will charge you for new plates for the corrected version and that is it. But remember if they behave like the first example immediately above, that is because it is their job to print exactly what the designer gives them. It might look 'wrong' but what the hell do they know (or care) about fashions in graphic design; distressed fonts, deliberately pixellated images and the like. *Shrug* 'yeah I know Bert, looks like *&£$% to me also, but these designers, you know what they are like'. So to your specific predicament as per your comment reply. In this case I think the designer should have considered the impact the substrate would have had on the colour chosen. I mean how it would look in 'real life' (presumably compared against a screen or paper print of the logo). So if the next effect of the substrate colour/texture/whatever was to darken the appearance of the spot colour, a lighter example should have been chosen, or vice versa. In summary, I am not sure you can lay this one on the printer, it is not their job to interpret the direction of the designer (they'd be lynched in many cases if they did) and as above specifying a pantone is telling them, in as explicit a manner as is possible: 'I want this, precise colour'. Now I will just add a bit of 'real world' caveat. Presumably the printer had a copy of your logo on paper or softcopy to use and should have been able to spot the difference, it sounds like it is quite dramatic. Equally presumably this is not the mug vendor's (if they are different from the printer - or not - it doesn't matter) first time around the block with their product. I would expect that someone might have the decency to give you an 'hey, maybe nothing but your logo is looking a lot darker/lighter/different actually printed onto the cups' phone call. I'd expect they do this out of professionalism and/or basic human decency but as for whether you can put them on the hook for the SNAFU, I don't think so. They did what they were instructed to do.

Domhnall O'Huigin at Quora Visit the source

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I realize this is an old question, but some might yet find value in the following answer. The short answer is no, the printer should not make adjustments, unless they are tasked to do so. Be prepared to be charged for any back and forth of getting things "right." A more involved answer first asks more questions. Was the right Pantone® color specified? If you're talking about spot colors, the ink formulas come from Pantone and are mixed to specification; there is no variance. Check either the spot coated or uncoated swatch book. If you have a special paper or specially colored paper, then you can first refer to samples from the paper company, as they might have something you can extrapolate from. Then request an ink draw-down from your printer on the actual paper. A 10% variation in color on press is within industry standards. But you are likely to get pretty darn close if you've requested an ink draw-down and ask that it match. Note, some printers or designers may have out of date or faded Pantone books. That can also make an impact on color perception. If you are talking about process color swatch books (either the Pantone Color Bridge or the CMYK books), again, first look at either the coated or uncoated books. And in this case, there can be no ink draw-down, just an actual proof. With digital printing, request a proof on the paper you're printing on. Most good printers do that anyway. You can also request the printer to send you their PDF settings, which take into account the curves for final output to their specific presses. Ever notice the output field on the color settings tab in Acrobat? There's a reason there are so many to choose from. It's because different papers are known to have different absorption rates and what not. A standard rule of thumb is not to exceed 280% total ink coverage for CMYK on generic coated paper; but on fine quality coated paper and a better press, 320% total ink coverage is the limit. Newsprint is much less because it's so porous, and without adjustment to either your colors or the curves, it will look darker and duller when printed. If you are buying printing from an online source for "as cheap as possible," then you should not expect color fidelity above 90%. If you get it, great, but it's generally not going to be possible to expect or demand exacting results at the cheapest price. Use a local vendor that you can build a rapport with and communicate your expectations at the outset of the business relationship. Now, if the substrate is something other than paper, i.e., coffee mugs as in a commented example, this is another situation. Most online promotional or premium vendors who offer printed customization are going to fall into the "online printer" category described above regarding quality, or they will offer a very limited set of colors. Again, +/- 10% color variation is industry-acceptable. The color difference between white and off-white mugs is not going to make a discernible (to most people's eye) difference in color. Porcelain will print closer to coated paper than uncoated paper, though, because the ink sits on top of the substrate and reflects light. When color reproduction is especially important, the designer should be having direct communications with the vendor. If you use a local company/broker, you can generally get much better quality control results… and samples of the product before you order. The bottom line is that designers who specify for print should either know these things, or know what they don't know so they can ask their printer before the job goes to print. It is the designer's responsibility; but it is up to the client to pay the designer to manage the printing (or have it included in the design fee). These things take time. And where there is expertise, there should be (monetary) consideration.

Anne Kerns

It is up to the designer to choose paper, and adjust designs for the substrate. In cases where you have less control over the material your artwork appears on, it is important to speak to your printer, make use of their experience and knowledge, and get the colours you need. The onus of picking the right colours and materials lie with the designers.

Lainie Yeoh

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