Confused about colour?

We are currently working on an interesting brand refinement exercise for a Norwich organisation and it has highlighted a question about colour matching that I thought might be useful if I explained a little. This client is keen to match the colour on their website with the colour in their printed materials. Not as easy as you may think....!

There are three different ways of making colours that we come across in our graphic design work for Norfolk businesses.

CMYK - This is the process used most commonly in printed documents to make a colour. In essence it involves mixing variable quantities of cyan, yellow, magenta and black ink to produce the final colour.

RGB - This is the process used in screens such as televisions or computer monitors, so it is predominant in web design. It involves mixing red, green and blue pigments to produce the colour. RGB colours tend to look more vibrant because they are projected on a screen rather than a flat piece of paper.

Pantone - This is an alternative way to produce a colour in print and involves using one of a large number of unique, individual inks to ensure an accurate colour match time and again. These inks are referenced in a pantone book which all good graphic designers should refer to - these books alone cost in the region of £200! Using a pantone colour is often referred to as printing in spot colour.

If you are using CMYK then there is still some room for error as one printer may print heavier on colour than another printer. The best way to safeguard against this is to ensure that you always have a high resolution printers proof to cross check colours against before you proceed with a full print run. Pantone is the safest option for ensuring consistent colour which is key to consistent branding, but you will pay a premium for it. Even then, there is scope for the substrate material (eg paper, vinyl etc) to affect the final shade and the addition of a gloss or matt laminate can also impact upon the tone of the colours too.

Top tip for consistent colour: Print as many documents as possible on the same print run to improve colour consistency. If you are having folders produced for example, run some business cards at the same time on the same card so that the colour matches consistently when they are inserted. This will also save on print costs.