Using Swatches to Insure Desired Color Results in Printing

From Eric Miller, former About.com Guide

The PMS swatch books come in many versions, made for different papers such as coated and matte. For this reason, it is important to talk to your printer first about what paper will be used, so you can refer to the proper book. The books are available for purchase directly from Pantone as well as on Amazon, other web sites, and in art stores. As the swatch book sets are expensive (especially the full reference library), you may want to start with the “Formula Guide” set, consisting of the coated, uncoated and matte swatch books, which are sufficient for most standard jobs. It is important to remember that books can “expire,” meaning they are no longer applicable to the current ink sets.

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• The Problem
• The Pantone Matching System
• The PMS Swatch Book
• Working with the Client
• Applying the Selected Colors to Your Designs
• Supply the Colors to Your Printer

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