Pantone Formula Guide

[Justin]

Just wondering if anyone has one of these gathering dust they'd like to sell before I take the plunge?


http://www.silkscreenprintingsupplie...e-for-printers

[ArferMo]

I really love this bit:-

Over time, the colours on the swatches will fade and the paper will discolour, so to assure accurate colour communication, especially where a customer may be referring to a new guide, PANTONE® strongly recommend that guides are replaced annually.

I bet the do at £126 a pop. I thought a lot of ink manufacturers has this online now.

[Justin]

I laughed at that as well ;-) I've been advised by a screen printer friend that I don't need pantone and should work by eye......but I need a starting point.

[Paul]

i use them (coated) 100's times a day and i can tell you that you will need them replaced ;) maybe not annually but i don't think it will last more then two years. colours do fade and tear away after loads of use. but if you need one just for odd jobs then it will last you AGES! :)

[Justin]

OK, so the second us what I'm looking for? Any cheaper sources? Found a few on eBay etc but need to check they're the same.

[mags1892]

theres also sorts pantone coated pantone process uncoated blah blah to be fair youd be ok with a slightly older one as noone is that accurate anyway plus youd never hit a lot of the colours without that actual ink ie REFLEX BLUE is impossible in four colour process; GEt a used one as long as it was kept in a dark drawer itll be ok. Do you use a RIP on your print setup or are you screening conventially (over 25 years in the print trade ; )

[Justin]

Yeah I wondered about getting an old one as I only need a rough guide really. I did see a company selling pre-mixed colours to order in small quantities which may be a better option, certainly initially....if I can find them again!

[Paul]

if you need rough guide then use your screen.
Get as new as you can. Don't forget one thing Justin. If your customer call you or email you an order with PMS, they will expect that what they see. so older book is not good to you.

[Red5]

Been using Pantone's Guides since 1987,
Yes they do fade over time, even when placed in a Black sealed bag.
Yes you should replace them annually / or when ever Pantone update there mixes, (not only do they create new colour's but they often make new CMYK mix's of Pantone No's)
I should stress this is only important if your in the litho print trade, where one rejected job could be a lost client worth 20k a year.
Last time a purchased 6 sets of Coated and Uncoated books, all from the same place, when they arrived i open'd them all up, and fan'd them out and i can tell you 100% that they were all different, they were so bad we email'd Pantone, and they told us that if we read there Spec / spiel that there books are just a Guide

[mags1892]

Been using Pantone's Guides since 1987,
Yes they do fade over time, even when placed in a Black sealed bag.
Yes you should replace them annually / or when ever Pantone update there mixes, (not only do they create new colour's but they often make new CMYK mix's of Pantone No's)
I should stress this is only important if your in the litho print trade, where one rejected job could be a lost client worth 20k a year.
Last time a purchased 6 sets of Coated and Uncoated books, all from the same place, when they arrived i open'd them all up, and fan'd them out and i can tell you 100% that they were all different, they were so bad we email'd Pantone, and they told us that if we read there Spec / spiel that there books are just a Guide

Theyre very mucha guide if you use a pantone certified RIP they have all the LAB values for the pantone librarys built in , use this and a spectrophotometer to get close but some colours never ever get there without the actual ink. EFI is a good example they have a pantone database and you can tweak and remeasure colours until they get as close as possible, GMG was good but expensive as is CGS Oris.