By signcraft
Posted on Monday, November 13th, 2023
Customers often bring a Pantone color chip or some other color swatch and want that color used on their sign. This can be a challenge because the process of digital printing on vinyl is different than offset printing on paper, and it especially affects the more vibrant colors.
“Some colors,” says Braun Bleamer, Jet Signs, Palmerton, Pennsylvania, “like the blue on the Whitaker van and the Frantz mini sprint car, come off the printer really strong. I also like the PR43K red and some of the bright greens.
“When you get into the oranges and bright teals they just aren’t as vibrant as you’d like. Oranges usually seem a little rusty, and bright teal is just a little flat. But that bright cyan really pops on both white or black.”
Matching a Pantone color or a chip of wall paint can take time—and often leads to something that is just as close as you can get. Going back and forth trying to get a customer’s approval can be a hassle.
Color chart to the rescue
Braun uses Roland VS-540 printers, so his solution is to choose colors from the Roland color chart whenever possible. If someone gives him a Pantone color or a swatch to match, he takes it to the chart and finds the closest match.
“That’s the color I’ll use,” he says. “The chart is a terrific guide for choosing colors that you know you can produce accurately. I’m sure other printer manufacturers have color charts, too. It’s a much better approach than trying to match something exactly yourself.”
Depending on your printer model, you may have additional ink cartridges that permit more intense and accurate colors. The color chart for your printer lets you see the potential colors it can produce.
“More than once I’ve spent an hour running 2-by-2-in. square samples, trying to get a perfect match for a customer,” Braun says. “And if you do get it right—then you get a new printer in a couple years—that time means nothing because the output from the new printer will likely be different than the old one. There’s always some variation in color output from printer to printer.”
Most customers understand that the digital printing process can’t match every color and that matching to the chart will give better results. It will be easier to match on future jobs, too, no matter what printer Braun has by then.
And when you are looking for a color that is especially vibrant, the color chart can lead you to the colors that are more brilliant and bright. Braun likes to pair those with black or white for plenty of contrast and impact.
“Using a color chart that’s designed for what your printer is capable of just makes things easier,” says Braun. “There are plenty of choices on the chart, and I get consistent results.”
