Print Color Schemes

We offer a variety of print color schemes in each category

The following palettes are available:

1. CMYK - the so-called full color (triad), found in color computer printers, large format plotters, and offset printing machines, is the most popular among all the other palettes used in printing. It consists of 4 primary (process) colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black. These component colors, shaded through halftoning, overlap in appropriate proportions to create various colors needed to produce a colorful photograph in print. The CMYK color palette has limited capabilities (gamut), so it is often combined with colors from the Pantone palette in packaging printing. More information about CMYK
2. PANTONE - a palette of 15 base colors from which various special colors are achieved according to the recipe. This palette offers colors often unattainable in CMYK, as well as metallic colors (gold, silver), white, bright, etc. Pantone printing allows you to exclude halftoning and achieve a uniform surface, as well as clear small marks, letters, thin lines, e.g., from gray. In the case of CMYK, colors are simulated through halftoning (tiny dots) and overlapping 4 layers of process colors, making it impossible to achieve high repeatability and sharpness of some details. For example: using Pantone, we can print a solid gray surface; in the case of CMYK, gray will be simulated by halftoning (dots) of black color. Pantone printing is very popular for high-quality corporate materials and packaging such as business cards, letterheads, company envelopes, labels, packaging, etc. More information about Pantone

Why is Pantone printing so expensive? 

Pantone printing requires the use of special ink ordered from a mixing facility. Printing takes place on a large offset machine where we first need to replace the ink with this special one. Normally, C M Y K (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) inks reside in the offset machine. Replacing the ink involves cleaning the entire inking unit, emptying the ink fountain, and loading the new ink. After the printing process, the steps must be repeated to restore the unit to its previous state. The ink replacement process takes at least an hour during which the machine could print other CMYK jobs, earning its keep. The offset machine is designed for large productions; therefore, during printing, it consumes a lot of paper before the color stabilizes, generating waste included in the product's price. In the case of CMYK printing in small quantities, printing is done on a smaller (digital) machine that can print single sheets without generating material waste. Unfortunately, in CMYK printing, some colors are unattainable, and their equivalents look completely different.

Basic set of Pantone colors:

Other colors according to Pantone