When calibrating a monitor, make sure that the monitor has been on for at least 30 minutes before making any adjustments, as this allows the CRT tube to warm up and the colours to settle. (When viewing proofs of trade show displays, it is good to have accurate colour on your Monitor)
Improve the lustre of your metallics: remember to specify liquid ink when working with metallic colours to achieve optimal results. New liquid inks containing intermediate-sized pigment particles provide higher levels of brilliance than conventional paste inks, which generally contain smaller particles.
Some pigments are more lightfast than others. This is extremely important when choosing colours for printed material destined for exposure to sunlight, such as outdoor signage and window displays. Seek guidance from your commercial printer or PANTONE Licensed Printing Ink Manufacturer to mitigate concerns. Important when ordering display stands or banners.
Monitors out of the box have a natural blue-ish tint. This tint (or cast) may, however, look neutral because your eyes will automatically adapt to make the brightest area in your field of vision appear white. Therefore, calibrating a monitor is the only way you can guarantee accurate colours on your screen.
If you want to use complementary colours without causing discomfort, you can outline each of the colours with a thin neutral white, gray or black line. The outlines separate the two colours, which helps your brain keep them separated. (good idea when design display stand graphics)
When working in Hexachrome or any colour managed workflow, for best results, always keep your images and designs in RGB.
Red has been shown to stimulate the senses and raise the blood pressure, while blue has the opposite effect and calms the mind. People will actually gamble more and make riskier bets when seated under a red light as opposed to a blue light. That’s why Las Vegas is the city of red neon!
Originally created to put a friendly face on the merger of two large insurance companies, the smiling button with a yellow face and upturned mouth became the symbol of happiness and fun in the 60s. The retro wave that was resurrected in the 90s brought the cheerful icon back. But for the creator of that ubiquitous sunny symbol, illustrator Harry Ball, the payback came in the form of millions of smiles rather than in hard cash as he was paid a grand total of $45.00 for his work!
Metallic inks are often used to achieve decorative effects on labels, textiles and brochures or to enhance the impact of packaging for cosmetics, spirits and other luxury items. The brilliance of gold, silver and other metallic colours can add a touch of exclusivity that improves the value perception of many products.
In northern India, brides wore red and yellow to ward off demons, and in many countries, green was worn by brides as a symbol of new life and fertility. And in Queen Victoria’s day, many English brides wore black to commemorate a death in the family.
Virtual – a feeling that transcends reality because it is true escapism in a flood of colourful relief. These colours represent escape. They are an enhancement; they come from another realm. The realm is virtual because it is not strictly defined and only seems to exist. It is merely an effect. This is a haven for the pursued, a safe platform from whatever it is that needs to be eluded. The colours allow you to go further. The feeling transcends reality because it is true escapism in a flood of colourful relief.
Colour is the single most important design element in creating spaces that reflect mood and style. Colour surrounds us and defines our world. Why do we choose the colours we do? How and when did we come to know which is our favourite colour? What do our choices reveal about our true nature? The answers to these and many of your other colour questions in ” Colours For Your Every Mood,” written by Leatrice Eiseman, the executive director of the Pantone Colour Institute.
For visualizing unique effects obtainable from metallic and fluorescent colours, a sampling of 28 colours have been added to PANTONE® TINTS four-guide set.
Have a set of RGB, CMYK or HTML data and want a quick match to PANTONE Colours? Use Adobe Photoshop to do this. Here’s how: Click the foreground colour square to open the Adobe Photoshop colour picker. Type in the appropriate data for RGB, CMYK, etc., and click the “custom” button. Adobe Photoshop will default to the closest PANTONE Colour from the coated library. You can change the default library to be any of the PANTONE Libraries. Keep in mind that this colour match is being produced mathematically and should be treated as a starting point and not a final colour match. You should always use the PANTONE Publications to judge the accurate colour, in close consultation with your client.
The human eye is always stimulated by novelty. Unique or “new” colour combinations can translate into instant attention. Iridescence, pearlescence and metallic finishes are specially arresting as the eye is fascinated by multi-coloured effects.
The need for using Web-safe only colours is predicated on the assumption that enough of your intended audience is still using colour displays that can only view 256 colours. Year by year, such displays are fading from existence. Further, with Internet communication speed faster than ever due to the widespread use of cable modems and T1 lines, the limiting of colour content for faster download is also diminished.
Whether working with different items across product categories or matching your packaging and print materials to your merchandise, using the PANTONE Textile Colour System will enable you to coordinate and control consistency of colour across multiple materials.
Our PANTONE View Colour Planner allows the user to integrate the PANTONE Textile Colour System in a directional way for a seamless process in choosing and specifying colour for their product line, based on forecasted information.
Have you ever been confused when looking for a particular four-digit PANTONE Colour because the colour arrangement isn’t in strict numeric order? Here’s a quick method for finding the colour, using PANTONE 5763 as an example. Use the first two digits of the colour to find the correct section. Once you have found all “57s”, then look for the third digit which inevitably will lead you to the colour you desire!
Popular graphics applications have updated the PANTONE Libraries in their latest releases. They now provide access to the latest 147 PANTONE Colours as well as the PANTONE Metallic, PANTONE Pastel, and PANTONE Solid Matte Libraries.
Compiled by Kylie Dawson – Studio Manager