1

The client needs to print 300+ different spot colours on apparel and we are trying to reproduce them with CMYKOG. The spot colour replacement/colour matching process has been quite tedious and has taken me 2-3 weeks to complete.

The current process:

  1. Client has a list of the Pantone colours they need.
  2. I have the Pantone Formula Guide and pages of a Pantone swatch PDF printed on several shirts in CMYKOG.
  3. Using the Nix Mini, I do a dual scan of the swatch (e.g. 107 C) in the Pantone Formula Guide. I try to find the closest colour match on the shirts (e.g. 803 C was the closest). I’m using the Nix app because it is easier to tell the difference between two swatches on my phone than it is between in the Formula Guide and on shirts.
  4. When I find the best colour match on the shirt, I get the Lab* value by opening the PDF in Photoshop and using the colour picker tool.
  5. Then, I input the new Lab* into the printer and save it to a new profile for this client.

I’ve been doing this for 300+ swatches and I was surprised to see how entirely manual it has been. This will likely have to be done in the future too.

Is it possible to automate any step of this process? Maybe using Adobe software, our X-Rite i1Pro 3, or X-Rite i1Profiler software?

Any advice would be super helpful!

Improve this question
2
  • 1
    What happens if you run the spot colours through your RIP?
    – user183813
    Commented May 31 at 17:56
  • We used our normal ICC profile to print this client's spot colours but it just didn't come out looking right. Which is why I've been doing the spot colour replacement manually.
    – eggs4breakfast
    Commented Jun 2 at 5:43

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

Did you already create a CMYKOV ICC-Profile? If not, this would be a way. Then you can use your RIP - if it can handle these profiles. There are differences between the software solutions on the market - regarding the creation and handling of Multicolor ICC-Profiles.

E.g. Fogra (german) has some information and one can do workshops there or get experts.

IdaleaAlliance and others can be helpful too.

Regarding i1-Pro: you print on T-Shirts and you compare colors manually. Think about better measurement devices for your use case. Konica Minolta, XRite and others will love to help you with that decision. The costs here will make it worth regarding the work to get the precision regarding labs.

I happened to work at Heidelberger. We had our own solutions, but worked together with these groups regarding pushing a standard. So, you could ask your workflow provider.

However, it might be, that your workflow gives the best replacement results. You will be the one to decide the best workflow regarding quality/costs.

Improve this answer
3
  • Hello, thank you for your advice.
    – eggs4breakfast
    Commented Jun 2 at 5:36
  • Yes we have ICC profiles for our clients. But because this client is using Pantone colours, we're currently making a new one, which is why I've been manually colour matching. Our Print Technician also said that the best way is to do this process manually. We just spoke with XRite to purchase our new i1Pro3 but it was quite a lengthy process because they were taking a long time to respond. If manual is the best process in the end, then it's what we gotta do. I was just wondering if there was anything in our equipment that could help us speed it up, even by a tiny bit.
    – eggs4breakfast
    Commented Jun 2 at 5:43
  • With a good profile one can scan the pantone color fan once with the measurement device, and then replace them with the rip. However, in the chatin "measurement device - icc-profile - rip - stable printing conditions" all parts need to be so good as you need them to get the dE your customer expects. You could also print an own T-Shirt fan for future customers or future assignments.
    – Stefan Bollmann
    Commented Jun 2 at 20:34

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.