a simple question relate to colors on screen

Question

I was wondering if the Pantone color on my photoshop does reflect the true pantone color when it print.

I am currently working on rendering a packaging image that has pantone color. Other graphic designer suggest I could just use the Pantone color in photoshop to mimic the actual print out color.

I am not sure about that.

I think it's safer to look at Pantone book and create the color from what I see on Pantone Guide book (on paper), rather than just use Pantone color from photoshop.(on screen)

Is this the right way?

Answer 1

Never trust the color which your monitor displays in any program. On-screen representation in photoshop is NOT an accurate representation of the final printed color. Even custom calibration of your monitor to get accurate color rendering will not always guarantee a match with the actual printed color. There is a large difference between the way the color models are rendered, this makes using a monitor for color proofing difficult. See this answer: https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/a/38421/21203

A pantone book / swatch will offer you a much more accurate color representation. Even then, have the printer provide you with a sample of the pantone color printed on the substrate you are targeting to ensure the color prints accurately. Substrate or ink variations, pantone book / swatch degradation, print run inconsistencies and of course, lighting environment changes, will all cause shifts in color balance and accuracy. A hard proof will let you compare the final, printed color against the original pantone color you chose.