Due to the amount of pigments in the base (Pantone) colors, four-color process can not produce the colors you need. Standard PMS (spot) colors have 14 base colors where as CMYK (4 color process) have only four (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black).


If you specify a PMS color in the artwork to be printed in four-color process, the color will be converted to the CMYK equivalent. Changes in color can range from subtle to substantial- see the color chart below. The color swatches on the left show PMS (Pantone) colors while the swatches on the right are the CMYK version (the processed version of the PMS color). As you can see, some PMS (spot) colors convert quite well to CMYK (4 color process) and others quite are quite different.

Red
Darker reds convert quite well. Lighter reds lack the brilliance of the PMS counterpart

Blue
Blues do not convert well. In CMYK, most blues end up looking dull or flat when compared to the PMS. They end up looking like "steel" blue instead of a nice, vibrant color.

Green
Lighter greens do not convert very well. They end up looking dull or dirty. Darker greens convert quite well with the exception of blue-greens. These colors don't convert well.

Purple
Most purples don't convert to CMYK very well. The exception is plum colors which convert quite well. Vibrant purples convert especially different.

Yellow
Lighter and brighter yellows convert well to CMYK. Darker and those yellows which tend towards orange do not convert well.

Brown
Most browns convert quite well.

Orange
Very dark oranges convert well however most others will loose their vibrancy when converted to CMYK

Michael Hui
Golden Card Printing Co., Ltd
Email:business at goldencard dot net

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