# What Pantone Color Book To Buy



## amp267 (Oct 11, 2006)

IM LOOKING FOR INFO TO PURCHASE WHAT I BELIEVE IS CALLED A PANTONE COLOR BOOK. I NEED ONE OF THOSE FAN OPENING BOOKS THAT HAS COLOR SAMPLES. I ALSO NEED THE ONE THAT HAS THE FORMULAS TO MIX AND MATCH THE COLOR. WHICH ONE DO MOST SCREEN PRINTERS USE. I HAVE UPLOADED A PICTURE OF ONE. NOT SURE IF ITS THE BEST FOR SCREEN PRINTERS.


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

If you go to a screen printer supply website, they sell pantone books with formulas. On the description it should say "formulas included"


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

Pantone - PANTONE Colors, products and guides for accurate color communication.

make sure your flip chart has coated and uncoated. 

As far as formulas for mixing youll need to get a mixing system. 
Rutland and wilflex have great systems. The Rutland M2 is plasticol based and easy to use. Depending on the brnd you go with, you will get the formula guide. Pantone does not have one that will work with your plasticol inks.


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## SilkscreenQueen (Apr 7, 2007)

Well, I think you're better off just eyeballing it. Find something that is the color you need, and mix and match the ink to it. You just need some basic knowledge of the color wheel. I work w/ plasticol inks and we have the "PMS" book, but it really does't help us at all because we don't have those specific named inks and we don't have an effecient way of measuring out "so many parts of this, to so many parts of that"  it will just add confusion at this point, you need to evolve into it!


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## aspenlht (Jan 15, 2007)

Check out this Pantone web site.
PTV - PANTONE Color Kill Contest
Nice top prize, but you also get a 35% discount coupon for entering. 
Its a sales promotion, but what the hay, 35% is 35%.

Take Care, Bill


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## neato (Mar 21, 2006)

SilkscreenQueen said:


> Well, I think you're better off just eyeballing it. Find something that is the color you need, and mix and match the ink to it. You just need some basic knowledge of the color wheel. I work w/ plasticol inks and we have the "PMS" book, but it really does't help us at all because we don't have those specific named inks and we don't have an effecient way of measuring out "so many parts of this, to so many parts of that" it will just add confusion at this point, you need to evolve into it!


Well, that's true, but that's because you're not using a mixing system. The formulas in the pantone book are not going to help you mix screen printing inks.

A mixing system allows you to accurately reproduce pantone colors. Each system has it's own formulas for achieving the colors. This is much better than eyeballing it because you don't have to remember how to mix a certain color for a shirt style or customer. It helps to keep your shop efficient.


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

Fluid said:


> Pantone - PANTONE Colors, products and guides for accurate color communication.
> 
> make sure your flip chart has coated and uncoated.
> 
> ...


 
So you get the mixing guide for free if you buy one of their inks?


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## gmille39 (Oct 18, 2006)

which would be more standard. Coated or uncoated? I assume uncoated.


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## CNClark (Mar 2, 2010)

gmille39 said:


> which would be more standard. Coated or uncoated? I assume uncoated.


Both are used extensively in business. Normally you get coated and uncoated as a set.


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## gerry (Oct 4, 2006)

Whats the difference between uncoated and coated?
Thanks.


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## CNClark (Mar 2, 2010)

One shows the color on coated paper and one on uncoated paper.


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## ErinAllen (Aug 11, 2009)

I want to stress a couple points! 

1 - Pantone Guides do come in coated and uncoated. It is best to get both as you will have customers request colors in both coated and uncoated. The colors do appear different. 

2 - The color chips will reference certain colors with percentages. This does not transfer to plastisol inks. Every major plastisol manufacturer has mixing systems and they will have formulas to match each pantone color. 

3 - most manufacturers who offer kits will have pantone guides as part of the kits. Contact your distributor. 

4 - mixing from standard colors is not a good option. You will get muddied colors because you will have several different pigments in the each color then you mix with another color and get several more. Mixing systems are single pigment components, so the colors stay clean. 

If you are looking to mix pantone colors, mixing systems are the way to go! 

Good Luck! 

Erin


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## CNClark (Mar 2, 2010)

Another thing to consider in mixing systems is your ability to repeat the color over and over for reorders. You may think you have a good match from eyeballing it, but can you repeat that over and over? Doubtful.

IF your looking into a mixing system, Erin's company Wilflex makes a couple of great one's....We use the PC and MX, and then use union's maxopakes if we are needing an opaque ink. You'll find Wilflex to be the most robust of them all.


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## BroJames (Jul 8, 2008)

ErinAllen said:


> I want to stress a couple points!
> 
> ...4 - mixing from standard colors is not a good option. You will get muddied colors because you will have several different pigments in the each color then you mix with another color and get several more. Mixing systems are single pigment components, so the colors stay clean.
> 
> ...


If ready-to-use-inks like the MX system used to mix pantone colors are single pigment components, why is it that some manufacturers have fewer "single pigment components" and more pigments? Shouldn't they these single pigment components and pigments have the same number of colors?


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## tpitman (Jul 30, 2007)

BroJames said:


> If ready-to-use-inks like the MX system used to mix pantone colors are single pigment components, why is it that some manufacturers have fewer "single pigment components" and more pigments? Shouldn't they these single pigment components and pigments have the same number of colors?


I think it's because they use different pigments alltogether between manufacturers. It's a little like the separation programs . . . they're similar, but likely use different pantone colors to generate the same simulated process job. I know that with QuikSeps, when the actions were redone and QuikSeps Pro was introduced, Steve has added an Orange to the list of inks that may or may not comprise the final job. The older version didn't have one.
Also, I'm not sure that all mixing systems will give you absolute dead-on mixes throughout the Pantone range. I've got Union's Mixopake system, and I mixed up an 032 Red that was too light. Maybe it was me, but I don't think so. I've read complaints by others using other systems. That said, whatever you choose, it makes mixing a straightforward proposition, and one where you can determine the exact amount of ink you want to mix, rather than starting out with a half pint, and ending up with a gallon, after the trial-and-error, eyeballing method.
And yes, the Pantone books are formulated for offset printing inks on different types of paper . . . not for screenprinting inks, so the formulas _might_ be a starting point, but can't be relied on for accuracy.


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## ErinAllen (Aug 11, 2009)

BroJames said:


> If ready-to-use-inks like the MX system used to mix pantone colors are single pigment components, why is it that some manufacturers have fewer "single pigment components" and more pigments? Shouldn't they these single pigment components and pigments have the same number of colors?


I am not 100% sure that I understand your question, but I will explain our systems a little more. 

We have three systems. MX like you said is single pigment finished ink mixing system. There are 15 components. That includes 8 standard colors, 5 fluorescents, a black and a mixing white. There is PC Express - that is a pigment concentrate and base system. There are again 15 components - 8 standard colors, 5 fluorescents, a black and a mixing white. Same components as MX. Then we have Equalizers. They are balanced colorants. Again - 15 components - 8 standard colors, 5 fluorescents, a black and a white. So As you can see there are 15 on each system. 

Each manufacturer has different offerings and use different pigments. Some manufacturers finished in systems are not actually single pigment, so it is simply like tpitman said, similar, but different!  

Let me know if that wasn't your question!


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## BroJames (Jul 8, 2008)

I have to recheck the pigments and single pigment components of other manufacturers but I believe wilflex has 15 colors for their MX single pigment concentrate system and also 15 colors for their PC pigment system, However, not all of the colors of the 2 systems are the same. And formulas for different pantone colors can have different ink components and in different proportions.

In the case of excalibur inks, they have 10 colors for their single pigment components called color pro and 15 pigment colors for their pigments PCPro. I am just wondering why the pigments can't also be 10 colors.



CNClark said:


> Another thing to consider in mixing systems is your ability to repeat the color over and over for reorders. You may think you have a good match from eyeballing it, but can you repeat that over and over? Doubtful.
> 
> IF your looking into a mixing system, Erin's company Wilflex makes a couple of great one's....We use the PC and MX, and then use union's maxopakes if we are needing an opaque ink. You'll find Wilflex to be the most robust of them all.


Difficult but not doubtful. You've got to have an eye for it and quite a number of printers just eyeball it. I can't though. Just recalling what pigments to use is a pain for me.


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## INKSCREENS (Jan 28, 2008)

Angel,

Do you document the formulas so that you can mix the correct colors for the next reorder? We have the MX Wilflex, IC mixing system, Matsui pigment mixing system and Rutland mixing system. My favorite is the Rutland inks, but they are the most expensive.


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## BroJames (Jul 8, 2008)

I did keep some notes


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