Pantone color Matching

More info

additional file

Here's another handy Pantone tool. For Microsoft Office users, Pantone themselves makes a plug-in utility called the Pantone Office Color Assistant.

http://www.pantone.com/products/products.asp?idArea=3&idProduct=72

It puts a new toolbar in Word, Excel and PowerPoint that allows you to precisely pick your Pantone value from three Pantone color libraries. You can color text/fonts, backgrounds, objects including Excel charts, and lines. It also will work with FrontPage, but currently doesn't work with Publisher (unfortunately). It will not color text in Office 97. A 16-bit (or higher) color display is recommended, and colors are displayed on the monitor in sRGB. Easy installation, although their help files note a small quibble with Office XP.

I've had it for about three months and find it relatively useful. If you have a client in marketing who is persnickety about their Pantone colors, they will love it. But, as Docusulant cautions, what you see in print depends on the quality of your color engine. Speaking from my experience trying it with a Ricoh 2228 and a Ricoh 3224, the Pantone Office Assistant put me a lot closer to the value I wanted than trying to determine a custom value in Office's palette.

More info on Pantone and Ricoh color systems

Pantone Color pallettes are now available for the Aficio 3228C Aficio 3235C, Aficio 3245C, Aficio 3260C (with either the Scan/Print kit or Fiery E7000 controller),and the Aficio Color 5560 (with either the Scan/Print kit or Fiery E7000 controller).These color palettes will help users print a closer match of specific Pantone colors from supported Ricoh color devices.

The enclosed Pantone Users Guide provides detailed information on importing the Pantone color palettes and applying them in the desktop publishing application.

Q. What is the Pantone Matching System?
A. The Pantone Matching System is a color library developed by Pantone Corporation as a communication tool between designers and commercial printers, and extends the potential printing color gamut by using different combinations of fourteen different base inks and mixing those inks together to produce a new ink color. This new ink color is printed on an offset press in addition to the standard process colors of CMYK. Typical applications of PMS colors would be in corporate logos, IBM blue, Coca Cola red.

Q. How do PMS colors apply to color copiers?
A. Designers using DTP applications like Quark Xpress or Adobe InDesign will create files that incorporate PMS colors, which the designer may want to print locally on their color printer/copier. The problem is that the color values that represent the PMS colors in the application are generic in nature and do not take into account the specific color characteristics of the color output device. The toner for example is different from manufacturer to manufacturer, and will yield different results from the same color file. To further complicate things, each DTP application can define the same PMS color differently; so users printing the same Pantone color from two different applications like Xpress and Photoshop on the same color device could end up with two different colors.

Q. But you said PMS colors were made by mixing 14 different base inks together. How does that apply to a color copier?
A. Unlike offset printing presses, color copiers and printers are restricted to the four process colors, CMYK and additional inks/toners cannot be mixed together to create new colors to extend the printing gamut. Because of that, the best that color copiers/printers can do is simulate a portion of the Pantone color gamut.

Q. What do the Pantone Color Palettes actually do?
A. The Pantone Color Palettes were created to optimize the output of Pantone colors through certified output devices and provide consistent color output from supported DTP applications.

Q. Could I use the Pantone Color Palettes on other devices or applications besides the tested product and applications?
A. No, the color values created in the color palettes are specific to the certified device and supported applications.

Q. So out of the entire Pantone library, how many Pantone colors are part of the Pantone Color Palette?
A. Custom CMYK data has been developed for 1,137 colors. The Pantone Color Palette does not support metallic or florescent colors.

Q. I thought Fiery controllers had a Pantone simulation setting in the driver?
A. There is a setting in all Fiery drivers (for color devices) that is called Spot Color Matching that can override any PMS values set in DTP applications. As mentioned before, different applications can define the same PMS value differently, so the same PMS will look different, even from the same color copier. The Spot Color Matching setting ensures that PMS colors will print consistently regardless of the source application. The problem though is that Spot Color Matching is not necessarily optimized for the specific output device, so it may not be as accurate to the targeted PMS color.

Q. Are there any other methods to get PMS colors closer to the targeted color?
A. There is an option on the E7000 (standard feature on the E8000) called "Spot On" that allows users to visually match the intended color and dial it into the Fiery controller. Using Spot On would be specific to the output device and take into account the color characteristic of that machine.

Q. All Pantone support focuses on CMYK applications. What about RGB applications like Word, PowerPoint, or Excel?
A. Pantone offers a product called the OfficeColor Assistant 2.0, which enables users to pick and use PMS color in their Microsoft applications. But the color values are not device specific, meaning that colors may or may not be printed accurately to the Pantone swatch book.

Q. How do I download and use the Pantone color palettes?
A. Go to the Ricoh-usa.com website. Select "Downloads" then the particular color system "(A3260/AC5560/A3245/3235/3228)" Select the Operating System of the computer the palettes will be used on. Select "Pantone Color Palette" and download. Use the enclosed guide to see the steps for installing the color palettes within the supported applications.

Q. There are no compatible color palettes for the E8000?
A. No, the only color pallettes available for the A3260/AC5560 are with the GW controller or E7000.

Does anyone know if they will be releasing the ICM's for the new 2500C or 3000C? Im guessing not, that would be too easy...... They'll make us buck up and build in the fiery, you watch. If and when that ever becomes available....lol

I would say they will, but this isn't just ICMs, it is alot of work to get all those colors programmed, might be a bit =)

True, but if your end user is finicky about their color wouldn't it be worth it in the long run? Better to spend the extra time during set-up than to have them constantly calling you after installation to gripe about something else looking off.

I meant it might take a while for Ricoh to release this info for these machines, not complaining about setting it up once it's available