Question about Pantone Colors

**jclements** · 22 June 2006, 02:14 PM

The thread, "Which color mode?" reminded me of an issue I have long wondered about. I rarely am required to use Pantones colors and if so it would be for simple, "pure" colored logos; most of the time I use the Pantone swatches solely to identify a set of colors I want to use in a graphic so this is probably a stupid question for the experieced graphics designer so excuse my ignorance.

If I do a blend between two objects which have Pantone Fills OR have an object with a gradient fill of a Pantone color to white, won't the resulting intermediate blended objects or intermediate colors of the gradient screw up things up for print shop?

**jclements** · 23 June 2006, 02:18 PM

km ;ok po'

**gwpriester** · 23 June 2006, 03:59 PM

Theoretically you can blend 2 Pantone colors. But I am not sure if Xara can do this and not create a new series of colors in the process.

To make a gradient of a Pantone color, as you suggested from white to the Pantone color you need to make a Shade of the Pantone color (see attached).

If you use White, it will be an RGB white and will defeat the point of a one color gradient. So instead of White, you would use a 0% Shade of the color. (My example shows 5.5% instead of 0%)

Gary

**jclements** · 24 June 2006, 05:17 AM

So the printing process understands the value of "5.5% Pantone 160 PC" (which maybe equivalent to another defined Pantone color)?

**gwpriester** · 24 June 2006, 05:42 PM

John

Yes. If you are printing with Pantone colors, the gradient is screened (converted to small halftone dots). So the 5.5% is just a fine screen of the solid color.

Gary