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detailed_Gem0D45
Participant
August 7, 2018
Answered

Pantone & Lab colour codes help!

  • August 7, 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 1795 views

Hey,

I have a quick question regarding InDesign's Pantone exports.

I used PANTONE Color Manager to import a few Pantone swatches that InDesign was missing but the colors have been imported as Lab codes. Does this mean that they are no longer Pantone? If I export my PDF for print, will the printers find the exact Pantone Colour codes? Do I need to convert the Lab codes?

Thanks in advance

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Laubender

Hi,

Ana-luisa!

The main question is: Will you print the PANTONE colors as spot colors?
Or will you convert them at any point in your workflow to CMYK?

If you want to go to press with spot colors then the name of the spot color is the most important thing.

Regards,
Uwe

2 replies

L
Community Expert
LaubenderCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
August 7, 2018

Hi,

Ana-luisa!

The main question is: Will you print the PANTONE colors as spot colors?
Or will you convert them at any point in your workflow to CMYK?

If you want to go to press with spot colors then the name of the spot color is the most important thing.

Regards,
Uwe

D
detailed_Gem0D45Author
Participant
August 7, 2018

Hey,

Thanks for the reply!

I will be using Pantone colours (assuming as spot colors) because the printers have requested pantone codes.

At this point, the names are aligned with the original Pantone names but they are Lab codes. Is that accurate?

It's all a bit confusing.

Thanks,

Ana

L
Community Expert
LaubenderCommunity Expert
Community Expert
August 7, 2018

Yes, that's accurate.

As long as the printer is printing spot colors according to the name and the inks in the press room are mixed according to the recipe that comes from PANTONE.

Regards,
Uwe

S
SJRiegel
Legend
August 7, 2018

If you are using Pantone spot inks, the screen definition of the color won't have any effect on how it prints; the printer would be using a specially mixed ink to make the color. The ink is mixed according to the Pantone formula, not your screen image.

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