What to expect when printing with Pantone vs. CMYK Colors

Custom noissue Compostable Paper Tape by @stlartsupply. Create your brand's compostable packing tape with noissue's color printing range! Read on to find out more about which noissue products are available for CMYK or Pantone color printing.  

When it comes to choosing the colors to print your packaging in, it can get a little confusing. Color consistency is key for brand recognition and identity, and confidently printing your brand’s colors can be tricky!

Wondering the main differences between printing in specific colors, such as CMYK or Pantone? We’re here to help break it all down for you (and your eyes!)

To better understand how colors are printed today, let’s learn about what color spaces are and the systems in which colors are categorized and ultimately printed.

What are color spaces?

Color spaces are the systems that organize color when designing and printing. They ensure everyone is on the same page by standardizing colors and avoiding printing errors. Below, we’ll be discussing CMYK and Pantone color spaces specifically, which most of your favorite noissue products use for custom printed packaging.

CMYK Colors

CMYK is one of the most familiar printing models available. It is typically used in home office inkjet printers, and its name stands for the four colors it uses: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (The K stands for the “Key” color, which is typically black ink.)

Magic is made by layering together tiny overlapping dots in a combination of these four colors. We are taught at a young age that yellow and blue paint make green, or to mix red and yellow for orange. Printers have the knowledge of exactly what percentage of each color results in the desired shade. CMYK is the go-to choice when producing photorealistic and multi-color imagery in your packaging.

Popular colors to choose from CMYK include some fan favorites for professionals and brands, among other accent colors and standout hues. Colors like Navy Blue CMYK, Rich Black CMYK, and Gold CMYK are popular choices and reliably print brilliant.

Pantone Colors

Pantone is all about precision. The universally used system mixes ink to create a consistent and exact color match every time.

This system is known as the Pantone Matching System (PMS) and contains over 1000 shades. Just like when choosing paint shades for your kitchen wall, each color links to a specific swatch sample and number. By standardizing colors in this way, manufacturers in different locations can make sure their colors match even if they can’t be compared visually. This results in an exact final match, printer to printer, project to project, with no differentiation from the expected results.

Pantone is brilliantly suited for producing vibrant tones of color like Pantone Blue or Yellow, and those extra special tonal finishing touches like metallic or neon colors. And with an exact match each time, it is perfect for those looking for high-quality, colorful, consistent branding.

What’s the difference between Pantone and CMYK?

The main difference between Pantone and CMYK printing is the level of accuracy when it comes to the final colors. The Pantone system will deliver the exact color every time, no matter who is printing or designing, whereas CMYK can result in slight color variances.

CMYK’s limitations are that it cannot produce colors of the same vibrancy as Pantone and can be inconsistent. Colors produced using separate printers can look different, even if printing from the same document. This is usually a 5-10% tonal difference between what is seen on screen and the final printed product.

On the flip side, Pantone might result in the best quality colors, but it is also more expensive than CMYK due to its time-consuming, single-print method. Pantone prints using a “spot color” method which means each individual color is printed one at a time, not mixed together like CMYK.

The more colors you have, the more spots are needed. Ultimately, you pay for the number of colors you use, making it great for simple branding designs. For printing perfectionists looking for consistent color, Pantone is the one for you. But for print jobs where the quantity and detail of color choices are key, CMYK is the best choice.

Can you convert Pantone colors to CMYK colors (and vice versa?)

It might seem tricky to convert these two color spaces, especially if you prefer one color space over another for your type of packaging. Fortunately, it is possible to convert colors from Pantone to CMYK and CMYK to Pantone to make sure you’re printing colors as accurately as you’d like.

To convert from one color space to another, it will help to find out the equivalent codes for these two color spaces. This online tool is a CMYK to Pantone converter, so you must know the CMYK values that you would like to convert to PMS and vice versa to go from Pantone to CMYK. If your brand uses Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, you’re able to convert your color values within either platform by switching your file’s color mode.

So now that we’ve covered the differences between CMYK vs. Pantone, we’re ready to get your brand’s custom packaging design printed – well, almost! If you’re wondering which noissue products are printed in CMYK or Pantone or want to check where your favorite product falls, here’s what you need to know about our color printing range.

noissue's color printing range

noissue uses both Pantone and CMYK in our packaging for different products, which means our customers get the best of both worlds: precision, affordability, and a range of colors.

If you are printing the same design across multiple packaging products, it's important to know which products use Pantone and which use CMYK for color consistency.

Without further ado, here are the products you can brilliantly print using Pantone or CMYK!

Pantone: noissue Compostable Tissue Paper, Reusable Tote Bags, and Reusable Drawstring Bags

noissue's custom tissue paper, cotton tote bags, and fabric drawstring bags use the Pantone Matching System, which means you can select the exact shade you want for your branding.

We work primarily with the Pantone Solid Coated and Uncoated libraries and sparingly with the Pastels and Neon Coated and Uncoated libraries.

If you haven't used Pantone colors before, this online Pantone color finder tool helps you convert your brand's colors into Pantone colors and see the closest fit.

There's also a custom color picker on our design platform that translates HEX color codes into a perfect Pantone match. If you have a design that uses a color Pantone can’t match by some tiny chance, you’ll get a choice of the closest alternative shades before we press print. In other words, what you see on screen is what you get!

Bonus: White is counted as a bonus color on custom noissue Tissue! Because we count white as the base color for our compostable tissue paper, we do not charge for its use. Therefore, you can technically get three-color tissue for the price of two if you use white in your design!

A quick note on noissue’s Pantone printing: for noissue products available to be printed in Pantone, the Pantone colors you choose must come from an uncoded library.

Our design platform allows for both one and two-color designs when it comes to tissue paper. If you would like to use more than two colors in your design, then get in touch with our team – up to six colors can be added at an additional cost.

On textiles like the noissue Totes and Drawstring Bags, Pantone colors must come from a textiles library. Just a heads up, only 1 Pantone color can be used for printing your design on custom totes and drawstring bags, which we'll match using Pantone TPG.

CMYK: Custom Recycled Boxes, Compostable Stickers, Compostable Tape, Recycled Hang Tags, and Recycled Cards

When it comes to our custom stickers, tape and cards, we use the CMYK printing process. It's the most efficient for color coverage on these products, and it also means you can print as many colors as your heart desires.

One feature to note with CMYK is that colors often come out darker than what you see on screen, so it's worth checking with our design team, who can recommend the CMYK values that will get the best result. There is always the chance the colors will be slightly different, but we will do our best to match it.

There's also no limit on the number of colors you can use with packaging products that use CMYK. Of course, you can still request your brand’s Pantone colors, but there will be a chance of a very slight difference.

Pantone and CMYK: noissue Recycled Kraft Mailers

Our Recycled Kraft Mailers are a special case as they can be printed in both CMYK and Pantone. For Kraft Mailer designs that are 1 or 2 colors, we can use Pantone. And for multiple colored designs, we can use CMYK. However, the colors may differ slightly by 5 to 10 percent with CMYK, so choose wisely.

🎁 Wrapping it up

We hope this has helped to break down what Pantone vs. CMYK printing means. Color is a hugely important feature for any packaging, as it helps inject your brand's unique personality while bringing a little joy and color into your customer's world.

Using our online design platform is a quick and easy way to create gorgeous printed packaging in both mediums that is fully customizable in terms of design, size, and, most importantly, captivating color. Happy designing!

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