Colour problem

Rowjam

New Member
I’ve created a logo using Affinity designer on iPad. I’m showing the client the designs by screen sharing using zoom but when I send her mockups she is seeing a different colour from what she sees in zoom. I’ve tried viewing pdfs, jpgs and png files on various screens in different software and I’m seeing the same colour with slight variations as you would expect. When I show her the pdfs on my iPad using zoom she sees the same colour as when I show her Affinity on my iPad. She really wants the colour she sees on zoom. I’m using a Pantone and have all the details for that Pantone. This is the first logo I’ve designed using Affinity for iPad so I don’t know how close the Pantones match to print. The colour reproduction I’ve had for other types of artwork has been very good. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to see what the client is seeing and give them a closer colour match? Should I just ask her to go on the Pantone website and pick a similar colour and try it out on different screens? At the moment I don’t know if what she is seeing a slight variation within the expected range of difference or a major change.
 
Pantones are a matching system. Screen view means nothing.

When you ask for something printed in a Pantone colour the printer mixes that ink to form that colour using a Pantone Formula guide.
If it's printed using CMYK then the printers RIP will have Colour Lookup Table (C-LUT) which it will use a cross-reference to the closest CMYK values.

What you see on screen will be very different to what you get in print.

You need to get printed colour samples on the stock of paper - uncoated paper the colour will look different etc.

If they have a pantone book to hand you can reference this - this is a handheld swatch book and you look up the colour.


best advice - get printed samples. But printed samples for 1 colour pantone would be expensive as they are printed litho - and usually would only do a sample print run, as running just 1 copy would be a complete waste of time and just as expensive as running 100 copies.
The only way you can get a printed sample via litho is to see if the printer is printing anything else with that same colour so you can sneak your job on the press as cut-offs.

If it's CMYK or Digitally printed - you might be able to get a litho (as cut-offs) or a sample digital print.


But the only reason to use Pantone is for print - if for the internet, there should be a Hex Ref in the pantone books.
 
Is she viewing everything you've done via her screen?

If so then everything you send may be out quite a bit, even if it's Pantone matched depending on how her screen is calibrated.
I once made an illustration for a client and they put it up on the big screen in their boardroom and the colours were almost day glow.
Probably as they had it set to sports mode and they just didn't get that their screen was way out? :unsure:

If it's for print then I guess the only real way to sort this is if you both had a Pantone book.

I once had a very similar issue that dragged on for ages and I ended up having to order a Pantone swatch sheet of the colour and send the client one of the swatches through the post.

It was an orange as I recall which is a colour that always looks off on screen.
 
The amount of difference between screens, lighting environments, backlight colour temp, gamma, screen 'mode' etc, not to mention the new 'fad' of 'night mode' and/or reduced blue light on desktops (which essentially adds a yellow filter over it) etc can have a huge impact on the final image another person sees. I've had 2 screens right next to each, same brand and model and they were well out from one another due to calibration differences too....

You can also throw in compression etc when using things like zoom too....

Only thing I can suggest, and this likely wouldn't work, is for you to suggest a colour picker tool for them to use over the colour they like on their screen, then use those numbers on yours and see how it compares... odds are it will still be different though.



The sheer difference in screens and even printing has made me include a caveat in my t&c's over different colours between their devices, prints and my own screen lol.
 
It’s a tough one. I’ve explained to the client how different screens show colours in different ways and how print never looks the same as digital. I’ve got the hex values for the Pantone and I’ve tried it out on different screens, in different file formats and to me there’s very little difference. What’s bugging me is that when she looks at the pdf I’ve emailed she sees a different colour on her screen from when she looks at me showing her the same pdf via zoom on the same screen. She’s looking at the same file on the same screen except that the colour is different in zoom. Is zoom showing her how the colour looks on my screen not her screen?
Pantone 2344 C is a difficult colour to use on different screens because it’s a slightly peachy, slightly salmon pink almost pastel colour. It’s not what I would normally recommend for a logo but it really works for this brand because of the strong cultural associations that particular colour has with the target audience. If I could somehow see the colour she is seeing I could match it for print purposes using a printed formula guide but then she would still need a formula guide to agree the colour. Even if I were to give her the hex reference and get her to put it into google it would still look different on our different screens. I’m stumped.
 
What’s bugging me is that when she looks at the pdf I’ve emailed she sees a different colour on her screen from when she looks at me showing her the same pdf via zoom on the same screen. She’s looking at the same file on the same screen except that the colour is different in zoom. Is zoom showing her how the colour looks on my screen not her screen?
This is why I suggested trying a colour picker app, while I don't expect it to fix the issue it should allow you to get numerical reference to the 'difference' that she is seeing if there is any as it 'should' take the value from the screen it's on etc.

Take a sample when it's loaded into the pdf program and a sample from it being loaded up in zoom. In theory this should give you an a/b comparison and a 'numerical' difference between the two programs which should allow you to adjust your colours accordingly. It's not perfect but it's worth a go before paying out for printing etc imo.



The best approach is obviously print outs but I like to try and do things without spending money first :p
 
This is why I suggested trying a colour picker app, while I don't expect it to fix the issue it should allow you to get numerical reference to the 'difference' that she is seeing if there is any as it 'should' take the value from the screen it's on etc.

Take a sample when it's loaded into the pdf program and a sample from it being loaded up in zoom. In theory this should give you an a/b comparison and a 'numerical' difference between the two programs which should allow you to adjust your colours accordingly. It's not perfect but it's worth a go before paying out for printing etc imo.



The best approach is obviously print outs but I like to try and do things without spending money first :p

I see what you mean. I like it. Definitely sounds like it’s worth a try. If I get her to screenshot whilst on a zoom call looking at my screen and the pdf. She can send me the hex refs. I can then input the hex refs into Affinity to set the colour and send her the pdfs. At least I’ll be able get a better idea of what colour she is seeing. If I then input the hex ref into Pantone to get a Pantone number and compare the results do you think I might to be able to give a similar enough Pantone to her printer?
 
Hello Rowjam,
The slight color difference on various screens is not a big issue. The actual thing is logo design. One should see whether the logo made is fulfilling all your requirements, colors come the next.
On the other hand if the client is not satisfied with the colors on different screens, you can send her several prints with slightly different shades of colors, and this way try to know her actual demand.
Also consult color picker apps if they could help you to fix the color issue. Get help with the Pantone as well.
 
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