A spot color is when you specify the color as "Pantone 356" instead of C42 M5 Y100 K30 (I'm just making number up here, so you picky people don't bother checking whether that translates).

Spot colors make for efficient printing when you're using only a few of them, but by the time you get too many you may as well go to a four-color print process, which most of us default to anyways as we print inkjet. Apparently, InDesign has decided that the magic number at which spot color no longer becomes viable is 27.

hey rationalist - here's a question for you.

a small print project i've been working on was designed using all spot colors, and i've recently found out that the print-house we'll be using can only do PMS.

no big deal really, it's a small job, but it got me wondering whether or not there's a tool or plug-in for InDesign or Illustrator that can analyze a spot color and give you a suggestion for the PMS that most closely resembles it.

I prefer to pick my pantone colors by hand/eye, as what you think it on the screen never would have actually printed like that in real life anyways. But, as for conversion, Photoshop will automatically convert things for you when you double-click the swatch, then change to PMS, it will automatically replace your CMYK or RGB color with the one which it thinks most closely resembles it. This process isn't perfect, and I'd say that at least half the time I don't go with the color that it generates. So I believe that you're able to export and import swatches and swatch groups between the Adobe programs, which should allow you to convert the swatches in photoshop and then import them back into InDesign. I've never actually done the swatch import/export thing though, just haven't needed to as I usually work with a limited enough pallete that it's no problem to just set it up in each program.

The other thing you want to consider is which PMS colors your printer has. Most printers do not own every PMS color there is, and if you pick a color that they don't have, it adds to your bill for them to order it. So you'll want to coordinate with the print shop by getting a list of which PMS colors they already have to maximize your value by trying to use one they already have absolutely whenever possible. Depending on the budget, it may or may not be a big deal to order a color or two, but you really don't want to get into a situation where you've got 15 colors specified that the printer doesn't own.

look in the "Swatches" palette in InDesign. delete all the spot colors that you are not using in the document. If you have any left, you can simulate a spot color by converting it to CMYK. Double click the color and change the color type to "process" meaning it will use CMYK instead of a separate spot color ink.

thanks - i knew there had to be a conversion or import/export option like that somewhere...

and i'm not too worried about them not having the colors i need. they're a good sized house, and they said they have them all.

well, I guess they'd better, if they won't even do a four-color print for you! That's wierd. I'd honestly be concerned about the price of it, if you're using more than four of those spot colors on a section. But I'm sure you have a reason for going with them, so whatever that is may trump the cost.

All good sized print houses should have the abiltiy to print 4CP. It is the smaller shops that do less than 4CP. Some print houses, even larger ones, may do Pantone but not Toyo. Toyo is not as available although I find the colors nicer. It's always good to check on what a printer's capabliities are before you send your job to them.

The advantage of using a spot, even when printing 4CP, is that you can control the CMYK densities without it impacting the color of the spot. This is particularly important if you are printing photography and you use a spot for type. You may want to adjust the color of the photos while on press. If you do and the type is not a spot but a build, the color of your type may vary from page to page.

The idea of 27 spots or even usually more than 6 is impractical. Most printers have six wells to carry ink. Some more. Some less.

And as Rationalist said, never ever make a decision on color that you will print based off of what you see on screen. Screen colors vary from monitor to monitor. Macs tend to be brighter, PCs darker. Screens are in RGB. Print is CMYK. Some spots can not be built in CMYK because they add other inks. The same Pantone color will vary between uncoated, matte, and coated. Not to mention that printed pieces will absorb light, and you monitor emits light. The actual chip of the color is the best.

i believe they use pantone, not toyo, and is it possible that although they can do 4CP they will not on smaller jobs for some cost reason?

i know that as far as things go, my project (a series of business cards for the firm) is tiny by comparison to what they ordinarily do. i've seen a lot of very high quality stuff from them, so i don't doubt their capacities at all...

minor epiphany!

i just remembered what the story is...i'm doing a 4CP on one side only...the side with the bitmap image of the company logo.

in order to keep costs down...we're going with PMS on the flip side. it's just typesetting and backgorund color. that's where it's PMS only, and i was looking to match a PMS choice to a spot color from the image on the other side. makes sense to me now, but maybe not to you.

so it's not that they don't do 4CP....

thanks all for the help...and fear not..i don't choose any colors on-screen.

mightyL, thanks for the clarification. Your printer is advising you well on not doing 4CP for business cards. You can do it, but it will be damn expensive. I have never had a client who wanted to do that or recommended that to a client.

You can have a damn nice card using two spots on the front and one or two on the back. If you went that route I would recommend finding a smaller print shop. A shop that had a two color press will do fine, have much less overhead, and thus be much cheaper.

Best.