Insights · Visual identity
How to choose brand colors that print correctly
A color that looks perfect on your screen can come back from the printer darker, duller or simply different. Here's how to choose brand colors that hold up on business cards, shirts, signs and screens, and what to check before you order.
Why colors change from screen to print
Screens create color with light. Phones, laptops and TVs mix red, green and blue light (RGB), so they can show bright, glowing colors.
Printing creates color with ink on a surface. Most full-color printing uses four inks (cyan, magenta, yellow and black, or CMYK), and ink can only reflect the light that reaches it. Some bright screen colors, like electric blues, neon greens and vivid oranges, have no exact CMYK match, so they print flatter than they look on screen.
The surface matters too. The same ink looks different on glossy paper, matte paper, a cotton shirt or the fabric of a canopy tent. And no two screens are set up the same way, so the color you approved on your phone may not be the color your printer sees.
The goal isn't one perfect color. It's a color that stays recognizable everywhere your brand shows up.
The color codes your brand needs
A professional palette lists each brand color in several codes, because each kind of vendor works with a different one.
Embroidery and vinyl add one more step. Thread and cut vinyl come in set colors, so your vendor chooses the closest thread or vinyl to your brand color.
Because each vendor works from a different code, the Essential Corporate Identity package includes a corporate color palette with exact RGB, CMYK, HEX and PMS values, for commercial printing and digital use.
Six steps to choose colors that work everywhere
- 01Start from print. Pick your main color from a printed Pantone guide or a printed sample, not only from a screen, and then find its CMYK, RGB and HEX values. Moving a printed color to the screen is usually easier than forcing a glowing screen color onto paper.
- 02Keep the palette small. One or two main colors and two or three supporting colors are easier to match on every material. In screen printing, each color is printed with its own screen, so fewer colors usually means a simpler order.
- 03Check the contrast. Text has to be easy to read, on a website and on a sign across a parking lot. On websites, accessibility guidelines ask for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1 for regular text. Test your logo in full color, in black and in white.
- 04Test on real materials. A color on white paper can look different on a gray shirt or a colored tent. On dark fabrics, screen printers usually print a white base layer first, so the colors stay bright.
- 05Look in daylight and from a distance. Compare printed samples in daylight and in the light where they'll be used, and step back from signs and banners. Colors that look rich up close can blend together from across the street.
- 06Choose for meaning, not only taste. Colors carry associations that change between industries and cultures. Choose colors that fit what you do and who you serve, and show them to a few real customers before you commit.
Pantone, CMYK or both?
Pantone (PMS) colors are premixed inks, so they're the most consistent choice for a color that must always match, like the main color of your logo. Pantone guides show each color in a coated (C) and an uncoated (U) version, because the same ink looks brighter on coated paper and softer on uncoated paper, which absorbs more ink.
CMYK builds every color from four inks, so it can print photos and full-color designs in one run. It's how most business cards, flyers and brochures are printed. The trade-off: CMYK can only come close to many Pantone colors, and the result can shift a little between printers and papers.
Many brands use both: PMS for screen printing and color-critical pieces, and CMYK for everyday print. Your palette should list a CMYK value chosen for each PMS color, not just an automatic conversion.
Embroidery uses thread instead of ink, so your color is matched to the closest thread. Vinyl signs and decals are either cut from colored vinyl or printed on white vinyl, usually in CMYK.
Before you print, check the proof
A proof is your last chance to catch a problem before a full order goes into production. Ask for one every time, and check these five points:
- Colors: the PMS or CMYK values (HEX for digital pieces) match your palette.
- Logo version: the right version for that background, in color, black or white.
- Size and placement: the logo is the right size and sits where it should, such as center chest or left chest on a shirt.
- Files: your vendor has vector files, such as a PDF in CMYK, not a screenshot or a small image.
- Material: the paper, fabric or vinyl in the proof is the one you're ordering.
For pieces where color matters most, like a large banner order or uniforms for all your staff, ask whether a printed sample is available before production.
On every branded merchandise and signage order, we confirm your PMS, CMYK or HEX values before production and choose methods that reproduce them as closely as possible.
Keep every color in one place
Once your colors are set, write them down in one place: an identity sheet or brand guidelines with every code, plus logo files for screens (PNG in RGB) and for print (PDF in CMYK vector format). Send the same files to every printer, embroiderer and sign maker, so they all start from the same colors.
Not sure your colors are consistent today? The free Brand Integrity Self-Audit takes six short steps and shows your results on screen.
