Branded colors on marketing materials help to ensure print marketing collateral accurately reflects the branding of a business. In addition, print color matching plays an important role in ensuring the correct brand message & visual identity is shared as this technique allows marketers to properly match colors from digital files to a printed design. While this seems like an easy process, many designers are not sure how to go about matching their branded colors to their printed materials. In this article, we will share how to make that happen.
Importance of Brand Colors
Brand colors are often considered to be a “visual shorthand” that creates quick brand recognition from customers. The colors you choose for your brand will tell the story of your business by differentiating your brand from the competition, promoting emotions, and increasing brand recall. When it comes to branded colors, you can use a single color for your products, a variety of colors that are related to specific products, or create a custom color for your brand. No matter the reasons for the specific colors used, keep in mind that they are an important part of your brand message.
Color Matching on Print Collateral
Once you make the decision about which colors to use for your brand, the next step is to make sure the colors look the same on every social media platform and advertising channel. The need for consistent colors applies to both physical and digital marketing Including physical items such as product packaging or print marketing collateral. If the colors do not match from item to item, the public might be confused by your marketing message. Thankfully, color print matching can address this digital and print marketing collateral issue in advance.
Use the Correct Color System
Keeping things consistent is a logical and effective first step. For print materials, you will need to use CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key in cases where Key is usually equal to Black) so you do not start the process incorrectly.
If you are using Pantone Colors, you can use the Pantone Matching System.
Calibrating for Color
A designer is not really able to perform this step but the designer can ensure the designated art file is either annotated with the correct color specifications or the file comes with a companion document that details the necessary color specifications. In addition, the setting of the print equipment and inks should be calibrated to meet the color requirements.
Proofing
Proofing is the opportunity to review the physical printed collateral in order to compare it to the color that is typically on a swatch or flat print. You can also use accurate digital proofing systems that are quite close to real life environments to ensure a proper color match.
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