What Pantone product should I get?

Question: What Pantone product should I get!?

I am a designer who works both online and in print!. For print, I am often asked by printers what the PMS colors are and I never know!. I need to purchase a Pantone product!. They have so many - which do I get!? Should I just get the color packet!? Or something digital!? I do all my print designs in Illustrator!.

Designers - please recommend! :)Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

I am a graphic designer myself and I use the Pantone swatch books!. Customers always come in and ask us to match a color!. I use the pantone swatch books alot!. I rarely use digital ones, because the color shown on different computers is usually always different and deceiving!. The pantone colors that you use in a program you can usually find in the swatch pallete!. Then you can click on the color option tab and it should show you what percentages of colors are used to make up that one color!. Otherwise in illustrator if you go to to the top of the screen and click on window, go down to the bottom where it says swatches and choose a pantone category like pantone solid coated, when you click on a swatch it should give you the name!. Example panton 365U!.
Which would me pantone 365 uncoated!. There are also ones with a C after it and it means coated!. It just means what kind of paper you should use, coated will look more glossy than the uncoated!. I hope this helps!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I'd get the swatch book!. Without some pretty expensive hardware and software, you will never get your computer monitor to match what your print service bureau can produce!.

With the swatch book, you can select the EXACT color you want, dial it into your illustrator file and ignore what the monitor shows you!.

Or, you can select your colors as you like them in Illustrator, then, look for the matching PMS swatch and then select it in your file before sending it to your printer!.Www@QuestionHome@Com