Spot Color for Card Games
The best way to maintain color in offset printing is to use spot color. This is a great option for maintaining brand integrity in a logo, or to guarantee specific colors across different production runs.
First, the ink color is mixed to your exact specification. Then, the offset press applies the color to the finished document using a separate printing plate. The easiest way to specify a spot color is by using the Pantone Matching System, which identifies colors through a number.
The book to utilize when selecting your color is the “PANTONE FORMULA GUIDE Solid Coated (or Uncoated if the stock is uncoated)”. It’s important to note that we have a limited standard color selection for metallic inks, neon inks, and pastel inks. You can see the standard metallic ink color selections on this page here. Below are the standard offerings we have for neon and pastel inks:
Pastels
- PMS Yellow 0131
- PMS Red 0331
- PMS Magenta 0521
- PMS Violet 0631
- PMS Blue 0821
- PMS Green 0921
- PMS Black 0961
Neons
- PMS 801 – Neon Blue
- PMS 802 – Neon Green
- PMS 803 – Neon Yellow
- PMS 804 – Neon Orange
- PMS 805 – Neon Red
- PMS 806 – Neon Pink
- PMS 807 – Neon Violet
If you would like a neon or pastel ink outside of our above standard offerings, you will need to reach out to Customer Service or your Account Manager to make sure we can apply your unique color. Be prepared to send along the Pantone PMS color.
Why use spot color?
Spot color is the only way to make sure that your colors are consistent across production runs. So, if you’re producing 500 card games now, but you’re thinking about producing an additional 500 card games in the future, you might be interested in spot color. This would be an especially good option if you have a specific color in mind that you want people to associate with your game.
Spot color printing is an expensive and complicated process. It requires a specific file set-up that is different from the file set-up for our standard offset printing. If you’re committed to the spot color option, but are concerned about the cost, we have options. Consider reviewing our card game cost reduction guide to learn about substitutions you can make so your card game stays in your budget.
Ready to start?
We’ve created a custom card game pricing calculator just for card games so you can explore printing choices, shipping methods, and accurate order prices for your project. You can also customize just about anything, from game card sizes to specialty options like embossing and debossing.
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