Choosing a custom color system

The Swatch Libraries command supports various color systems, including the following:

PANTONE

Used for printing inks. Each PANTONE color has a specified CMYK equivalent. To select a PANTONE color, first determine the ink color you want, using either the PANTONE Color Formula Guide or an ink chart obtained from your printer. PANTONE books are available from PANTONE's Web site.

By default, Illustrator 10 installs the following PANTONE Solid Coated, PANTONE Solid Matte, PANTONE Solid Uncoated, PANTONE Process Coated, PANTONE Process Coated EURO, PANTONE Process Uncoated, PANTONE Pastel Coated, PANTONE Pastel Uncoated, and PANTONE Metallic.

Important: Illustrator 10 includes new PANTONE color libraries. If you work with an Illustrator 9.0 or earlier file that uses PANTONE colors, the older version of the PANTONE color is used. However, the following two situations may require you to update older versions of a color: copying artwork that uses a spot color into a document that uses a different spot color with the identical name; and placing an Illustrator EPS file that uses a spot color into an application that uses the same spot color with a different name.

TRUMATCH

Provides predictable CMYK color matching with more than 2000 achievable, computer-generated colors. TRUMATCH colors cover the visible spectrum of the CMYK gamut in even steps. The TRUMATCHCOLORFINDER displays up to 40 tints and shades of each hue, each originally created in four-color process and each reproducible in four colors on electronic imagesetters. In addition, four-color grays using different hues are included.

FOCOLTONE

Consists of 763 CMYK colors. FOCOLTONE colors help avoid prepress trapping and registration problems.

A swatch book with specifications for process and spot colors, overprint charts, and a chip book for marking up layouts are available from FOCOLTONE.

TOYO Color Finder 1050

Consists of more than 1000 colors based on the most common printing inks used in Japan. The TOYO Color Finder 1050 Book contains printed samples of Toyo colors and is available from printers and graphic arts supply stores.

DIC Color Guide

Commonly used for printing projects in Japan.