When designing a logo or preparing artwork, one of the most important things to be aware of is the use of colours and how those colours will be translated at the point of being printed.  

A document will normally be set up to print as CMYK or Pantone (pms) colours. PANTONE is a color standardization system, it is the most widely used and the one that most printers understand.   
Pms Books are divided into two parts Uncoated or Coated.    
                                                                          
If you are printing onto Satin or Gloss coated paper you need to be looking at the coated or c section of the pms book eg pms 185c. The c stands for coated.

If you are printing on uncoated paper ie Letterhead paper, ivory boards, offset paper, you need to be looking at the u section eg pms 185u  the u stands for uncoated.

It is important to note that the same pms ink colour is affected by the type of material it is printed on to. 
Some of the pms colours look totally different on coated than they do on uncoated even though the ink mix is the same. Just to confuse things other colours look similar on both. 
 
Pantone colours are also known as spot colours and are referenced by unique  number. 
There is a predefined ink mix that needs to be matched against a standard Pantone colour book.

3 Reasons why Pantone colours may be used in the production of a job:

1. Price
Printing a job using just one or two Pantone colours on conventional press will normally be cheaper than printing using a CMYK mix. (1 or 2 plates required instead of 4)
Commonly used in the production of stationery items, such as letterheads. 

2.Accuracy                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            If a colour is printed as a Pantone colour, this can be checked against a Pantone swatch, meaning there will be more consistency across printed material, regardless of where the printing has taken place

3. Colour options
The CMYK printing process is limited in the range of colours that can be produced.
Some colours cannot be produced from the CMYK gamut, such as fluorescent and metallic colours,some oranges and certain greens. If these are needed to be used within a print job then a Pantone colour may be used.

CMYK , 4 COLOUR ,Full Colour Printing  (all mean the same)
CMYK printing uses a mix of cyan, magenta, yellow and black to produce a range of thousands of colours.
This printing process is commonly referred to as “full colour or 4 colour printing”. 
With the development of digital printing devices,colour printing has become the more popular and cost effective method of producing printed Material. 

4 Reasons to use cmyk colours when preparing a logo or artwork:

1 .Economics
The majority of Business cards and most short run printing is produced on digital printing machinery. 
This is produced using cmyk inks or toner.                                                                                                               

2 .Colour Photo
There is 4 colour imagery in the artwork, this needs to be printed in cmyk .                                                     
A picture tells a thousand words and a colour picture gets noticed more than a black and white picture.

3. Magazine advertising
A logo needs to be reproduced in magazine advertising. Magazines are produced in cmyk.

4. Suppliers Logos                                                                                                                                                          
You are using supplier’s logos in your printing collateral, the chances are that they will be supplied in cmyk

Paratriathletes have a ball in Wellington!
Email this news story to a friend or colleague Fantastic to see increasing interest and participation in Paratriathlon. Read on for results from action in Wellington during the weekend.
http://www.triathlon.org.nz/news?id=732
 
 

Interest and participation in Paratriathlon continues to grow as does the quality of the elite athletes, as was evidenced at the Oceania and National Championships held in Wellington over the weekend.

The small Paratri entry list was given an extra boost with the inclusion of Paralympic swimming star Mary Fisher and former Paralympic track runner Kate Horan. Fisher competed at the London Games last year, winning 4 medals including gold and a world record in the pool while Horan won silver on the track in Beijing in 2008.

Fisher loved every minute of her race and while she wasn’t eligible to pick up the Oceania title as she was participating with a male guide, she showed enough promise to suggest if she ever wanted to switch from the pool, she would be a contender at the Paratri in Rio 2016.

Horan only decided to compete on the Thursday before the event, after reading an article on Fisher’s participation in the Dominion Post newspaper. She too loved taking part, albeit without quite the preparation she might otherwise have given it.

Paratri star Nick Ruane was again a strong performer in the T3 category as he continues on his road to Rio and looked to enjoy the extra company on the start line, while Nick Bailey backed up from IRONMAN NZ the week before to finish first in the T4 category, ahead of a very nervous but proud first time competitor Drew McLean from Dunedin. The smile on McLean’s face when collecting his silver medal more than made up for the nervous looks on the start line as he contemplated his first ever ocean swim.

Triathlon New Zealand Inclusion Manager Shanelle Barrett was delighted with the event.

"With the help of the Halberg Trust Triathlon New Zealand is making a concerted effort to provide pathways in our sport for athletes with disabilities. Today we saw the potential at the very top level of the sport with the inclusion of Mary and Kate on the start line and the continued development in the career of Nick Ruane as he targets a place on the start line in Rio in 2016.

"These athletes along with Nick and Drew inspire us all with their dedication and commitment to the sport, never letting anything get in the way of their enjoyment or pursuit of success. They are also great role models for children and other age group athletes with disabilities around New Zealand to aspire to; Triathlon New Zealand is working on those pathways to encourage everyone regardless of age, background or ability to be equally brave and take part in this wonderful sport.”