PANTONE+ color libraries are a standard feature of Prinergy. PANTONE+ libraries are stored in the global color database and added as Selected libraries in Prinergy process templates to specify how PANTONE spot colors will be converted to CMYK for final output or proof color matching.
The PANTONE+ libraries in Prinergy represent the latest specifications for the reproduction of PANTONE colors. Following PANTONE’s recommended best practices, all outdated PANTONE libraries were removed from the list of available Color Editor Factory Libraries and replaced in existing process templates with the latest libraries.
In the past, PANTONE supplied some libraries in CMYK format, but currently all workflow libraries are supplied only in L*a*b format. A L*a*b color recipe is converted to CMYK by the ICC profile displayed as the Primary Color Output under the Spot Color Handling/Convert To Destination section of the Process Template.
To achieve the best possible PANTONE color match on the final printed product, the ICC profile selected for CMYK conversion should represent your print condition as closely as possible. The default profile selected in a new Process Template is GRACoL2013_CRPC6.icc, which is the latest GRACoL specification for offset coated. If this is not your reference print condition, you can browse and select a suitable ICC profile in C:\Prinergy\CreoAraxi\data\ICC-Profiles\Printer\CMYK. For instance, you could choose a different profile suitable for web offset printing on uncoated stock. For the closest possible color match, you can use ColorFlow Pro Workflow Edition to characterize your print condition and produce an ICC profile that will create an exact PANTONE+ match when converting spot colors to CMYK (within the gamut of the print condition).
Note that in order to actually select a profile under Spot Color Handling, ColorConvert must be enabled. The profile selected as the Primary Color Output under Spot Color Handling will automatically become the Primary Color Output for ColorConvert, and vice versa. (Note that you do not need to enable ColorConvert to do Spot Color conversion – you only need to enable it to change the PCO profile.)
By default, a new Refine process template is created with PANTONE+ Solid Coated and PANTONE+ Solid Uncoated as the Selected libraries. Additional factory PANTONE+ libraries can be chosen from the Selectable list of Color Libraries and added to the list of Selected libraries.
Using a newer version of the PANTONE+ library can result in a different CMYK formula for spot color replacement. Kodak recommends you always use the latest PANTONE+ libraries for color conversion to be aligned with the latest PANTONE+ print reference guides and Creative Cloud applications, but there may be occasions where you wish to use a previous PANTONE color definition to convert spot colors to match a legacy print job. All outdated PANTONE libraries are archived at C:\Prinergy\CreoAraxi\data\LegacyColorLibraries and can be imported as User Libraries in the Color Editor. Once a library has been imported into Color Editor, it is available for selection in process templates.
Note: Imported legacy color libraries must not be renamed back to the original library name. For instance, if an original library was named "Process2000", the legacy library name will be "Process2000 (Backup)". At import the imported legacy library could be renamed to "Process2000 Legacy", "My Process 2000" or left as "Process 2000 (Backup)". But if renamed back to "Process 2000", the process template will identify it as a deprecated library and remove it from the process template.
If you wish to override a L*A*B color definition of a specific color in a PANTONE+ library, rather than importing the whole legacy library and selecting in a process template, you can reference the specific color formula in a legacy library, then create a User library in CMYK format and add the desired CMYK color definition as an exception. This way, only the target color will be converted with the older definition and all other PANTONE+ colors will be converted using the latest specifications. You need to ensure that the User library is in the Selected list in the process template and placed above any factory PANTONE+ library, in order for the alternate recipe to be used.
Using PANTONE colors defined in desktop design applications
The PANTONE library is intended for use with files produced by creative design applications like Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, QuarkXPress and the like, which specify spot colors using built-in PANTONE libraries. When you apply a color from a PANTONE library in a desktop application, the spot color name is recorded in the file, along with an Alternate Colorspace Definition that specifies the CMYK formula used to display the color within the desktop application. Prinergy will always use the PANTONE specification in its own factory libraries, unless a process template is used which does not have the relevant PANTONE color library selected. If there is no Prinergy PANTONE library available, Prinergy will either use the Alternate Colorspace Definition embedded in the input file if the Use Recipe From File if not Found in Color Database option is selected in the process template, or will fail Refine or Output if the Use Recipe From File if not Found in Color Database option is not selected in the process template. You should clear the Use Recipe From File if not Found in Color Database option, if you wish to ensure that PANTONE colors are always converted using the latest Prinergy PANTONE+ library.
Older versions of QuarkXPress, Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop added different suffixes to the end of PANTONE color names, which resulted in different names for the same color and which could cause incorrect CMYK conversions. Prinergy knows the rules the older desktop applications used and is able to resolve the different names to find the correct PANTONE color in the Prinergy factory libraries. This concern has disappeared with current versions of design applications, as modern applications follow naming guidelines set out by PANTONE+, with suffixes ending only in C or U.
You have the option of changing the color conversion recipe for a PANTONE color for single, or all, jobs on the system. In order to do this, you must have a User Library created in the desired color space (CMYK, LAB or RGB) and the User Library must be selected and placed at the top of the Selected list in the process template used to convert the spot colors. You can choose to add the modified color definition on a per-job only basis or Globally for all jobs. Any Per-Job color recipe is stored with the job and is available for reprints.
Viewing PANTONE colors in Prinergy
PANTONE swatches and color definitions can be viewed in Color Editor, but swatch colors and formulas can only be viewed in Workshop after you've refined a file and select the Color Mapping… button in the Start Process… dialog box during Refine or Output to Loose Page proofs. PANTONE swatches can also be viewed in the Color Separations dialog box for impositions.