Dye Sublimation Color Management

PANTONE Digital Color
The following guidelines yield the best color results:
  • Color matching – the PANTONE Process Guide (ISO 2846-1) serves as the basis for color matching using ICC profiles. The color gamut of 3rd generation digital dye sublimation inks actually exceeds these standards. As a practical matter we have found that is is best to use the PANTONE Solid Coated Swatch Book to specify colors in the file when doing digital dye sublimation printing. 
  • Perceived colors - due to differences in printers, ink and media, digital dye sublimation cannot match all colors precisely. The finish of the fabric or substrate, the penetration of the ink, the lighting and back lighting conditions will often changed the perceived color.
  • Black - for a rich dye sublimated black, we recommend specifying PANTONE Black C. Be sure to use this throughout your file. Make sure your RIP and profile have been tuned to support this spot color.
  • PANTONE solid coated palette - to open the PANTONE solid coated palette in Illustrator, click the menu icon in the upper right corner of the Illustrator swatch book palette. Go to Open Swatch Library > Color Books > PANTONE Solid Coated. In Photoshop, go directly to PANTONE Solid Coated.
  • Changing the color mode - when changing color modes in Adobe software, note that selecting objects and then going to Edit>Edit Colors> Convert to RGB or Convert to CMYK will delete the PANTONE information in your file.
  • Make dye sublimation colors "pop" - some RGB and CMYK colors, especially oranges, reds and blacks, may appear dull and faded when printed using digital dye sublimation. If you have a color that needs to “pop” when printed, be sure to specify a PANTONE color.
PANTONE vs RGB


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