Product packaging is part of your branding. When you launch a new product or market it to a different region, you have to make sure the artwork clearly reflects your brand’s messaging and covers important information.

But packaging artwork design and approval are tedious, time-consuming processes. They involve multiple rounds of revisions and proofing across different departments. Every aspect of the artwork has to be checked and especially the colors.

The anatomy Of artwork colors

The colors used in packaging artwork add a visual identity to your brand. Cadbury’s distinct purple color or McDonald’s red and yellow, clearly reflect the brand even when there’s no text used.

It’s the shade, tone, tint, that dictate the right colors. The use of exact colors indicates authenticity and improves brand recall. They give your brand, a uniqueness factor. But before deciding on the eventual colors for your artwork, you must first decide on a color system.

Color systems for packaging artwork

Color systems help standardize the shades of colors being used. For packaging colors, the systems used are either Pantone or CMYK.

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1. Pantone

Pantone Matching System (PMS) or simply Pantone is a standard color reproduction system. It identifies a color with an allotted code (e.g. 130 C).

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Pantone Matching System dictates 1867 unique colors and 13 basic colors which can be used to create any color. Pantone Inc releases a guide annually for designers and brands, allowing them to use accurate color codes. Printers, design agencies, packaging manufacturers, and brands can use this Pantone guide as a reference when using colors.

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2. CMYK

CMYK color scheme is a process of printing using a combination of four base colors- cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (black) also known as spot colors. Most packaging printing methods like offset, flexography, digital, screen, or rotogravure, use the CMYK configuration for commercial purposes as developing colors in CMYK is simple and cost-effective.

Colors can be generated as solid or spot colors or process colors. Spot colors are colors generated by ink which is printed using a single run. Whereas, process colors are printed using a series of dots.

Pantone uses 13 spot colors for formulating the rest of the colors. At the same time, CMYK uses four spot colors for generating multiple blends of colors.

When to use pantone and CMYK?

Use pantone or spot color:

• If you’re using 1- or 2-flexography press
• For color accuracy and consistency
• For fluorescent or metallic ink effects

Use CMYK:

• If artwork requires 3 or more colors
• When accuracy is not a concern
• If you’re on a budget
• For digital printing for corrugated boxes or cartons

Pantone and CMYK are globally accepted standards and are essential in selecting the right colors for your packaging design. But choosing the most suitable color system depends on what your needs are, your brand’s packaging material, and consistency requirements.

1. Color consistency

Colors directly impact brand recall. For products that are globally manufactured, brands opt to use the Pantone color scheme as it is more consistent as compared to CMYK.

2. Packaging material

For printing on fabric pouches and coloring plastic containers, Pantone is suitable because it usually comprises a single color. To print packaging artwork on kraft papers using two or three colors, you could opt for either Pantone or CMYK.

3. Cost-effectiveness

Brands with budget constraints or those that have a local presence tend to use CMYK scheme as it’s cheaper. Large enterprises or established brands prefer to use CMYK for pre-press proofing. Such businesses invest in customizing colors from the Pantone guide and using them for branding purposes.

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Understanding color psychology in packaging artwork design

Colors in packaging play a powerful role in influencing consumer emotions and decisions. Each color carries specific associations that can impact how a brand is perceived. Here’s how various colors are used in packaging:

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Using the right colors in artwork design

When it comes to printing on product packaging, you can use various materials and inks. The easiest thing to do, of course, is to pick colors from existing artwork and simply replicate them.

This can be done in 3 different ways:

• Graphic design tools: Software like Illustrator, Photoshop, etc. have inbuilt tools to find colors and convert them into RGB, CMYK, or Pantone.
• Conversion charts: Pantone provides a conversion chart to find the equivalent CMYK color codes and vice versa.
• Color extractors: Artwork color extractors or color pickers use PDF, JPEG, PNG, or JPG files to produce the colors in Pantone, CMYK, and/or RGB notations. Color extractors are advanced tools which can be used to present prototypes of the final packaging print.

To avoid delays in the product’s time-to-market, brands have to be careful of any errors in packaging artwork colors. Hence, once you’ve identified the color codes, it is always a good idea to color-proof your packaging before bulk printing.

Brands can create print-ready artwork files with an online color extractor tool which shows all colors specifications present in any artwork.

How can an artwork color extractor tool help

Artwork color extractor is an online tool for extracting colors in Pantone, CMYK and RGB configurations. It helps you put together a print-ready file for prepress proofing.

Thus, helping you:

• Get an idea of the final look and feel of colors on your packaging.
• Allow multiple trials using different materials and print methods at a negligible cost
• Save expenses by discarding a batch of inadequately printed packaging

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Move ahead with confidence

Colors in packaging artworks reflect the brand’s personality. Reproducing the exact colors and maintaining consistency across different selling channels helps retain brand identity and adds a layer of professionalism.

Today, proofing artwork colors doesn’t have to be a time-taking manual process. When you use a color proofing tool, you accelerate the artwork approval process and stay clear of any guesswork. Using the right tools helps you improve proofing accuracy and decrease your product’s turn-around-time.

If you think your brand needs a color proofing tool, you can check out our free artwork color checking tool right away. We’re here to help.

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