Ordering Business Cards

[JWoods077]

I'm getting ready to place an order for business cards and need a company capable of printing on a transparent plastic in RGB - the company I had found is an ink printer and incapable of printing in the exact color I had selected in illustrator. Anyone know of a company that could help me out??

[Mings]

Is it way off, or are you just being really picky?

Make sure to select a Pantone color, and you have to remember when printing on plastic the color is going to look different than on the screen even more so than normal.

[JWoods077]

Is it way off, or are you just being really picky?

Make sure to select a Pantone color, and you have to remember when printing on plastic the color is going to look different than on the screen even more so than normal.

The lady is sending samples in the mail so I'm not sure how far off the color will be...

[andrewharrington]

Printing is not done in RGB. It's quite possible that the exact color you've selected in Illustrator is out of the printable gamut. Your best bet is to match up your color to the closest PANTONE value by searching in the PANTONE color book, not the PANTONE swatches in Illustrator, which are not very accurate in most cases. You can then either order your own quart of PANTONE ink from a licensed PANTONE dealer, or you can have the printer mix the ink for you if they are a licensed PANTONE dealer. Keep in mind, though, that ink is translucent, so you will be able to see through it (moreso with light colors than dark colors). To make your ink a little more opaque, you can print a white 'silhouette' of your illustration onto the plastic before printing your color, and it will appear much more opaque.

[JWoods077]

Printing is not done in RGB. It's quite possible that the exact color you've selected in Illustrator is out of the printable gamut. Your best bet is to match up your color to the closest PANTONE value by searching in the PANTONE color book, not the PANTONE swatches in Illustrator, which are not very accurate in most cases. You can then either order your own quart of PANTONE ink from a licensed PANTONE dealer, or you can have the printer mix the ink for you if they are a licensed PANTONE dealer. Keep in mind, though, that ink is translucent, so you will be able to see through it (moreso with light colors than dark colors). To make your ink a little more opaque, you can print a white 'silhouette' of your illustration onto the plastic before printing your color, and it will appear much more opaque.

alright, i think i can pick out a pantone that would be a suitable replacement, but i pretty much found this place off a random internet search and can't find another place that offers something similar. the cards weren't completely transparent, they were black but not completely opaque either. the rbg values i had for the ink were : 292 92 0. anyone know of a place that offers something like this?

[oddball]

Most people have no clue that print and screen are two different things when dealing with color. Print deals with CMYK and is darker because well it's a reflective color, whereas screen is lighter because it's refracted light as the light comes from behind. Point blank bluntly, if you want something special from a printer, you go to them before you start and say, "This is what I'm thinking of doing. Can you do it? Do you have an suggestions?" Most printers will be willing to work with you because it makes their jobs so much easier, not perfect, just easier.

[andrewharrington]

You're going to have a tough time printing anything on translucent black plastic. It's going to really darken and mute your colors, even with a white backup print. A really opaque metallic ink would probably be your best bet. It might look really nice, too. As simple as your request is, you're actually asking a lot given the readily available technology in the printing industry.