About the Colortone to CMYK Converter
A print job that begins with a word has to end with four ink percentages. Enter the tone names from the brief and each returns a cmyk() quadruple built from its sRGB value using the standard naive conversion, where key takes the largest channel and the remaining inks are worked out relative to it. That gives you a defensible starting point for a layout rather than a number you invented.
Two warnings belong on the same page as those numbers. First, the naive formula is not a colour managed conversion, so a real workflow will replace these values once the artwork is separated through an ICC profile for the chosen paper and press. Second, several tones in the library sit outside the CMYK gamut altogether. Bright cyans, electric blues and the more intense violets simply cannot be built from four process inks, and their printed version will look duller than the swatch on screen.
For anything where the colour has to match across a run, a spot ink is the safer answer, and Colortone to HEX followed by HEX to Pantone will find you a candidate. Names are matched without regard to case or punctuation and can be listed one per line. To read existing artwork values back as names, use CMYK to Colortone.
How to use
- List the tone names from your brief, one per line.
- Press Look up to read the four ink percentages.
- Treat the result as a starting point and refine it against your press profile.
- Check the swatch to confirm you have the tone the client meant.
Common questions
- Can I send these ink values straight to a printer?
- Not for critical work, because no ICC profile is applied and your paper and press will shift the result.
- Why do some tones look duller once printed?
- Vivid cyans, blues and violets fall outside the CMYK gamut, so four process inks cannot reproduce them.
- How is the key value calculated?
- Key is one minus the largest of the three normalised channels, and the other inks are then measured against what is left.
- Which tones convert most reliably?
- Earth colours, warm neutrals and muted greens sit comfortably inside the gamut and reproduce closely.