Hi all,
I have a Pantone color bridge (coated) and would like to order some plastic chips (PQ-xxxx C).
I’m wondering if anyone had both a Color bridge (or Formula guide) and some plastic chips?
I would like to know how they compare, in general. For example, are the plastic chips darker, less reflective?
Thank you!
Are you talking about actual pantone plastic “swatch” chips? They come with two finishes, matte and gloss, on the same chip.
Not sure too many here will have them. The sets cost multiple thousands of dollars so we don’t have one. Even ordering chips at $19 a pop plus shipping is a lot if you don’t have the mass quantity of product needed to do up a batch. You might do better talking to the manufacturer who will be making your plastic items and see what they stock for colors and how they process special orders.
If you order something made with a Pantone plastic color, do you know how much plastic you have to order for someone to do up a special order mix? It’s usually in hundreds of pounds.
Thanks for your response.
Yes, I’m talking about the $19 chips. I’m looking for a few colours to compare. None in particular.
Our manufacturer has provided free samples in the past, but now recommends getting Pantone plastic chips instead. Too many designers abused their willingness to provide samples without following thru with an order.
Indeed, our orders are usually several hundreds of pounds.
I will be ordering them, regardless. I just wanted to get an idea to perhaps accelerate the process.
I have four plastic chips that I’ve bought for various projects. My perception is that the plastic colors compared to the PMS book colors are very close. Not 100% dead on / can’t tell a difference, but very close nonetheless. The one exception to this is 806 pink. This isn’t terribly surprising given that 806 is a fluorescent color.
I have a both sets of Pantone plastic chips (old binders and new spindles).
The new PQ versions share the same number as the ink formula versions, and they kinda match. But the reality is plastic color appearance varies drastically based on the lighting conditions, you can hold the same Pantone number ink swatch next to it and it might appear to match it 30% of the time as you look at it from different angles.
The chips themselves aren’t uniformly darker or lighter to their ink counter-part, every color will be slightly different. Even if you order multiples of the same plastic chip, if they are from different production dates, their color might be slightly different as well. Honestly the real advantage to the plastic set is being able to see what a plastic color looks like, sending it to a plastic house, and have them make their plastic pretty close the sample you provided (much closer than a paper/ink swatch would). The fact they made the plastic chips somewhat match the ink formulas is a great bonus (though they aren’t a perfect match all the time)
That’s exactly the type of information I was looking for. Thank you.