“Convert the spot colours to CMYK.”
A spot colour, usually a Pantone swatch, tells the press to print that colour with its own pre-mixed ink on an extra plate. If your job prints in CMYK only, every spot colour has to be converted to CMYK first, or it can print in the wrong colour, add an unwanted plate or go missing. If the job really does use a Pantone ink, the opposite applies: that colour must stay a spot colour, with exactly one name used everywhere.
Updated November 3, 2026 · by Azaan Ali, print designerWhy printers ask for this
Most cards, flyers and menus print in four colours, CMYK. Logos from other designers, brand guidelines and Illustrator swatch libraries often bring Pantone swatches along without anyone noticing. On a four-colour job, the printer’s system then has to decide what to do with an ink that isn’t on the press: depending on the setup, it converts it automatically (not always to the colour you expect), outputs an extra plate nobody will use, or leaves that part blank.
On jobs that do print a Pantone ink, which is common for labels, packaging and screen printing, the problem flips. The colour must stay a spot swatch, and it must have one name. “PANTONE 186 C” in the logo and “PANTONE 186 CVC” in the layout are two different inks to a press, so the printer gets an extra plate, and you get a phone call.
How to convert or set up spot colours for print
- Find them. In Acrobat Pro, Print Production → Output Preview lists every ink in the PDF; our free print-ready checker lists spot colours too. In Illustrator and InDesign, spot swatches carry a small spot-colour icon in the Swatches panel.
- CMYK job, Illustrator: double-click each spot swatch, set Color Type to Process Color and Color Mode to CMYK.
- CMYK job, InDesign: Swatches panel menu → Ink Manager → tick All Spots to Process. It converts on export and leaves the swatches intact for a future spot run.
- For the closest match, use Pantone’s own CMYK values (the Pantone Color Bridge guide) rather than the automatic conversion, and expect some bright oranges, greens and blues to shift: CMYK can’t reach them.
- Spot job: keep the Pantone as a spot swatch, use the same name everywhere (InDesign’s Ink Manager can alias a duplicate to the right ink), and choose the C or U version to match the paper.
- Canva doesn’t support spot colours. If the job needs a Pantone ink, the file has to be set up in Illustrator, InDesign or Affinity.
Or send it to us
- Convert unwanted spot colours to their best CMYK match, chosen by eye rather than by default
- Merge duplicate Pantone names into one ink for spot jobs
- Set up Pantone colours correctly for labels, packaging and screen printing, including the C or U version for your paper
- Send a PDF with exactly the inks your printer quoted for
Questions
- Will my Pantone colour look the same in CMYK?
- Many will look close. Some, especially bright oranges, greens, blues and purples, and all metallics and fluorescents, can’t be matched with four inks. If an exact brand colour matters, print it as a spot ink, which costs more on short runs.
- What do the C and U after a Pantone number mean?
- C is coated and U is uncoated: it’s the same ink, shown as it looks on each kind of paper. Pick the one that matches the paper you’re printing on.
- How do I know if my job is CMYK or spot?
- Your quote says. “4/4” or “full colour” means CMYK on both sides; a job quoted with named PMS (Pantone) inks uses spot colours. If you’re not sure, ask before converting anything.
Terms on this page: Pantone (spot colour), CMYK, Coated vs uncoated paper.
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