Convert CMYK to Pantone with ease in Illustrator

How to find Pantone color that match CMYK color?

Have you ever got a file to use it on a design for a print project, but your client or a designer hasn't specified a spot color for their design? Finding a spot color equivalent to CMYK can be difficult. Your way of seeing colors is often different to what your client sees. You client my not have the knowledge of printing process, and why is using spot colors better in some cases. Here's a quick way to find the Pantone spot color equivalent for a CMYK process color.

Lets say that you got logo from client or another designer. You inspected it and see that this orange color is made from C = 2,M = 38, Y = 100, K = 0.

Those 4 colors make 4-color printing job. And you want to make it cheaper and that orange color is consistent when anyone prints it.

So what do you do? Do you scroll through thousands of Pantone colors to find perfect match? No.

To access pantone swatches click the Swatch Libraries menu icon on Swatches panel and navigate to whatever color book you want.

To find your perfect Pantone color select object using Selection Tool or Group Selection Tool and go to Edit / Edit Colors / Recolor Artwork...

In this dialog box click icon to limit the colors changes to colors you specify, in this case I’m using Pantone Solid Coated. Click OK.

Now you can see that orange is converted to Pantone 1375 and Pantone color swatch shows in Swatches panel.

With the black and Pantone 1375 (orange) I have 2 color job.

There is even quicker way to convert multiple CMYK colors to Pantone equivalent spot color.

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