[machinelf]

All you chip and label makers out there... I have an idea.

For a small outlay you can buy an object like this:

http://www.pantone.com/Pages/Product...px?pid=31&ca=1

So when you get a shipment of chips in (or you simply need to match an existing chip), within minutes you can have accurate numbers to give us designers to use in producing inlays/labels with. That way, even if every batch of chips is a bit different, as long as you test each batch the numbers will be as accurate as possible.

And since I'm talking about this stuff, how about an area on your web site that outlines exactly what sizes, file types, resolutions, etc. you need from us? I'm sure answering the same questions over and over must get old, right?

Thanks for listening, and for making this great site possible

[TBonesPoker]

Good suggestion. I'm not a designer but would be tempted to spring for one of these if I didn't have to save for more chips.

[Angry Jacks]

Great suggestion, but different printers have different color gamuts and may not match perfectly. The only way to get a perfect match is to get a printout of the gamut from the printer you will be printing on.

That said ... how far off could it really be?

[palmimports]

might be good for process printing but for those of us with large format printers AND who laminate- it will be close but not dead on.
What my printer prints is determined by the vinyl, ink used, artwork profile, room temperature, pre/post heater settings etc-- then add lamination on top and forget matching perfectly.
The only way to accurately match chips is the way we do it- we take a color chart- assign a profile to it ( adobe rgb 1998 ) and print it on our printer then laminate it.
ALl you then have to do is put the chip up to the most accurate color- read the values, then you know when the artwork prints and is laminated ( our color chart IS laminated) it will be accurate.