bteifeld

RIP software companies can and do choose to license Pantone decks inclusive of the PMS and FHI color systems. Why has Serif chosen not to license the FHI color system information? And by the way- this is the page for viva magenta from pantone that discloses the L*a*b* for viva magenta: https://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year/2023/designer-tools

Thank you. I found them and have installed them. They were under a drop-down identified as "Looking for Windows MSI Installers?".

Thank you for explaining all this. What I just learned is that the downloads are also MSIX versions- there does not seem to be an EXE installer available.

Thank you for your reply. Please tell me where it would be located in the case of the Windows MSIX installer.

I would suggest that you consider the thoughts and ideas in this book to guide future interactions with designers regarding spot/brand color: https://www.projectbbcg.guide/ and then get yourself a color measurement device like an Xrite i1pro2/i1pro3 or a Nix Spectro 2. Be sure that you and designers you work with calibrate and profile their monitors to assure you are seeing the best possible rendition of color. Have your designers always provide L*a*b* specification of color, ideally based on measurement of the sample they want, to assure best accuracy. All these steps will simplify things greatly in assuring that you and designers produce the color you intend.

I would like to know where the pantone libraries are stored under Affinity apps V2. My thanks in advance for what may be possible.

Actually you might be interested in knowing about GretagMacbeth Colorpicker and its lineal descendant, Colorlogic Colorant L. These tools are able to take an ICC profile associated with a given media/print process in combination with a L*a*b* definition of a spot color and produce an optimized ink build which in many(but not all) cases can hit the spot color very well. This makes having the L*a*b* data valuable as long you also have a proper ICC profile.

Thank you for your reply. I think we need to know from Serif what the reality of their licensing arrangement actually is.

I would like to know why Serif is not providing L*a*b*-based specifications for the swatches in each of the Pantone Decks it supplies with the Serif Applications. SRGB is an inferior and inaccurate representation of the swatches in some cases because the SRGB color space profile gamut CANNOT encompass all the swatch colors. Please consider ensuring that all Pantone swatch definitions are specified in L*a*b* as soon as possible. P.S. Providing the Cotton TCX and Paper TPG decks would be helpful.

The most reliable representation of any color in a named color/spot color system is its device independent L*a*b* value. Using an ASE file export from Pantone Color Manager, you can replace any fan deck included in the affinity applications with the L*a*b* representation. It might also ensure that you get a timely update of the pantone color of the year from the Cotton TCX deck if you need that.

PANTONE® USA | Software Download Pantone Color Manager can be downloaded from the link I have supplied. If you have an Xrite spectro like an i1 and/or a license for i1profiler, you can use Pantone Color Manager.

Pantone offers two ways to get correct color values(L*a*b* numbers) for all of their fan decks: Pantone Connect- www.pantone.com/connect Pantone Color Manager- for mac, https://www.pantone.com/media/downloads/software/Pantone_Color_Manager_Mac.zip and for pc- https://www.pantone.com/media/downloads/software/Pantone_Color_Manager_Windows.zip Pantone Color Manager requires that you own an X-Rite color measurement device , or order a license key in order for it to work. Although the website states that it cannot be ordered on the website, you can get a license key by making a phone-based order. The advantage of Pantone Color Manager is that it allows you to export the fan deck L*a*b* color values in a .ASE file, which Affinity applications can import as a palette of spot colors. If you are only trying to get a few spot colors, Pantone Connect can enable that for you. Be warned that L*a*b* color values may become a charged feature in the near future.

One additional note- Affinity applications accept ASE files. It is possible to save the fandeck color information from Pantone Color Manager into an ASE file which can then be imported as a palette into the swatches of an Affinity Application. You need to open Pantone Color Manager, select the fandeck you want to turn into swatches, use the file-save as menu option, select "adobe indesign" in the drop down below the filename in the file-save as dialogue. Next, you need to click the button "color spaces" and ensure that only 'lab d50' is checked. Enter the filename, and click ok, remembering where you saved the ASE file with the fandeck values. You use the swatches option 'import palette' to read in the ASE file you created with Pantone Color manager.

TPG is for coatings on paper, TCX is for textiles, especially cotton. The Pantone color of the year is based on the Fashion Home Interiors color set, which applies to the TPG and TCX variants. Check this page: https://www.pantone.com/color-systems/for-fashion-design The practical reason why the TCX/TPX color sets are important is that entire industries inclusive of fashion and design and more base their product design and development on the Pantone color of the year. Pantone is not alone in this however- Color Marketing Group is another example, perhaps not as well known.

Thank you, I appreciate the advice.

Is anyone from serif alive and reading these forums? I would appreciate a timely response to a very serious question that impacts the color fidelity for brand color work using Affinity Designer.

Pantone Color Manager should be usable with affinity designer- the problem is that you will need to use the 'save' as opposed to the 'export' feature on the file menu with sRGB selected. You will then need to use Excel to convert that file into the form required by Designer by looking at the existing files as an example. The problem is that looking at the directory c:\Program Files\Affinity\Designer\Resources\Pantone, the comma separated value files have an unusual format and seem to all be in sRGB which assures that the gamut is not adequate for many of the colors. To use Pantone Color Manager, you would ideally be able to save using "color text" format, and then use Excel to parse out the saved file into a CSV file that could then be saved in the directory I mentioned. I wish that someone from Serif would document how the comma separated value file created from the file Pantone Color Manager saves could be configured so Designer would accept LAB values from Pantone Color Manager. This would to assure the most accurate color rendition of Pantone spot colors.

As a point of information, Pantone just updated Pantone Color Manager with Solid Coated V4, Solid Uncoated V4, Color Bridge Coated, and Color Bridge Uncoated.

Pantone and others like them often supply L*a*b* numbers for each of their named colors. It would be better from a color management perspective if you could base your Pantone and similar named(spot) color specifications on L*a*b* values. Unlike RGB and CMYK, which are device dependent, L*a*b* numbers are device independent. Further, many of your customers in the case of Pantone will have a product known as Pantone Color Manager which always makes available the most up to date fan decks and L*a*b* references for the fan deck named(spot) colors. Could you develop a way for customers to have a smooth integration with Pantone Color Manager so they can maintain the most up-to-date information? My thanks in advance for what may be possible. P.S. You should be including the Pantone FHI Cotton and FHI Paper decks in your Swatches because they are the source for the Pantone Color of the Year. https://www.pantone.com/products/digital-apps/pantone-color-manager-software

Is anyone from Serif able to respond please?

I access my windows 7 via RDP, properly setup with an Aero theme. If I try to run affinity publisher via an RDP sessions, an error arises that states "windows Aero is not enabled". On the other hand, if I start affinity publisher on the actual computer itself, and leave it running, when I access that session later via RDP- affinity publisher will happily display and operate properly. Can you do what is necessary to assure that affinity publisher runs properly over RDP? My thanks in advance for what may be possible.