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    Curated CMYK cool neutrals

    Black-led greys, with just enough cyan to keep them from turning brown on an absorbent sheet. The tint steps are the workhorses of any layout.

    Every swatch here is an on-screen APPROXIMATION of a four-colour build. Screens emit light and paper reflects it — no monitor can show you what ink on your stock will do. Ask for a proof.

    12 tonal runs · 84 builds

    Dark → light, left to right

    PPC-116

    0/0/0/950/0/0/18

    PPC-124

    15/10/0/854/3/0/15

    PPC-113

    0/0/0/650/0/0/10

    PPC-129

    10/0/10/303/0/3/1

    PPC-110

    0/0/0/350/0/0/3

    PPC-115

    0/0/0/850/0/0/15

    PPC-112

    0/0/0/550/0/0/8

    PPC-120

    5/0/0/401/0/0/4

    PPC-117

    0/0/0/1000/0/0/20

    PPC-114

    0/0/0/750/0/0/13

    PPC-122

    10/5/0/603/1/0/9

    PPC-111

    0/0/0/450/0/0/5

    Every value

    PPC-110

    0/0/0/10

    Base build

    PPC-110.1

    0/0/0/85

    Base + 75K

    PPC-110.2

    0/0/0/60

    Base + 50K

    PPC-110.3

    0/0/0/35

    Base + 25K

    PPC-110.4

    0/0/0/8

    75% ink

    PPC-110.5

    0/0/0/5

    50% ink

    PPC-110.6

    0/0/0/3

    25% ink

    PPC-111

    0/0/0/20

    Base build

    PPC-111.1

    0/0/0/95

    Base + 75K

    PPC-111.2

    0/0/0/70

    Base + 50K

    PPC-111.3

    0/0/0/45

    Base + 25K

    PPC-111.4

    0/0/0/15

    75% ink

    PPC-111.5

    0/0/0/10

    50% ink

    PPC-111.6

    0/0/0/5

    25% ink

    PPC-112

    0/0/0/30

    Base build

    PPC-112.1

    0/0/0/100

    Base + 75K

    PPC-112.2

    0/0/0/80

    Base + 50K

    PPC-112.3

    0/0/0/55

    Base + 25K

    PPC-112.4

    0/0/0/23

    75% ink

    PPC-112.5

    0/0/0/15

    50% ink

    PPC-112.6

    0/0/0/8

    25% ink

    PPC-113

    0/0/0/40

    Base build

    PPC-113.1

    0/0/0/100

    Base + 75K

    PPC-113.2

    0/0/0/90

    Base + 50K

    PPC-113.3

    0/0/0/65

    Base + 25K

    PPC-113.4

    0/0/0/30

    75% ink

    PPC-113.5

    0/0/0/20

    50% ink

    PPC-113.6

    0/0/0/10

    25% ink

    PPC-114

    0/0/0/50

    Base build

    PPC-114.1

    0/0/0/100

    Base + 75K

    PPC-114.2

    0/0/0/100

    Base + 50K

    PPC-114.3

    0/0/0/75

    Base + 25K

    PPC-114.4

    0/0/0/38

    75% ink

    PPC-114.5

    0/0/0/25

    50% ink

    PPC-114.6

    0/0/0/13

    25% ink

    PPC-115

    0/0/0/60

    Base build

    PPC-115.1

    0/0/0/100

    Base + 75K

    PPC-115.2

    0/0/0/100

    Base + 50K

    PPC-115.3

    0/0/0/85

    Base + 25K

    PPC-115.4

    0/0/0/45

    75% ink

    PPC-115.5

    0/0/0/30

    50% ink

    PPC-115.6

    0/0/0/15

    25% ink

    PPC-116

    0/0/0/70

    Base build

    PPC-116.1

    0/0/0/100

    Base + 75K

    PPC-116.2

    0/0/0/100

    Base + 50K

    PPC-116.3

    0/0/0/95

    Base + 25K

    PPC-116.4

    0/0/0/53

    75% ink

    PPC-116.5

    0/0/0/35

    50% ink

    PPC-116.6

    0/0/0/18

    25% ink

    PPC-117

    0/0/0/80

    Base build

    PPC-117.1

    0/0/0/100

    Base + 75K

    PPC-117.2

    0/0/0/100

    Base + 50K

    PPC-117.3

    0/0/0/100

    Base + 25K

    PPC-117.4

    0/0/0/60

    75% ink

    PPC-117.5

    0/0/0/40

    50% ink

    PPC-117.6

    0/0/0/20

    25% ink

    PPC-120

    5/0/0/15

    Base build

    PPC-120.1

    5/0/0/90

    Base + 75K

    PPC-120.2

    5/0/0/65

    Base + 50K

    PPC-120.3

    5/0/0/40

    Base + 25K

    PPC-120.4

    4/0/0/11

    75% ink

    PPC-120.5

    3/0/0/8

    50% ink

    PPC-120.6

    1/0/0/4

    25% ink

    PPC-122

    10/5/0/35

    Base build

    PPC-122.1

    10/5/0/100

    Base + 75K

    PPC-122.2

    10/5/0/85

    Base + 50K

    PPC-122.3

    10/5/0/60

    Base + 25K

    PPC-122.4

    8/4/0/26

    75% ink

    PPC-122.5

    5/3/0/18

    50% ink

    PPC-122.6

    3/1/0/9

    25% ink

    PPC-124

    15/10/0/60

    Base build

    PPC-124.1

    15/10/0/100

    Base + 75K

    PPC-124.2

    15/10/0/100

    Base + 50K

    PPC-124.3

    15/10/0/85

    Base + 25K

    PPC-124.4

    11/8/0/45

    75% ink

    PPC-124.5

    8/5/0/30

    50% ink

    PPC-124.6

    4/3/0/15

    25% ink

    PPC-129

    10/0/10/5

    Base build

    PPC-129.1

    10/0/10/80

    Base + 75K

    PPC-129.2

    10/0/10/55

    Base + 50K

    PPC-129.3

    10/0/10/30

    Base + 25K

    PPC-129.4

    8/0/8/4

    75% ink

    PPC-129.5

    5/0/5/3

    50% ink

    PPC-129.6

    3/0/3/1

    25% ink

    What to know before you specify one

    • The same build is not the same colour on two stocks. Coated seals the surface, so the ink sits on top: denser, brighter, sharper. Uncoated absorbs it and the dots gain, so the identical numbers come back darker, duller and lower in contrast. Judge process colour on a proof printed on YOUR stock.
    • Below about 8% a screen stops being reliable — on uncoated it fills in, on coated it can vanish. The tint steps here sit above that floor deliberately, so the light end of a family still prints as a colour rather than as a rumour.
    • Process is right for photographic work, for anything with many colours in it, and for jobs where the colour needs to be close rather than exact. A spot ink is right when the colour IS the brand and has to be identical on every run, and when the colour sits outside what four inks can reach at all. Process costs nothing extra on a full-colour job; a spot is an extra unit on press.

    Builds with a full write-up

    Pairs beautifully with

    Three combinations that hold up on press. Open one and the Studio starts with the stock, the foil and the ink already locked in.

    PPC-116 on Brushed gold metal

    PPC-116 on Brushed gold metal is uncoated, so the dots gain: the same 0/0/0/70 build prints a step darker and duller than it looks on screen. That softness is usually the reason to choose this sheet. The warm gold, satin grain ground shows through a translucent build — the printed colour shifts toward the sheet, so sign off against a printed sample.

    Brushed gold metalPPC-116

    Compatibility matrix

    Start this combination
    Wild Brown paper swatch

    PPC-116 on Wild Brown

    PPC-116 on Wild Brown is uncoated, so the dots gain: the same 0/0/0/70 build prints a step darker and duller than it looks on screen. That softness is usually the reason to choose this sheet. The warm chocolate brown ground shows through a translucent build — the printed colour shifts toward the sheet, so sign off against a printed sample.

    Wild BrownPPC-116

    Compatibility matrix

    Start this combination

    PPC-116 on 16pt

    PPC-116 on 16pt is uncoated, so the dots gain: the same 0/0/0/70 build prints a step darker and duller than it looks on screen. That softness is usually the reason to choose this sheet.

    16ptPPC-116

    Compatibility matrix

    Start this combination

    Common questions

    Do these cool neutrals shift on uncoated stock?
    Yes, every one of them. Uncoated fibres absorb the ink and the dots gain, so the identical build comes back darker, duller and lower in contrast than the coated version. It is not a fault — it is what that sheet does to process ink. Judge it on a proof printed on your stock.
    Can you match a brand colour with one of these cool neutrals?
    Often, yes — and where a build stops short of the brand colour we say so and quote the spot alternative instead of quietly printing something near it.
    How are the tonal steps built?
    Each run starts from one tested base. The shades add 25%, 50% and 75% black to it; the tints drop the ink to 75%, 50% and 25%. That gives you seven values that belong together, so hierarchy inside one hue never needs a second colour.
    Are these an official colour standard?
    These are our own tested recommendations, developed on our presses and our stocks. They are not a published colour standard and are not affiliated with any colour system.