Curated CMYK cyans
The one hue process printing owns outright. A cyan-led build needs no other ink to reach full strength, which is why it holds its cleanliness at every tint step.
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.
6 tonal runs · 42 builds
Dark → light, left to rightPPC-094
PPC-058
PPC-093
PPC-001
PPC-022
PPC-057
Every value
PPC-001
75/0/0/0
Base build
PPC-001.1
75/0/0/75
Base + 75K
PPC-001.2
75/0/0/50
Base + 50K
PPC-001.3
75/0/0/25
Base + 25K
PPC-001.4
56/0/0/0
75% ink
PPC-001.5
38/0/0/0
50% ink
PPC-001.6
19/0/0/0
25% ink
PPC-022
100/35/0/5
Base build
PPC-022.1
100/35/0/80
Base + 75K
PPC-022.2
100/35/0/55
Base + 50K
PPC-022.3
100/35/0/30
Base + 25K
PPC-022.4
75/26/0/4
75% ink
PPC-022.5
50/18/0/3
50% ink
PPC-022.6
25/9/0/1
25% ink
PPC-057
80/15/0/25
Base build
PPC-057.1
80/15/0/100
Base + 75K
PPC-057.2
80/15/0/75
Base + 50K
PPC-057.3
80/15/0/50
Base + 25K
PPC-057.4
60/11/0/19
75% ink
PPC-057.5
40/8/0/13
50% ink
PPC-057.6
20/4/0/6
25% ink
PPC-058
80/25/0/25
Base build
PPC-058.1
80/25/0/100
Base + 75K
PPC-058.2
80/25/0/75
Base + 50K
PPC-058.3
80/25/0/50
Base + 25K
PPC-058.4
60/19/0/19
75% ink
PPC-058.5
40/13/0/13
50% ink
PPC-058.6
20/6/0/6
25% ink
PPC-093
55/10/0/40
Base build
PPC-093.1
55/10/0/100
Base + 75K
PPC-093.2
55/10/0/90
Base + 50K
PPC-093.3
55/10/0/65
Base + 25K
PPC-093.4
41/8/0/30
75% ink
PPC-093.5
28/5/0/20
50% ink
PPC-093.6
14/3/0/10
25% ink
PPC-094
55/20/0/40
Base build
PPC-094.1
55/20/0/100
Base + 75K
PPC-094.2
55/20/0/90
Base + 50K
PPC-094.3
55/20/0/65
Base + 25K
PPC-094.4
41/15/0/30
75% ink
PPC-094.5
28/10/0/20
50% ink
PPC-094.6
14/5/0/10
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.
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-094 on Satin stainless
PPC-094 on Satin stainless is uncoated, so the dots gain: the same 55/20/0/40 build prints a step darker and duller than it looks on screen. That softness is usually the reason to choose this sheet. The soft silver, low sheen ground shows through a translucent build — the printed colour shifts toward the sheet, so sign off against a printed sample.
Compatibility matrix
Start this combination
PPC-094 on Wild Brown
PPC-094 on Wild Brown is uncoated, so the dots gain: the same 55/20/0/40 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.
Compatibility matrix
Start this combinationPPC-094 on 16pt
PPC-094 on 16pt is uncoated, so the dots gain: the same 55/20/0/40 build prints a step darker and duller than it looks on screen. That softness is usually the reason to choose this sheet.
Compatibility matrix
Start this combinationCommon questions
- Do these cyans 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 cyans?
- 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.