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    Curated CMYK purples

    The hardest family in process. A true violet is outside the four-colour gamut; these are the honest best, and the page names the spot alternative.

    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.

    11 tonal runs · 77 builds

    Dark → light, left to right

    PPC-067

    15/80/0/504/20/0/6

    PPC-102

    20/55/0/655/14/0/10

    PPC-029

    50/100/0/3013/25/0/1

    PPC-064

    50/80/0/5013/20/0/6

    PPC-066

    25/80/0/506/20/0/6

    PPC-101

    30/55/0/658/14/0/10

    PPC-028

    65/100/0/3016/25/0/1

    PPC-103

    10/55/0/653/14/0/10

    PPC-030

    35/100/0/309/25/0/1

    PPC-065

    40/80/0/5010/20/0/6

    PPC-100

    35/55/0/659/14/0/10

    Every value

    PPC-028

    65/100/0/5

    Base build

    PPC-028.1

    65/100/0/80

    Base + 75K

    PPC-028.2

    65/100/0/55

    Base + 50K

    PPC-028.3

    65/100/0/30

    Base + 25K

    PPC-028.4

    49/75/0/4

    75% ink

    PPC-028.5

    33/50/0/3

    50% ink

    PPC-028.6

    16/25/0/1

    25% ink

    PPC-029

    50/100/0/5

    Base build

    PPC-029.1

    50/100/0/80

    Base + 75K

    PPC-029.2

    50/100/0/55

    Base + 50K

    PPC-029.3

    50/100/0/30

    Base + 25K

    PPC-029.4

    38/75/0/4

    75% ink

    PPC-029.5

    25/50/0/3

    50% ink

    PPC-029.6

    13/25/0/1

    25% ink

    PPC-030

    35/100/0/5

    Base build

    PPC-030.1

    35/100/0/80

    Base + 75K

    PPC-030.2

    35/100/0/55

    Base + 50K

    PPC-030.3

    35/100/0/30

    Base + 25K

    PPC-030.4

    26/75/0/4

    75% ink

    PPC-030.5

    18/50/0/3

    50% ink

    PPC-030.6

    9/25/0/1

    25% ink

    PPC-064

    50/80/0/25

    Base build

    PPC-064.1

    50/80/0/100

    Base + 75K

    PPC-064.2

    50/80/0/75

    Base + 50K

    PPC-064.3

    50/80/0/50

    Base + 25K

    PPC-064.4

    38/60/0/19

    75% ink

    PPC-064.5

    25/40/0/13

    50% ink

    PPC-064.6

    13/20/0/6

    25% ink

    PPC-065

    40/80/0/25

    Base build

    PPC-065.1

    40/80/0/100

    Base + 75K

    PPC-065.2

    40/80/0/75

    Base + 50K

    PPC-065.3

    40/80/0/50

    Base + 25K

    PPC-065.4

    30/60/0/19

    75% ink

    PPC-065.5

    20/40/0/13

    50% ink

    PPC-065.6

    10/20/0/6

    25% ink

    PPC-066

    25/80/0/25

    Base build

    PPC-066.1

    25/80/0/100

    Base + 75K

    PPC-066.2

    25/80/0/75

    Base + 50K

    PPC-066.3

    25/80/0/50

    Base + 25K

    PPC-066.4

    19/60/0/19

    75% ink

    PPC-066.5

    13/40/0/13

    50% ink

    PPC-066.6

    6/20/0/6

    25% ink

    PPC-067

    15/80/0/25

    Base build

    PPC-067.1

    15/80/0/100

    Base + 75K

    PPC-067.2

    15/80/0/75

    Base + 50K

    PPC-067.3

    15/80/0/50

    Base + 25K

    PPC-067.4

    11/60/0/19

    75% ink

    PPC-067.5

    8/40/0/13

    50% ink

    PPC-067.6

    4/20/0/6

    25% ink

    PPC-100

    35/55/0/40

    Base build

    PPC-100.1

    35/55/0/100

    Base + 75K

    PPC-100.2

    35/55/0/90

    Base + 50K

    PPC-100.3

    35/55/0/65

    Base + 25K

    PPC-100.4

    26/41/0/30

    75% ink

    PPC-100.5

    18/28/0/20

    50% ink

    PPC-100.6

    9/14/0/10

    25% ink

    PPC-101

    30/55/0/40

    Base build

    PPC-101.1

    30/55/0/100

    Base + 75K

    PPC-101.2

    30/55/0/90

    Base + 50K

    PPC-101.3

    30/55/0/65

    Base + 25K

    PPC-101.4

    23/41/0/30

    75% ink

    PPC-101.5

    15/28/0/20

    50% ink

    PPC-101.6

    8/14/0/10

    25% ink

    PPC-102

    20/55/0/40

    Base build

    PPC-102.1

    20/55/0/100

    Base + 75K

    PPC-102.2

    20/55/0/90

    Base + 50K

    PPC-102.3

    20/55/0/65

    Base + 25K

    PPC-102.4

    15/41/0/30

    75% ink

    PPC-102.5

    10/28/0/20

    50% ink

    PPC-102.6

    5/14/0/10

    25% ink

    PPC-103

    10/55/0/40

    Base build

    PPC-103.1

    10/55/0/100

    Base + 75K

    PPC-103.2

    10/55/0/90

    Base + 50K

    PPC-103.3

    10/55/0/65

    Base + 25K

    PPC-103.4

    8/41/0/30

    75% ink

    PPC-103.5

    5/28/0/20

    50% ink

    PPC-103.6

    3/14/0/10

    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-067 on Constellation Jade E27 Spring emboss

    PPC-067 on Constellation Jade E27 Spring emboss is uncoated, so the dots gain: the same 15/80/0/25 build prints a step darker and duller than it looks on screen. That softness is usually the reason to choose this sheet.

    Constellation Jade E27 Spring embossPPC-067

    Compatibility matrix

    Start this combination

    PPC-067 on Triplex white/black/white

    PPC-067 on Triplex white/black/white is uncoated, so the dots gain: the same 15/80/0/25 build prints a step darker and duller than it looks on screen. That softness is usually the reason to choose this sheet. The cream with black core ground shows through a translucent build — the printed colour shifts toward the sheet, so sign off against a printed sample.

    Triplex white/black/whitePPC-067

    Compatibility matrix

    Start this combination
    Gmund Action Alpine Sparkling Water paper swatch

    PPC-067 on Gmund Action Alpine Sparkling Water

    PPC-067 on Gmund Action Alpine Sparkling Water is uncoated, so the dots gain: the same 15/80/0/25 build prints a step darker and duller than it looks on screen. That softness is usually the reason to choose this sheet.

    Gmund Action Alpine Sparkling WaterPPC-067

    Compatibility matrix

    Start this combination

    Common questions

    Do these purples 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 purples?
    Sometimes close, rarely exact. This family sits against the edge of what four inks can reach, so if the colour IS the brand the honest answer is a spot ink. We will tell you which case you are in before it goes to plate.
    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.