Previews simulate a standard coated or uncoated sheet. A screen can't show ink exactly; the printed card can.
PPC-116
CMYK 0/0/0/70 · Base build · Cool neutrals
- c
- 0
- m
- 0
- y
- 0
- k
- 70
Close, not exact. Each swatch is simulated for a standard coated or uncoated sheet, but a screen makes colour with light and paper reflects it. For the real thing, use the printed reference card.
On coated stock
On coated stock the sealed surface keeps the build at full density: this is the version closest to the on-screen approximation.
On uncoated stock
On uncoated the same build reads darker, duller and lower in contrast , dot gain plus absorption. This is not a fault; it is what that sheet does to process ink.
The full tonal run
Seven values built from this base, three shades that add black, three tints that drop ink. Hierarchy inside one hue, without introducing a second colour.
On paper: see the printed reference card in our Studio Sample Kit
In production
- A 1-ink build. Fewer inks means fewer things to fall out of register and a colour that repeats run to run.
- 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.
Where we use it
- Brand colour in process work
- Flat solids and panels
- Display type
These are our own house recommendations, set for the papers we print on. They are not a published colour standard and are not affiliated with any colour system.
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 Gmund Colors Matt Matt 67
PPC-116 on Gmund Colors Matt Matt 67 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 matt 67, through-dyed uncoated matt with a fine felt texture 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-116 on Gmund Heidi Dull Black 530gsm
PPC-116 on Gmund Heidi Dull Black 530gsm 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 dull matte black, dyed through 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-116 on Gmund Heather (formerly Leather) Alabaster
PPC-116 on Gmund Heather (formerly Leather) Alabaster 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 pale warm cream ground shows through a translucent build — the printed colour shifts toward the sheet, so sign off against a printed sample.
Compatibility matrix
Start this combinationCommon questions
- What is the CMYK build for PPC-116?
- PPC-116 is C0 M0 Y0 K70, written 0/0/0/70. It is one of our tested recommendations, not a published standard.
- How does PPC-116 print on uncoated stock?
- On uncoated the same build reads darker, duller and lower in contrast , dot gain plus absorption. This is not a fault; it is what that sheet does to process ink.
- How does PPC-116 print on coated stock?
- On coated stock the sealed surface keeps the build at full density: this is the version closest to the on-screen approximation.
- Should this be a spot ink instead?
- 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.