Previews simulate a standard coated or uncoated sheet. A screen can't show ink exactly; the printed card can.
PPC-127
CMYK 40/30/30/100 · Base build · Blacks and rich blacks
- c
- 40
- m
- 30
- y
- 30
- k
- 100
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 four-colour build , check it on the printed reference card in our sample kit, and approve your digital proof before anything prints.
- Rich black: supporting ink under the 100K. Keep it off small type and hairlines , the register has to be perfect or the type furs.
- 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
- Solid grounds
- Cover stocks
- Anywhere flat black looked washed out
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-127 on Copper metal
PPC-127 on Copper metal is uncoated, so the dots gain: the same 40/30/30/100 build prints a step darker and duller than it looks on screen. That softness is usually the reason to choose this sheet. The raw copper, warm orange-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-127 on Wild Brown
PPC-127 on Wild Brown is uncoated, so the dots gain: the same 40/30/30/100 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-127 on Acquerello Avorio
PPC-127 on Acquerello Avorio is uncoated, so the dots gain: the same 40/30/30/100 build prints a step darker and duller than it looks on screen. That softness is usually the reason to choose this sheet. The avorio, uncoated, felt-marked on both sides (watercolour-style 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 combinationCommon questions
- What is the CMYK build for PPC-127?
- PPC-127 is C40 M30 Y30 K100, written 40/30/30/100. It is one of our tested recommendations, not a published standard.
- How does PPC-127 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-127 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.