PANTONE Process Black coated vs uncoated
The same ink, two surfaces. This one travels well: the two stocks land close, with uncoated only slightly quieter. Translucent — will not cover dark stock.
Coated
Process Black C
Uncoated · modelled
Process Black U
On-screen approximation — not a colour-accurate reference. Match to a physical PANTONE® chip before you sign off.
What actually changes
| Coated | Uncoated | |
|---|---|---|
| Reference | Process Black C | Process Black U |
| Surface | Sealed. Ink sits on top of the coating. | Open fibre. Ink soaks in and spreads slightly. |
| Saturation | Full strength — this is the chip most brand guidelines were picked from. | Down roughly 0% in apparent chroma. This one travels well: the two stocks land close, with uncoated only slightly quieter. |
| Detail | Hairlines and small type hold cleanly. | Expect a touch of dot gain; thin reverses can fill. |
| Best for | Default one-colour black | Letterpress, cotton and textured stock where softness is the point. |
The same ink is not the same colour on the two stocks. On coated sheets the ink sits on a sealed surface: denser, brighter, sharper edges. On uncoated the fibres absorb it: softer, duller, slightly lighter, and warm colours lose the most punch. Some colours change character outright — brights go chalky, deep navies go grey-blue.
Common questions
- Is Process Black C the same colour as Process Black U?
- No. They are the same ink formulation printed on two different surfaces, and PANTONE® publishes them as two separate chips for that reason. This one travels well: the two stocks land close, with uncoated only slightly quieter. If your brand guideline names only one of them, name the stock too — otherwise the press has to guess.
- Which one should I specify?
- Specify the one that matches the paper you are actually printing on. If the job runs on uncoated stock, sign off against Process Black U — approving the C chip and then printing uncoated is the single most common colour complaint we see.
- Can you make the uncoated version match the coated chip?
- Not exactly, no. We can push density a little, and on some colours a double hit closes part of the gap, but the coating is doing the work — no amount of ink turns an uncoated sheet into a coated one. Where the brand colour is non-negotiable, we would look at a coated stock, a spot varnish under the solid, or foil.
- Does PANTONE Process Black cover dark paper on either stock?
- Offset and letterpress inks are translucent. On a dark or coloured stock a light ink will not cover — it sinks into the sheet and reads tone-on-tone. For light colour on dark paper the answer is foil stamping or an opaque screen pass, never a straight PMS hit.
PANTONE® is a registered trademark of Pantone LLC. Print Peppermint is not affiliated with or endorsed by Pantone LLC. Codes are referenced to identify the inks we print.