Spot Colour Printing: The Gold Standard for Brand Consistency

In the world of commercial printing, brand consistency is everything. At Adams Print, we know that maintaining your visual identity across all print materials isn’t just a preference — it’s a business imperative. That’s why we champion spot colour printing as one of the most reliable ways to achieve perfect colour accuracy, every time.

Advanced Spot Colour Control for Precision Branding

For design agencies and brand custodians working within strict identity systems, spot colour printing is non-negotiable. Unlike CMYK printing — which uses a combination of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black inks to simulate colours — spot colours are pre-mixed, precise inks designed for repeatable colour accuracy.

These colours are typically defined using the Pantone Matching System (PMS) — the global colour standard used by brands, designers and printers to specify exact hues. PMS ensures consistency across locations, presses, and production partners, making it essential for maintaining brand integrity at scale.

The greatest advantage of spot colour is accuracy. Unlike CMYK, which can subtly shift between print runs, paper types, or presses, spot colours deliver reliable consistency. While these variations might go unnoticed to the untrained eye, they can make all the difference to a brand manager or designer striving for precision. In fact, CMYK can only accurately reproduce around 55–60% of the Pantone Matching System, making spot colour the preferred choice for brands that rely on exact colour representation.

CMYK printing can shift subtly between presses and paper types, introducing unwanted variation. Spot colours eliminate that variability — delivering consistent, controlled results. For even broader colour reproduction, we also offer Extended Colour Gamut (ECG) printing, which addresses CMYK’s limitations by adding additional base inks (such as Orange, Green and Violet) to the standard set. This allows for a more accurate reproduction of a wider range of Pantone colours, while still maintaining the efficiency of process printing.

Whether you're printing on coated, uncoated, textured, or specialty materials, we maintain colour fidelity using calibrated workflows, advanced proofing, and precise colour management standards. Our prepress team works closely with agencies to ensure Pantone specifications are accurately converted, cross-matched, and honoured — including fallback solutions through Pantone Bridge for digital CMYK output where needed. We also support fluorescent (fluro) spot colours, providing vibrant, high-impact options for brands looking to stand out — particularly in promotional or retail environments.

This level of control ensures your brand’s signature colours — especially those critical for retail POS, packaging, and long-run collateral — are replicated with pinpoint accuracy, every time.

Did you know that when matching a Pantone colour across different substrates, such as coated and uncoated stocks, the specified Pantone number will often change to achieve a book-matched visual result? A classic example is Hertz’s Yellow — traditionally printed as PMS 109 C on coated materials and PMS 108 U on uncoated stock to maintain a consistent appearance across both.