Can you create accurate PMS colors using its 4-color build?

The answer is….sometimes.   This is a common problem and when designers go to choose colors for a job a swatch book not only gives a pantone color, but also the correct blend of cyan, yellow, magenta and black to “build” that color.  The problem is that rarely is this an exact match to the actual print ink.  When we print a PMS color offset we order a premixed ink in the exact PMS color specified and it is always spot on and that ink is loaded directly in the press and an accurate color output is achieved.  In 4-color process, the match is a blend of colors that will produce the closest possible output, but it rarely is an exact match to the PMS colors.  Even with today’s high end digital devices achieving an exact PMS match is virtually impossible.  Typically 4-color process builds tend to mute the color or flatten them out and the reality is that the recipe of these builds are not the exact match to the actual PMS recipe.  The results of a 4-color build are often ok if you are not trying for an exact PMS color match and often there is a cost savings in not using PMS inks.  There is a PMS “Color Bridge” book that will show the spot color and the 4-color build of that PMS side-by-side.  This can be very handy in trying to determine which 4-color builds are acceptable and when it is necessary to print using a PMS color.