Branding may be king when it comes to the world of marketing, but the spectrophotometer rules when it comes to color. With color being such an integral part of a business’ branding, it is critical that any brand or logo reproduction stay true to their original hue. Depending on the type of printer a business uses, color hues can become distorted when reproduced on various mediums, and that can yield a negative impression. One of the best ways to protect color integrity for branding purposes is to trust it to a spectrophotometer.
5 Key Ingredients to Company Branding
With most individuals taking in thousands of advertisements every day through social media, visual displays, and streaming services, a business that wants to stand out needs a branding strategy and logo that will elevate their game. Five key ingredients to effective company branding are:
- Color: Use color sparingly so it does not all blend together and is more recognizable. Ensure that any reproduction of a logo meets exact color specifications to prevent distortion of hue and brightness. The use of a spectrophotometer is highly recommended.
- Font: Keep the number of fonts and sizes used to two to ensure readability and facilitate brand reproduction.
- Messaging: Use branding to illustrate your company’s industry success and ability to provide a convenient solution for customers.
- Simplicity: Make simplicity with just a dash of interest the focus of a logo. This helps maintain an image’s integrity for reproduction on various mediums.
- Commitment: Spend time getting branding and logos just right and then make a permanent commitment. Doing so helps branding and logos become a powerful symbol of your company’s credibility and reliability.
What Is A Spectrophotometer?
Companies put tireless hours into creating and designing an innovative brand and logo campaign. It can become the foundation for outreach efforts moving forward in everything from brochures to vinyl banners to decals and more, and color continuity is key.
In order to stay true to original branding, any reproduction of it requires that all color hues match perfectly, and not just to the naked eye but to a spectrophotometer.
A spectrophotometer is a specialized and scientific machine that facilitates precise automated color reading and matching. It does so by utilizing energy and light to determine the exact characteristics of a specific color and then ensures that specific color is reproduced according to those detailed specifications.
Without the use of spectrophotometer, reproduction of your logo could fall victim to poorly matched color shades that did not appear in the original. A distortion in your logo not only looks unprofessional but can also negatively impact a business’ credibility and industry standing.
Benefits of Using A Company with A Spectrophotometer
Although it is highly recommended to have a spectrophotometer, not every printing and promotions company has one. These special machines can cost thousands of dollars, but a reputable print shop will understand the critical role it plays in ensuring a brand’s precise representation for marketing and labeling applications.
Some of the most advantageous benefits of using a company with a spectrophotometer are:
- No more color guessing. When a spectrophotometer measures color, it does so scientifically. This means that you no longer have to tell a provider that you want lettering in a dark green like that found in a palm tree. By presenting the provider with a tangible sample of the branding, a spectrophotometer can measure the exact shade of green the client is looking for.
- Consistency across mediums. This means that whether your brand or logo appear on a vinyl sign, a custom website, or a piece of clothing, the color consistency will be the same and a true representation of the original branding sample provided.
- Debates can go on for hours between people about whether a color is the right color or the right shade, but using a spectrophotometer results in a precise and exact color reading that can be matched in minutes. This saves time and headaches for everyone involved.
Using A Spectrophotometer vs. Other Color Standardization Systems
Unfortunately, not every printing company will have access to a spectrophotometer due to its expense and the technical ability it requires for proper operation. In this type of situation, color matching is instead usually delegated to a color standardization system such as CMYK or the Pantone Matching System (PMS).
While systems like PMS are widely used and highly recommended to enhance color matching and reproduction, they do not analyze a color as fully as the spectrophotometer. In essence, this can mean that while a PMS color may be a close match for a hue that appears in a company logo, it may not be an exact match, and that can lead to even bigger problems.
In some cases, when two companies and competitors within the same industry have a logo with one or more of the same colors appearing prominently, the similarity could become a color copyright issue, yielding an expensive lawsuit. In these circumstances, knowing the exact spectrophotometer specifications of a color hue being used in your logo can be a huge asset and provide protection.
It can be worth every penny to trust your branding and logo reproduction projects to a reputable and skilled industry printer who has access to a spectrophotometer.
