Pantone conversions to cmyk don't match pantone color bridge

We are having issues at our plant with adobe not converting colors properly. Program using to send to our rip for a di press is Indesign cs6, tried cs5.5 and get the same values.
Example pantone color is 293. We have the latest pantone + bridge and the color break down is 100c 69m 0y 4k but if you let adobe made all spots to process we get a value of 100c 80m 12y 3k.
Any idea what is causing the incorrect values or what I can update to use the correct values?
Thanks.

HI,
In order to get the best CMYK values from InDesign, set your CMYK working space (color settings or Assign ICC to your document) to your DI Press ICC profile.
This way, InDesign will convert from Pantone’s Lab valur to the presse ICC profile’s CMYK values.
CMYK numbers from Color Bridge + are made for european TVI (ISO standard), which is lower that North American standards.
Hope this help!

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I would like to know if there is any way of selecting a cmyk colour and changing it to the closest matching pantone in Illustrator.?

Kelli,
Look here:
Jacob Bugge, "CMYK to Pantone" #2, 8 Jun 2007 2:36 pm
See post #4 about how to cheat with Photoshop.
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I am working in Adobe Illustrator CS6 and InDesign CS6.
When I create a swatch using Pantone colour books (solid coated) and then convert the swatch to CMYK the values differ between programs and also differ to my hard copy of Pantone Colour Bridge.
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Pantone has updated their CMYK match values for PMS colors over time, and so has Adobe. Adobe and pantone have their own values or matches, so they have never matched.
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http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/pantone.aspx?pg=21054&ca=12
http://pantone.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1803

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Hi all,
I run a small invitation supply company.
Our primary design tool up until now has been Photoshop Elements.
We recently purchased a $6000 printer from Xerox which is the 'gold standard' for graphic arts and Pantone approved.
We also have a pantone color bridge. When I print a color using the hex code, the color looks NOTHING like the pantone swatch.
I contacted Xerox and they told me that because Elements has a very low degree of color management that we will never be able to easily color match our pantone swatches and that they aren't surprised the color is way off.
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I would like some feedback before proceeding.
On top of the financial investment, obviously there is a lot of time that my partner and I will have to spend learning Illustrator.
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Am I living a pipe dream?
Yes.
More precisely, you are just failing to understand the fundamental difference between spot color and process color.
I want to be able to pick a color from the pantone deck, enter the code, and feel confident that the print will come out 100% the corresponding color.
Not gonna happen, even if you do all the tedious color management setup you can.
The above assumes you are, in fact, talking about matching Pantone spot colors. (Pantone does not just publish spot color swatches, but that is the usual sense in which beginners refer to Pantone.)
A spot color is, by definition, an actual, physical, single ink which is loaded into a press. The only way to achieve your 100% pipedream is to load that actual, physical, single ink into your $6000 printer.
But that's how a printing press works, not how your $6000 printer works. It works by printing four "primary colors" of inks and then arranging tiny dots of them in proximity to each other in order to "trick" the eye into seeing them as a mixture of colors on the page in proportions which try to approximate the spot color as best it can.
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The Pantone spot color matching system is a means by which to consistently communicate proportional mixtures of actual, real, physical inks of known specific colors. All anyone (including Pantone) can do with the CMYK inks (or dyes) in a desktop printer is try to recommend percentages of those CMYK inks to best approximate a match to an actual, physical spot color ink.
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Then there's the whole matter of the incredibly context-sensitive adaptabability of human vision.
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JET

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You have to try and focus on the swatch samples, not the monitor. Your workflow just may be short on accuracy. If the print does not match, it's the printer. The printed swatch reference books from Pantone are there for verification on what is possible via a calibrated system and an advance RIP for color conversions. If you are compelled to try and match the 322 using your existing system, then create a series of your own swatches and create your own CMYK deviants based on the original 100c, 0m, 33y, 35k formula. This could be a full sheet of 1x1 swatches in 5% increments + and - from the original formula. Print those and select the one that comes closest to your swatch book 322. That's the formula you use in your file's proof. You will have to retain a backup copy of the file using the standard formula that will go to press. So, one file to press, one file to your desktop printer. But, the value of a Postscript RIP is understated here. An Epson 4800 Pro with a Colorburst RIP will do all of the Spot color matching for you. You simply indicate in Illustrator which elements to specify Spot color and assign 322 to them. The RIP will use color tables in conjunction with the RIP to print the Spot color to a close 322 using process color. On press, the 322 will be output as a plate and printed using Spot 322U.

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Head is melting with this HP lazerjet 2550L. Nothing prints as it should or matches Pantone swatches. All my prints are way too intense in colour but the odd thing is that my monitor matches exactly the pantones in the swatch booklet (which is new, not faded). Strangely enough, i have had some test prints done from a repro place and they the colour is the same as my printer! Can't figure out whats goin' on. ANY advice would be great, before i chuck it out the window. Thanks in advance.

Just because the monitor colours are close doesn't mean it is calibrated. I often find it is due to more good luck than proper CMS.
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ADOBE CYMK equivalent to Pantone chip does not match Pantone's numbers

Pantone assigns equivalent CMYK numbers to each of their spot color chips. And writes the CMYK numbers by their PMS spot color chip.
AI conversion within AI's dialogue box, not even close, when Adobe assigns the CMYK to a PMS.
Test it, so you see how far off this is:
PMS book has CMYK at C:0.0, M:6.0, Y:15.0, K:6.0
plenty more where that came from...
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Thanks John, here's what I'm getting on PMS 5777C:
CS6, Swatch Libraries > Color Books > Pantone & Solid Coated with conversion in that dialog box to CMYK: 0C, 31.76M, 100Y, 0K
CS6, Swatch Libraries > Color Books > Pantone & Color Bridge Coated with conversion in that dialog box to CMYK: 26C, 9M, 56Y, 20K
Your PMS book: Solid C ( 10C, 0M, 49Y, 28K
My PMS book, not a big deal off to your PMS book: Solid C 8.5C, 0.0M, 47.0Y, 27.5K

Pantone conversions to cmyk don't match pantone color bridge

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