Color Guide For Scott

Can anyone recommend a color guide that matches up with the Scott catalogues? I've tried to find one, but don't seem to be having any luck. I've got a Stanley Gibbons Stamp Colour Key, but, as has been mentioned in other posts to this forum, that's great for the SG catalogue, but doesn't really help when trying to match up colors as listed in the Scott catalogue. I'm aware that often the best bet is to match up with another known (identified) stamp, but I don't always have the luxury of having another known (identified) stamp with which to compare. Thank you.

Alan

There are a number of color gauges available but frankly I threw mine all away long ago. I was never able to get any satisfactory matches. Not sure why but they just are not very good.

Yes shades, colours in stamps generally is a mystery tour with charts sadly.

I use pantone press guide for match colors on US Stamps. It is a printer's color chart that matches color and tell pressman how to mix the inks to make that color. I will use a Gibbon's color guide as a key then made adjustments to account for US stamps colors. Over time I have been able to zero in on the pantone color that most match the stamp in question. The Gibbon's guide is for UK stamps I believe and no guide that I have found has done justice to the colors used on United States stamps. I made my own using the pantone chart guide by seeing stamps at shows as well as those in my collection. Then making notes to the best pantone color to that of what is used by name in Scott's. This also as given me just about every shade of that stamp in question that could have been printed. This is most useful on US stamps per 1900 and the Washington and Frankland issues. I have also built an examples of stamps I can also check. It sounds like a lot of work and it was but worth it to me in the long run.

Of course Pantone recommends (and ISO requires) keeping any color guide updated every 5-7 years since the colors guides change over time (just like stamp ink). And another issue is the impact of ambient light; Pantone recommends (and is more than happy to sell you) a light box which provides a standardize light wavelength for color matching.
Additionally, seeing colors is a sensory perception and no two people see color in the exact same way. It is like asking 10 people if the chili you are eating is spicy or not. I think it is fairly easy to get people to agree on basic color ID, but once you move into subtle hues things get dicey.
Add to this the fact that catalog publishers and the hobby has never standardized on color nomenclature. Each publisher names these colors whatever they want and some catalogs changed color names over time.
All of these issues make IDing colors VERY challenging. I wish catalog publishers never mentioned colors beyond a passing note, but I'm glad they at least didn't try to classify gum type by taste.
Don

There are multiple problems with color charts and the Pantone system when it comes to stamps outside of the modern era not least of which is inks that were hand mixed in multiple batches in sometimes poor lighting conditions using constituents that themselves were prone to lack of uniformity. When you get past that you deal with the impact of the environment and aging on inks. Some colors are worse than others when it comes to degradation, but age is not kind in general to paper and what is printed on it.

A question:

So, you have a Pantone ID for a certain color. That ID is for a certain color at a moment in time and assuming no degradation of the sample. But most importantly what light are you viewing the patient and the color example under. Ambient daylight? What time of day? What is the sun angle? Any cloud cover or dust/smoke. Sunlight filtered through a window? Are you using a light? What type? The same light every time you identify a color? How old is the bulb? The batteries? LED, halogen, incandescent? Don't even start trying to introduce a scanned image into the equation.

There is a reason that the PF has to resort to a spectrographic analysis to ID the US Scott 70 and 78 varieties.

While I do NOT want to open a can of worms about viewing colors/shades on various computer monitors made by various scanners, why not post several of your "patients" here for comments? What stamps are you having difficulty with?

I see stamps under florescent light as most shows are light by such lighting. As I said I made my own color guide over time. It is useful to myself. As a master pressman of 40 years that in it self gives me an advantage. I am not trying to sell or recommend my systeam. As I said it works for me. I agree age will affect the color of stamps as ink will change over time. The paper used will affect the color as well. Then you have the paper itself changing over time. I agree with all these observations.

As I said pantone color guide will work even with the shades that were produced. It works for me, even with people proceiving colors differently as you can personalize it to yourself. In any event it will let you get as close as an estimated color as you can. Then you have technology coming into play which will work. As I do not have a system myself that will allow me to make such color determination. I have to use the one I made myself, which works very well for me.

Scans of stamps will not give you a good color ID, I agree. You must see the stamp in person to make that determination. So going to your local stamp shop, club or show to buy stamps is highly recommended. This way you have more eyes that can help in such matters. As at such places you can get an education, which all of us can use.

Look up "Wonder Color Gauge" online by Meghrig.

Generally people see shades in 4 different ways/groups. Which adds more confusion again.

Is your Pantone/Scott color guide something that you can publish? Seeing the Scott names and matching Pantone colors may not be perfect, but would be a great starting point. For example,
19-1653 = Lake
18-1750 = Rose Carmine
etc.
(Those are not real matches, just examples).
Certainly better than guessing what Scott was imagining the color looks like.

I do not know if I can publish the color guide I use in pantone. I will check and see. I do know a pantone color guide is very expensive around $400 to $500 for a press copy. In the case of stamp colors you would only issue the colors required. Which would cut the colors need in the guide by far. As I said I will look into the copyrights that may be involved. Then I will let everyone know if it is possible.

"Is your Pantone/Scott color guide something that you can publish?"
How would that even work? He'd have to have a printer that can accurately mix the colors for all the pantone number(s) required for US stamps. Sounds extremely expensive to me.
The "Wonder Color Gauge" has been mentioned, is that not good enough?

https://goscf.com/t/35899

(emphasis mine)

I think Zebra was asking about getting the Pantone-to-Scott color name conversion and not the actual Pantone Color Guide, perhaps he will clarify when he logs back in. If so and in my opinion, is would not be covered under any copyright and could be published without any violations.
Don

It's been a while since this topic has been updated, but does anyone know if @Uknjay published (or made public) his Pantone to Scott color list?