How to Mix Screen Printing Inks to an Exact Pantone Colour

Getting colour right in screen printing is one of those things that sounds simple until you’re standing in front of a test print that’s come out three shades too dark. Mixing ink to hit a specific Pantone is a genuine skill — part science, part patience — and it’s something every printer at our Dalston studio has had to work through. This guide walks you through the method we use, step by step.

You’ll need a Pantone swatch book, a set of base inks, a digital scale, palette knives, mixing cups, a test screen and some paper. Get everything in front of you before you start — swapping tools halfway through a mix throws off your measurements and your eye.

Why Pantone? A quick note on colour in screen printing

Pantone is the industry-standard colour matching system used across print, product design and fashion. It works by assigning a reference number to each colour and listing the exact base pigments — and their ratios — needed to reproduce it. The system uses 13 base pigments (14 if you include black), which can be combined to create thousands of colours.

In screen printing this matters because ink behaves differently depending on paper stock, mesh count and how much pressure you apply. A colour that looks perfect in the pot can shift when it hits the paper. Working from a Pantone reference gives you something objective to measure against — and a formula you can repeat.

Step-by-step: mixing a Pantone ink for screen printing

Step 1 — Set up your workspace

Before mixing anything, get everything you need within reach: the inks for your chosen colour, a Pantone swatch book, palette knives, identical mixing cups, a set of digital scales, test paper, a test screen and a squeegee. Identical cups matter — if one holds more than another, your weight readings won’t be comparable.

Step 2 — Identify your Pantone and its component colours

Open your Pantone swatch to the colour you’re matching and make a note of its name and the base pigments listed on the swatch. These tell you exactly which inks you need to mix. Most colours require two or three components; a few need more. Write them down — you’ll be referring back to this throughout the process.

Step 3 — Pour each ink into a separate cup

Decant a working amount of each base ink into its own cup. Try to pour roughly the same quantity into each — a rough eye measure is fine at this stage. The important thing is that your cups are identical in size and shape, so that when you weigh them the tare weight is consistent.

Step 4 — Weigh each pot and record the weights

Place each cup on your scales and write down the weight. This is your starting point. Every adjustment you make from here will be measured against these numbers, so be precise and don’t skip this step. It’s the difference between ending up with a formula you can repeat and having to remix from scratch next time.

Step 5 — Begin mixing by eye

Now start combining your inks. At this stage you’re working by feel — use your palette knife to transfer small amounts from each cup into a clean mixing pot, trying to get close to the Pantone colour visually. Keep your source cups well apart from each other to avoid cross-contamination. Work slowly and don’t rush to add too much of any one colour.

TIP: A palette knife gives you far more control than pouring directly from a cup. It lets you add ink in very small, measurable amounts — which matters a lot when you’re working towards a precise ratio.

Step 6 — Mix thoroughly

Once you’ve combined your inks, mix them properly. Fold the ink over on itself repeatedly rather than just stirring — you want an even, homogeneous colour with no streaks. It takes longer than you’d think, especially with dense or opaque inks.

Step 7 — Do a test print

Pull a test print using a small screen. If you have a printing bed, use it to lock the screen in place; if not, you can hold the frame up by hand and use snap (a small gap between screen and paper) to get a clean pull. Print onto your test paper and then clean the ink back out of the screen immediately.

TIP: This is also a good moment to check how your inks sit on top of each other if you’re printing multiple colours.

Step 8 — Compare against your Pantone swatch

Hold your test print next to the Pantone swatch. Bear in mind that printed ink looks slightly different from the colour on the swatch — the paper surface, ink opacity and drying can all shift the tone. You’re looking for a close match, not perfection at this stage. Note whether the colour is too light, too dark, too warm or too cool.

Step 9 — Adjust and reprint

Add small amounts of whichever ink the mix needs more of and reprint. Be conservative — it’s much easier to darken a colour than to pull it back once you’ve added too much. Test again. Repeat this process until the printed colour is as close to your Pantone reference as you need it to be. For most purposes two or three test prints will get you there; complex colours with tight tolerances might need more passes.

Step 10 — Calculate your formula

Once you’re happy with the colour, weigh what remains in each cup and subtract from your original weights. This tells you exactly how much of each ink went into the mix. Add those amounts together to get your total ink used, then divide each individual ink weight by the total and multiply by 100. You now have a percentage ratio for each colour — and those percentages should add up to 100.

Write this formula down and keep it with a small swatch of the printed colour. Next time you need to mix this Pantone, simply weigh out the total amount of ink you need and apply your percentages. It takes the guesswork out entirely.

Example: if your total mix used 10g of ink — 5g yellow, 3g red and 2g white — your formula is 50% yellow, 30% red, 20% white. To mix 50g of the same colour next time: 25g yellow, 15g red, 10g white.

A few things worth knowing

Screen printing ink behaves differently on different paper stocks. A colour mixed for an uncoated paper will look noticeably different on a coated or gloss surface, so if you’re switching substrates, re-test even if you’re using the same formula.

Keep a dedicated swatch book of your mixed colours — a small printed sample taped next to the formula. Over time this becomes one of the most useful things in the studio, especially when clients come back for reprints months later.

Water-based inks (which we use at Print Club London) dry to a slightly different colour than they appear wet in the pot. Solvent-based inks behave differently again. Always judge colour from a dry or fully cured test print, not a wet one.

Want to go deeper?

This guide is drawn from our screen printing book, which covers everything from setting up a studio to advanced colour work, fabric printing and beyond. If you want a comprehensive reference to keep in the studio, it’s available to order — details below.

Screenprinting: The Ultimate Studio Guide From Sketchbook To Squeegee