Once we’ve determined the print process we will be using, we will ask you some questions to get the feeling for the tone of your project and if you have specific colors you do or do not want to use. We will determine the color palette based on this information and what we think works best with the design. During proofing, we will show you the color palette and one of the steps in the design process is to select the palette or to change colors if necessary.
Colors are very subjective and people have different ways of seeing and describing them. Some online resources to help us speak the same language are:
http://colorschemedesigner.com/
And we can also show you Pantone swatch books and other color books in person, to help determine the color scheme.
A note: The colors we see on our computer screens will never be exactly the same as the colors we see on paper. This is because the colors on screens are produced by light, while the colors on printed materials are produced by inks. The only way to be absolutely sure of how a color will print is to use a Pantone ink. There will always be some variance in ink tonality when using offset and digital printing.