Color, Strokes, and Fills > Using the Swatches panel > Adding colors from color libraries

 

Adding colors from color libraries

FreeHand includes predefined spot- and process-color libraries that are part of commercially available color-matching systems. Color-matching systems provide printed and onscreen color swatches for designers and contain instructions for print professionals so that they can print the colors you specify. Consult with your commercial printer to learn which color libraries they support and recommend.

The following color libraries (all process, unless noted) are shipped with FreeHand:

Focoltone organizes colors by their common percentage of cyan, magenta, yellow, or black.

Munsell colors are organized by hue, value, and chroma.

PANTONE spot colors appear in chromatic order.

PANTONE process (four-color and Hexachrome) colors are in chromatic order, including process-color simulations of the spot-color library.

Toyo organizes colors first by hue and then by saturation.

Trumatch specifies process colors in small CMYK increments to avoid color gaps.

Web Safe is a library of 8-bit compatible color containing 216 colors named after their RGB and hexadecimal values.

Custom colors display the name of the custom color library with a library-specific color reference. PANTONE Hexachrome colors comprise two of the custom color libraries in FreeHand. In the Swatches panel, these colors appear with hexagon-shaped icons to the right of the color names.

To add colors from a color-matching system library or custom color library:

1

Display the Swatches panel, and click the triangle in the upper right corner of the panel to display the Options pop-up menu.

2

Do one of the following:

Choose a library from the Options pop-up menu.

PANTONE Hexachrome Coated color library
 

If a custom color library is stored outside of the Color folder in the FreeHand application folder, choose Import from the Options pop-up menu to locate and open the library.

3

In the Library dialog box, choose colors that you want to add to the Swatches panel. Shift-click to add multiple colors.

4

Click OK.