VIBE OPTIMIZER — COLOR SPECIFICATIONS FOR PRINT
===============================================

Hex is in USAGE.txt. This file is for print vendors and prepress, and it
answers the question we get asked most: what are the CMYK values?

Updated 2026-08-04.


THE NUMBERS
-----------
These are derived, not estimated. Each one is an ICC transform from sRGB to
GRACoL2013_CRPC6 — the US sheetfed offset reference condition, coated stock,
grade 5 paper — at relative colorimetric intent with black point compensation.

                 HEX        RGB              C    M    Y    K     INK
  Amber        #E89528    232, 149,  40      1   45   88    6    140%
  Cobalt       #0050A2      0,  80, 162     99   71    0    0    171%
  Charcoal     #282828     40,  40,  40     75   66   62   72    275%
  Navy         #111D4A     17,  29,  74     99   81    0   63    243%
  Forest       #25443F     37,  68,  63     78   41   56   60    235%
  Sienna       #9B4313    155,  67,  19      2   74   94   40    210%
  Sandstone    #DFD3C2    223, 211, 194     13   15   22    0     51%

All seven sit under GRACoL's 300% total-ink limit as specified. Nothing here
needs a UCR or GCR pass just to be printable.


TWO NOTES THAT WILL SAVE A REPRINT
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1. CHARCOAL — please don't run the raw four-ink build.

The straight conversion above (75/66/62/72) is printable, but 275% ink is
heavy for a color we use on large fills and backgrounds. More ink, more dot
gain, more registration risk, and nothing to show for it.

  Use C10 M10 Y0 K95 instead — 115% ink.

It lands within a CIEDE2000 difference of 0.32 of the brand target, which is
below what the eye can see, at less than half the ink.

Worth knowing: the usual "rich black" recipes overshoot on this particular
mid-charcoal. 40/30/30/100 comes out at dE 7.4 and 60/40/40/100 at dE 9.0 —
both noticeably darker and cooler than intended. Straight K100 is closer
(dE 4.1) but still reads warm.

This recipe came from a numeric search against the GRACoL profile, not from a
published standard. Please confirm it against your house profile rather than
treating it as an industry default.

2. NAVY IS THE COLOR THAT MOST NEEDS A PROOF — not Cobalt.

Round-trip difference puts Navy #111D4A at dE 1.89, the largest shift of the
seven. Cobalt is 0.56. Navy combines high saturation with near-black
lightness, and that combination — not saturation on its own — is the hard case
for a CMYK gamut. Navy also carries the heavier ink load of the two blues
(243% against Cobalt's 171%), which says the same thing another way.

If you have older guidance from us naming Cobalt as the one that shifts most,
this file replaces it. That was inferred from hue before we had a real press
profile to measure against.


WORKING RULES
-------------
RENDERING INTENT   Relative colorimetric is our default, and it's what the
                   table above assumes. These colors are almost entirely
                   in-gamut, so colorimetric holds them exactly and only clips
                   what it has to. If you'd rather run perceptual, tell us and
                   we'll work through it with you.

PROOFS             A physical color proof is required on any run. These
                   numbers are the right place to start. They are not a
                   substitute for seeing ink on the actual stock.

YOUR PRESS         If you're quoting a specific press and substrate, send us
                   your house ICC profile and we'll rerun these against it.
                   Same transform, different destination. It takes minutes.

PANTONE / SPOT     Not published yet. Naming spot colors honestly needs a
                   physical bridge guide under standard viewing light, and we
                   would rather give you nothing than a guess off a monitor.
                   Ask and we'll get it specified properly.


LOGO FILES FOR PRINT
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Use the outlined vector for all print work:

  SVG/vo-logo-horizontal-color.svg          light grounds
  SVG/vo-logo-horizontal-white-color.svg    dark grounds

No font dependency, no live text, scales to any size.

Where vector isn't an option:

  PNG/vo-print-horizontal-3000x764.png      3000 x 764, transparent
                                            10in wide at 300dpi

Please don't use the social or email PNGs for print — they top out around
9 inches at 300dpi.


ONE THING TO CHECK
------------------
If you're holding Vibe Optimizer artwork you received before August 3, 2026,
please discard it and pull fresh files from the press kit. Files circulating
before that date carry a retired tagline lockup ("TRUST THE MOMENTUM") and an
off-brand blue — #0e52a1 instead of #0050A2.


vibeoptimizer.com/press-kit
