CMYK Mixing Ink and the Color Blind

Howdy,
So I am wondering if anyone else is color blind. I am red & green deficient and what this means is that I cannot really see hues/shades of colors. So a row of 12 shades of blue might only look like 5-8 different shades depending on whether or not red/green was used to change them.
This is a PITA to say the least so I am wondering if anyone else is color blind and what they have been doing to work around this problem.
I’m hoping for solutions other than buying pantone swatches.
Has anyone successfully converted digital CMYK values over to mixing inks by percentages?

I would be really grateful for any insight anyone has on this topic.

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There are Pantone books that show process color values and the closest PMS spot color. But the colors are not always that close, not as close as today’s demanding designer may expect.
Absolutely, get balanced light in your shop, that is full-spectrum fluorescent tubes, not the ordinary cool white or warm white. The viewing light is a critical part of your perception. Full-spectrum lights won’t add to your color perception, but other lights will detract from it.

Well yes and no. I can’t see them when mixed in at all. There are also shades of each that don’t even register for me regardless of the light.
I have a full spectrum light in my office and a cfl and depending on what I am doing depends on which I use but it never changes how I see the colors.
However, I do enjoy the full spectrum light more so your suggestion is certainly noted and I currently have bulbs that need to replaced anyway :)

I can only see the first number in the colour blind test book (and the last one) ! I have been a professional practising Artist for 24 years now. It just takes practice to get to know your colours/tones. I may see colours completely different to people who have “normal” colour vision but I now know how to mix colours and can see what works and what does not work ,instantly, when I am painting/printing. It’s no longer a handicap ! A Pantone colour, swatch book is a great start and a minor investment to get you started.

Redhand, Myself as well, my background is mainly in ceramics and sculpture. I have usually focused on things that didn’t require me to mix colors.
So far it seems the answer I already had is pretty well the best answer and that is the Pantone book. Shame the Pantone libraries in Photoshop don’t seem to have a logical way to translate to ink.

On the other hand, I just read 5 pages of reviews about the Pantone Formula Guide on their site and it doesn’t seem anyone is very happy with the new chromatic layout or the removal of cmyk colors!

At one time I had a book that had the colors in metric equivlents (sp) so it was in % of the base colors used not sure if that would be of help to you. But it is given in parts to make 1 lb. so 16 oz not hard to convert to %.

Colophon, You wouldn’t happen to recall what that book was named would you? It sounds very much like something I could use!

The current standard Pantone book has parts as well as grams, measuring up to a 100 gram mix (you just do the math base on what amount you are mixing.
I am not color blind, but always reference the pantone book regardless. Its a great and crucial reference for almost any printer.
Its not impossible to match colors by eye, but even if you are not using the exact recipe, it can be a great guide for giving direction and knowing which mixing colors to add in order to tweak a color.
I worked along side a printer for 5 years that had color blindness, and he found greens and yellows to be tricky, and gold was just mud to him.
he managed to to just fine, and had worked in printing for plenty of years, he just got to know what to look for, and he wasn’t too proud to get a second opinion from one of us, if he was on the fence about something.

But seriously, the Pantone books are a great thing to have around, and you can get a set for about $100, that will last you a while (just keep them in good shape, and don’t prolong the swatches to UV light).

My US Pantone books have two measures: 16ths units and 100ths units. From those, you can mix pounds or metrics of any quantity easily. It is by weight, not volume.
PMS mixing for letterpress is a problem because of the thinner layer of ink usually laid down, and the transparency of all PMS mixes. More transparent ink means a darker printed image; this was less of an issue with the opaque inks that were available in the past. Different printers have different ways to compensate, whether adding extra pan white, or opaque white, or a mix of both; or if your press is accurate enough, just running less ink.

Seems that this will have to be the way to go!
Unfortunately for me, it is just me in my studio and no one around to ask about colors!
Well, then again I will have to make sure my shop gnome (3.8yo and in charge, he is) is there when I mix and he can verify matches!

Thanks for the input and the verification of what I already knew!