Just got my counterfeit cubans!

[Deano]

He's good

[tippexx]

He's very good.

I agree that tobacco leaves being a natural, vegetable product will vary to some degree within the parameter of their particular genus.

Print for labels on the other hand shouldn't. There is no excuse. For corporate consistancy and identity the colours used will 'special' solid spot colours with inks manufactured to precise formulas. The machine-minder printing the labels will have a colour target and will ensure the ink runs to it by slightly adjusting the appropriate print roller and preventing the colour from appearing too dark (heavy) or too transparent (light) at 'make-ready' stage and then stage check throughout the run. Anything which deviates is binned, and believe me print shops are full of gashed paper. In printing, at very worse the Partagas red might vary slightly in shade, what it cannot do is vary in hue i.e become more blue or yellow.

[tupacboy]

He's very good.

I agree that tobacco leaves being a natural, vegetable product will vary to some degree within the parameter of their particular genus.

Print for labels on the other hand shouldn't. There is no excuse. For corporate consistancy and identity the colours used will 'special' solid spot colours with inks manufactured to precise formulas. The machine-minder printing the labels will have a colour target and will ensure the ink runs to it by slightly adjusting the appropriate print roller and preventing the colour from appearing too dark (heavy) or too transparent (light) at 'make-ready' stage and then stage check throughout the run. Anything which deviates is binned, and believe me print shops are full of gashed paper. In printing, at very worse the Partagas red might vary slightly in shade, what it cannot do is vary in hue i.e become more blue or yellow.

Actually it really depends if they are printing using PMS vs CYMK... If it is CYMK then hue variation is expected. Ink absorption varies per climate(temperature and humidity) and ink varies on every sheet of paper, slight differences in ink absorption and thickness per sheet (microns).

And if they go the PMS (more likely) you should keep in mind that they are in Cuba, where even shampoo is a luxury. With that in mind, can you imagine how hard it is to get consistent PMS ink?

Even here in Obamaland we still get problems with PMS ink sometimes.

Printing is still an art... not science

[tippexx]

CMYK is generally used for process lithographic or web work. Yes, you can make colour by layering but you can only make a small range of solid looking colours. Percentages of Magenta on Yellow will make reds, but not the Partagas red which is a 100% colour,(no dot screen to be seen).
PMS is a universal system and the pigment mixing is very precise. PANT 032 red, or any PANTONE colour is same anywhere in the world. All PANTONE colours are solids and have gloss and matt versions. (I chucked my PANTONE books several years ago, so can't tell if that red is indeed one.) And, you would think that with thousands of colours to choose from Corporate's would be more than happy to designate one. Wrong, especially in industries prone to 'fakes' Pharmceutical, Perfumery, and Tobacco being examples. They use special mix colours that are difficult to copy. Most ink manufactures will produce special mix colours. And, ink isn't as difficult or as expensive to come by as you think, it's a highly competitive business.
Substrate (paper, board etc.) will effect colour, but only marginally, and not at all if the ink and paper are correctly matched.
Cohiba and Partagas might hail from Cuba, but they are not Third World corporates. If for example Cohiba can have Siglo's made in Germany there's no reason why Partagas can't have band-labels and packaging printed there.
The bands on my D2 TUBOS are in my opinion excellently printed. My guess is they were printed reel-fed using two special gloss UVs. Cuba has NO UV ink manufactures (I checked), so either the ink is imported or the labels out-sourced. In either senario there would be a standard and no good reason for it not to be maintained.