What is Pantone?

This is a common question I get from clients. Even my husband, who has lived with a graphic designer for years, gives me a blank look when I get excited about new PANTONE guides that come in the mail. He just doesn’t understand what I use them for.

Pantone is like the McDonald’s of design. No matter what city in the world you are visiting you know what you’ll taste when you bite into that Big Mac. For graphic designers Pantone is an invaluable tool to make sure your brand gets reproduced the same way no matter how or where it is printed.

History

The story of Pantone is “see a need, fill a need”. Lawrence Herbert was working at a printer owned by an advertising agency in New York City. He used chemistry to standardize the inks used on press. In 1963, Herbert founded Pantone. He created the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM (PMS) for identifying, matching, and communicating colors. His work standardized colors across print and textile design industries.

Standardization

Most printing is done using the four colors Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (CMYK). But before Pantone it was hard to have your logo or specific color used in your brand matched when printed at different locations. People see color differently so by standardizing formulas Pantone changed that. Now your specific color can be printed on any press. For something like letterhead you may only need one or two spot colors to print. But if you have color photographs or illustrations plus you need your brand colors to print you will need an offset press that has the ability to print 5+ colors, CMYK and however many Pantones you need for your brand.

Each Pantone color has a number associated with it that can be selected within Adobe software like InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop. Pantone also provides guides that help you visually see how each color will print on different types of paper.

• For designers – Helps you choose just the right color for your brand.
• For clients – Gives you piece of mind that your brand will be represented accurately no matter where your products are produced. Consistency is key.

Over the years Pantone has adapted to new technology. Now they provide multiple guides to help you find the right color whether you are printing spot colors, four color process, digital press, or need consistent colors for digital uses. Here is a cheat sheet to all the guides available:

Pantone Fan Decks

Similar to the paint strips you see at your local home improvement store, the fan decks have blocks of color with a designated number or name and a formula printed below each color. The guides are available in coated and uncoated paper stock. Pick a PMS color and view it between the different paper stocks and you’ll be surprised at how much the paper can change the color.

• Formula Guide – Pantone spot colors have a designated number or name and a formula printed below each color. Used for logos, branding, marketing materials, packaging, and any other time that spot color printing is required. (1,867 spot colors)
• Color Bridge – Pantone’s most versatile tool for graphic and digital designers. The Color Bridge provides a side-by-side visual comparison of Pantone spot colors with their closest CMYK process match. The guide also includes corresponding CMYK, Hex, and RGB values, perfect for digital designers. (1,845 spot colors with their process equivalents)
• CMYK Color Guide – Use when printing in four-color process. These colors are unique to the Pantone graphics system and cannot be matched to Pantone spot colors. (2,868 CMYK colors)
• Metallic, Pastels & Neons – These guides provide formulas for spot colors that cannot be reproduced with a CMYK process.

Pantone Solid Chips

Once your brand has designated Pantone colors, the Pantone chips are used as a reference when selecting or communicating colors. A complete set of all 1,867 spot colors comes in a binder with perforated edges around each chip. Typically only used by the designers themselves, but they may tear out chips to share with printers or clients.

Pantone Sticker Chips

An easy and inexpensive way to share your brand colors. Sticker Chips have up to five PMS colors and seven stickers per color. Attach Pantone Sticker Chips to your design files.

Pantone Simulator Prints

Provides you with a sheet of up to 5 PMS colors as they would appear on any of 28 common materials and printing processes. These are primarily used for package design and are available as stickers.