Like you, I also had to learn about Pantone and a lot of colour theory AFTER I finished my design courses. It is rather crazy.

I did terribly in high school, never went to college or art school. At age 21 I started working on major TV commercials, on the film crew. It was then that I learned about Pantone colors from art directors of major advertising agencies. Before I had even seen the swatch color & color guides, I had seen many of the rolls of seamless Pantone paper. We would often use it in the background for table top close-up shots of products. These were specified either by the client to complement the existing colors of their logo and package design, or they were chosen as background colors that would be easy to calculate later on in the editing process. Although we were shooting The TV commercials on 35 mm film cameras, the editing was being done in early video transfer process, so the colors needed to be very true to the original, so they were many specifics written in the camera notes for the editors to refer to if there was any question about color, tone, color correction, or other adjustments. It was pretty cool because we would look at the Pantone colors on the set and then a week later the editors and the ad agency people would also be referring to the same Pantone colors in the editing process. Of course none of this made much sense when you realized that when the consumer sees the commercial on television, their own TV was dialed in for its own color tones and different hues and shades of specific colors. That’s OK, we did our work and we fulfilled the agency and the clients specifics on maintaining correct color and correct quality of the image. So, that was my introduction to Pantone. I hope others will comment about what their introduction was. It’s fascinating, I wish I had learned about it many years prior.

@@HunterMann Bad high school and no art school but you still got into TV ad making at 21. I guess LaLa land has its own selection criteria....

Because art schools nowadays focus on "do what you feel like doing" instead of actual art education.

because university is a scam

artists from the sub continent. rock

Its because of how printers layer CYMK to create color, which darkens with every pass

@@edwinvargas7969 that's not cmyk specific but rather light emiting (display) vs. light absorbing (print)

Thank you for subscribing Andres :)

Thank you Kalia, and I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment.

Love the info after years of running a Harris 10 unit I hated when customers wanted a special Pantone color

Hi Paul, yes, that is correct. It can get to be quite expensive if you need to print something that requires CMYK plus multiple spot colours.

@@RockYourBrand could you tell me what to look for, for plate, or point me in the right direction because I’m not sure what to search for .

I need to be more specific in future :)

That is exactly how I work EPHS. Unless the orange is only ever going to be used digitally on screen, or a single use Pantone spot for a print job, then I prefer to work from a CMYK first approach.

You are most welcome Amna :)

Awesome, thanks for subbing Matthew :)

Thank you :)

Thank you :)

If you are designing something that will be printed, you should be designing in the CMYK colour space. If you start designing in the RGB colour space you will get a big colour shift when converting to CMYK, especially on bright colours. If you are only creating the poster for digital presentation, then RGB is fine, and I would stick with the sTGB colour space as that is the most supported RGB format.

Pixels Ink thank you. Which colour guide would you suggest for logo designing and printing poster designs

If you are only working in CMYK then I wouldn’t worry too much about getting a colour guide. It’s really only more of an issue if you are wanting to get good close matches between CMYK and Pantone solid colours. There are Pantone CMYK books, but you could probably just get a cheaper CMYK swatch book from Amazon that will give you a good idea of how a CMYK colour looks in print. Do a search on Amazon for: CMYK swatch book You will get a lot of results to choose from. Colour Index XL or Ultimate 3-in-1 Color Tool should be sufficient.

Pixels Ink thanks man

Pantone printing uses Pantone Spot inks which are only available for press printing, so no, you can't print Pantone colours using a laser or inkjet printer. You can get close to Pantone Spot colours using an expanded gamut print process, like CMYK+OGV (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black, Orange, Green & Violet). There are now more commercial print companies offering this type of printing. Pantone have Extended Gamut colour guides. Here is some info on that expanded gamut process: www.xrite.com/blog/5-tools-to-print-extended-gamut

CMYK is a 4 colour print process and Pantone Solid is a spot colour printing process. In order to see how a Pantone spot colour accurately,, you will need to buy a Pantone Solid or Pantone Bridge book. You can choose Pantone solids from Photoshop or Illustrator but your screen, unless accurately calibrated will not show you its true colur value.

Hi Asad, if you can find a close Pantone match from the Hex colours then you should be okay. Ideally though, the hex colours should have been specified from a Pantone Solid and not the other way around. So if it is doable, then yes, I'd choose a Pantone solid and then use the hex codes that closely match the Pantone.

Hey there. The information you have been given isn't correct. All printers can print in CMYK, but they don't only print in CMYK. A lot of printers, not all though, can also provide Pantone printing. With CMYK printing on Lithographic presses, the printer uses 4 printing plates, one for each of the 4 colours (Cyan / Magenta / Yellow & Black). If you wanted to have a full-colour photograph printed, then it would be printed using this 4 colour, CMYK process. If you wanted to have a photograph printed and have your logo also printed next to it, or over it at the same time using a Pantone colour, then the printer will need to introduce a fifth plate to use for the Pantone ink for your logo. (CMYK+P). Does that help?

@@RockYourBrand Most inkjet printers expect RGB data. Inkjet printers with CYMK ink cartridges can't produce color outside of the CMYK color space. You'd need an inkjet printer that uses additional ink cartridges. You can't print anywhere near a Pantone color without using CMYKOGV ink cartridges. This means that the printer would make use of 7 ink cartridges instead of the usual 4 ink cartridges; Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black, Orange, Green, and Violet. There are inkjet printers on the market that have this 7 ink cartridge system, but they are neither affordable nor small. These inkjet printers are able to reproduce the Pantone colors with over 90% accuracy. Traditional printers aren't used to produce Pantone colors with 100% accuracy. Usually they mix the colors themselves to get the correct Pantone color with accuracy and use them on a printing press. I don't know the accuracy of printing a Pantone color on an inkjet printer that doesn't use the following additional colors: Orange, Green, and Violet.

@@mactastic144, thanks for the very detailed answer. Really useful 🤘

That is correct. You will only need to use Pantone colours if there is a colour that you want to achieve in print that cannot be produced in the CMYK colour model.

Thanks for the quick response! Regards, Simon

You will not be able to produce Pantone colours on a home inkjet or laser printer. You will need to use a commercial printing service if you want to print using Pantone colours.

Hey Mohammed, Yes, that is correct on all counts there if you have artwork that is CMYK plus Pantone colour(s). The CMYK element of your artwork will be printed first, then the artwork will be sent through the print machine again and the Pantone colour will be printed. Yes, Pantone colours come premixed as an actual ink colour.

@@RockYourBrand Thank you a lot you are the man

Hi Lucy, If that system works for you then great :) However, in saying that, the purpose of Pantone is to ensure colour consistency, so really you should be specifying the Pantone that matches the CMYK/RGB colour. I personally wouldn’t leave the decision to the client as it is too important. You really need to choose the final Pantone colours under natural lighting from a Pantone book. Never ask someone to choose a Pantone colour on screen. The variables are too large due to personal colour, brightness, and contrast choices as well as installed colour calibrations.

Thanks!!

Coated means the ink is printed onto a coated paper stock so the ink sits more on the surface and is more vibrant. For example a glossy paper stock. With uncoated the ink is printed onto uncoated paper stock and do the ink soaks into the paper and so the ink looks more muted and flat. An example would be printing letterheads which are usually on uncoated paper stocks. Many people choose the solid coated option as it looks better on screen and most of the time coated stocks may be used for printing branding materials.

@@RockYourBrand while designing should we opt coated or uncoated?

@@RockYourBrand I'm using affinity designer, there isn't PANTONE + Solid, instead it has PANTONE + Color Bridge and PANTONE + Formula Guide Solid. Which one should I opt?

I would choose the option that is best suited for the end result. I only ever use Pantone colours if I know I will be printing using Pantone inks, which is not very often. I always start designing in CMYK and then if I need to use a Pantone colour later I will match it to the CMYK.

Thank you Zainab :)

If a client already has set Pantone colours, then yes, you can use the pantone website to get RGB references. When it comes to CMYK references, you need to be very careful, because some Pantones, especially vibrant Pantones do not replicate well in CMYK, and so you really need to see that in print so you can decide if it is a good enough match, or if you will need to create a better CMYK mix. If you are creating a brand palette from scratch, then yes, I would recommend you get printed books so that you can see the actual physical printed results. You could look at a Pantone red, for example, on the same computer that has two different branded monitors (e.g LG and a Dell) and the colour could look different due to how each monitor handles colour. How do you know which one is going to be the closest to a print using that Pantone red? You can't. When it comes to RGB, it doesn't really matter because you can specify RGB numbers, but it will always look different to each person because we are all using different devices in different lighting conditions using different hardware. When it comes to print colours though, you really want to have a good reference point for accurate colour reproduction and Pantone books will do that. Pantone books seem expensive until you have a mistake with colour in a print run and you have to pay compensation or for the reprint. If you can only afford to buy one Pantone reference guide, I'd recommend the Pantone Bridge Coated book. I hope that helps. - Col

Pixels Ink Thanks for the quick response :) yes this helped a lot, thank you

Hi John, I always start with CMYK coated.

@@RockYourBrand thank you, bought my pantone color bridge because of you. I'm more confident with my colors now.

Hey there. If you will be working with Spot colours, then you can buy their starter book, which has all of the Pantone Solid Spot colours on glossy paper: store.pantone.com/uk/en/starter-guide-solid-coated-uncoated.html I usually recommend though that you also get the book that uses uncoated stocks as well because the colours can look quite different compared to when printed on coated paper. Here is a link to a coated and uncoated set: store.pantone.com/uk/en/formula-guide.html If you will be working mostly with full-colour CMYK printing, then this is a good set to have: store.pantone.com/uk/en/cmyk-set.html If you want to see how a Pantone Solid Spot colour will look if printed as a CMYK colour, then you will need to buy one of their Colour Bridge books: Coated: store.pantone.com/uk/en/color-bridge-coated.html Uncoated: store.pantone.com/uk/en/color-bridge-uncoated.html Set: store.pantone.com/uk/en/color-bridge-set.html None of these books is cheap, however, they are invaluable when it comes to maintaining colour accuracy in print. I hope this helps. Col.

Yes, if you want to get the same, accurate printed colour every single time you would use Pantone inks.

Yes, Pantone makes a lot of sense. There had to be an industry standard in order to have continuity and maintain the exact color tones especially with logos and signs with the logos and other product or service information. Interesting to search brand logos, for example McDonalds. They are very specific about what red and yellow they use. That is why a McDonald’s logo in Tokyo will have the exact same colors as a McDonald’s in Seattle Washington, or a McDonalds in Mexico City.

Digitally, Pantone is displayed using RGB. Printed colour and on-screen digital colour is VERY difficult to get an exact match. You have lots of variables when it comes to printed colours - Paper colour, paper finishes (gloss, matt, uncoated), lighting etc.

Hi Deon, Only Pantone make the Pantone swatch books. if you see one on sale that is not made by Pantone, do not purchase it. For me, the best value book to get is the Pantone Bridge book. These books have all of the Pantone solid colours and alongside each one, it has the CMYK equivalent. You can get this book in Coated and Uncoated versions. I'd suggest that coated is probably the one to go for if you can only afford one book.

@@RockYourBrand Thanks so much, you are a life saver!

You should buy yourself a set of Pantone Bridge books. These are the books that I use. They contain both Pantone Solid colours and their CMYK equivalent side by side.

@@RockYourBrand Thank you so much ❣️ I mean my teacher Do the inks come ready in cans or are they mixed with some for the regulars I need an explanation, please

Hi Veena, If you have Adobe Illustrator, there is a way that you can find the closest Pantone colour match to a CMYK or RGB colour. This video shows you how: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eLBioZx_0cqvnZ8.html I don't really know of any other way to identify the colour number. Stay Creative! Col

Hey Hilder, I'm glad you found the video useful 😃 I use Adobe Premier.

Plenty of logo based videos coming in the future RD :)

Hows my channel logo and how can i improve it more any suggestion please and what are the mistakes? In my logo.

Hi Miranda, yes, the Pantone Solid Colour guides give you RGB codes. If you already know the Pantone colour, you can use the Pantone website to get the RGB/Hex codes. Here is a link to the page: www.pantone.com/color-finder Find the Pantone colour on that page and click on it. It will open a new page giving you the RGB and Hex codes. I hope that helps. Cheers, Col

Pixels Ink yes that helps tremendously. Thank you very much.

Hey there Quiponi. I wouldn't recommend mixing between Pantone Solid and Pantone Pastel. The best thing to do is to speak to the print company that will be doing the printing. They will be able to give you the correct instruction :)

You are most welcome Hasny.

I'm afraid I don't know anything about the NCS system and so I can't really give you an answer.

When you buy a Pantone colour book, you can download Pantone Colour Manager for free by using the registration code inside your Pantone colour book. With Pantone Colour Manager you can export Pantone swatches to your Adobe Software. I have a video that shows you how to do that: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/iqiYi5Z3rajSmJ8.html As I use Pantone colour manager, I have never had to use the Pantone Connect extension.

Pixels Ink thanks dude

Hi Veenood, you can't print spot colours using the CMYK process. In order to print as close as spot colour as possible, without actually using Pantone inks, you would need to find a printer that can do 6 or 8 colour process printing. Here is a link with some information on that: www.lifewire.com/4-6-8-color-process-printing-1077448

If it is for printing, then using cyan, magenta & yellow will give you a full range of colours.

Hi David, as far as I am aware, Pantone-14 is a range from the Pantone TCX (textile) range. Here is a link to a page that shows the 14 range from that collection. www.hyatts.com/pantone/smart-textile-swatches-14-xxxx-2.3304

You will struggle to get a good match on Pantone Solid Spot colours using just CMYK. There is a way to be able to replicate almost 90% of the Pantone Solid colours using the process printing system. To do that you use standard CMYK but also add in extra colour plates, which is OGV (Orange, Green, Violet). You would need to check with your printer whether or not they have the ability for that process. This PDF from Pantone gives a very detailed overview: www.pantone.com/downloads/support/FAQ/Pantone-FAQ-Extended-Gamut-Coated-Guide-20150910.pdf?ver=2

Not all printers will use Pantone Inks. For example, printers who specialise in digital printing will not be able to offer Pantone colours. Most lithographic printers will be able to offer Pantone as an option.

thank you sir for ur fast reply.... ur videos helps much to me thank you

You are most welcome :)

Hi, digital print processes can't print Pantone Spot (solid colours). Some large format digital printers that use the CMYK+OGV colour process (also known as extended gamut) can get near to Pantone spot colours, but they won't be an exact match. You must use Lithographic print processes to get accurate Pantone spot colour printing. If you use Pantone spot colours with Lithographic printing on the same type of paper, you will get the same accurate colour each time.

@@RockYourBrand Thanks a lot for your answer!

There was a lot that i didn't learn at college and university that I only discovered when i started working as a designer.

It is because Pantone and Adobe don’t play well together. There isn’t a solution to that problem I’m afraid. I tend to stick to the numbers in my Pantone books.

@@RockYourBrand Thanks a lot for your quick reply! I am a photographer and don't know much about graphic design and printing, but I am helping out a friend with her logo. She did the logo in canva and I vectorized it for her. She gave me the hex codes of her color schemes. I told her that i need to have a look at it, if we can continue using the same color and now i am just even more confused on how to find the right values that work for rgb, cmyk and pantone. What would you recommend to be a good workflow. 1.) Find a Pantone color that matches the most and use the rgb/cmyk values on the website. Or 2.) choose the color that she selected on her own, and in case they need a print with a pantone color, we have a "matching" one, but there will be deviations to the original color. Because the problem is that she doesnt like the matching pantone color that much.

Hi, Unfortunately if you want to create printed products it can be difficult to get the vibrancy of RGB in print. The standard print colour format is CMYK and it simply can't reproduce the vibrancy of the RGB colour system. You would have to use Pantone spot colours if you wanted vibrant colours in print, but this can be an expensive process. The RAL colour system is used more for interior design/architecture as it relates to plastics, vinyl and paints.

In traditional Lithographic printing processes, Pantone colours are printed using their own printing plate. So for example, most printing is done using the CMYK colour format and you have 4 printing plates. One for Cyan, one for Magenta, one for Yellow and one for Black. When you want to add a Pantone colour to your prints, you need to add an extra printing plate for each Pantone you want. So you would have your basic 4 plates for CMYK plus any additional plates for your Pantone spot colours. This is why printing using Pantone colours is usually more expensive than standard CMYK printing. But if you want vibrant or metallic colours, then you need to implement Pantone colours. Today, many digital printers are able to closely replicate Pantone colours. As they don't use the same plate printing process as Lithographic printing, it can be much cheaper. Digital printers work to achieve more vibrant colours by adding Orange, Green & Violet to the stadard CMYK. So when looking at print suppliers, you can ask if they also do CMYK+OGV, and if they can, then you would be able to get much more vibrant colours in your prints without having to use Pantone inks. You would still need to use Pantone or foil if you wanted metallic finishes though.

Yes, I'm sorry about that.

@@RockYourBrand when the brand apologizes . It is time to subscribe to the brand and become its life time customer. Well done sire

Thank you, Abdulla. When I recorded a few videos around that time I was using a new camera and editing software and I hadn't realised that the volume was so low when I uploaded the videos to KZfaq. Thank you for your understanding and thank you for subscribing. It means a lot to me 😃

Hi Godfrey, Your mobile app would need to support Pantone colours in its colour library in order for you to apply them to your artwork layers.

@@RockYourBrand How'd I know if my smartphone is capable of supporting pantone colours in its colour library?

@@Met9171 I'm not sure as I don't use mobile apps for editing. I would suggest contacting the developer of the app and ask if they support Pantone colours :)

hey Jan-Paul, TPG and TCX are Pantone standards usually used in the fashion and home interiors industry and show how Pantone colours will look when printed on fabric. For more in-depth information, check out this web page: www.designinfo.in/Buy-India/pantone-tpg-vs-pantone-tcx-6-differences-explained-in-detail-107

You can only simulate Pantone colour on some desktop and office printers. To print true Pantone colours you have to use commercial printing presses. Xerox has a range of printers that simulate A close approximation to Pantone spot colours.. www.xerox.co.uk/en-gb/office/printers/phaser-6500/specifications

You could try using the Pantone Connect app :)

Hey Qamar, It can get really confusing. If the client wants to their artwork to be printed as a Pantone (e.g Pantone 123) then that is what is known as a spot colour. If they gave you a Pantone number, then that number will be in the Pantone PMS books. PMS stands for Pantone Matching System. If the client wants to have the Pantone colour printed, then it needs to be printed as a spot colour, which is different from the CMYK printing system. If there are other images or graphics that need to be printed alongside the Pantone spot colour, then the artwork would need to be CMYK + the spot colour (5 colour printing). As soon as you start adding a spot colour to CMYK printing the price starts to rise quickly. An option is to choose a CMYK colour that is a close match to the Pantone spot colour. The problem there is that that CMYK colour system is quite limited and it can't achieve the vibrancy or brightness of a lot of Pantone spot colours. With regards to the RGB to CMYK, your designer is correct. The colours will look muted and dull when printed. RGB has a much wider colour range (gamut) than CMYK and so you can have much brighter colours in RGB. When you conver from RGB to CMYK you are narrowing that colour range and as a result you lose the ability to have really bright colours. If you want bright colours in print then you need to use Pantone spot colours or get into expensive 5, 6, 7 or even 8 colour plate printing. I hope I haven't confused you even further!

Hi, You can use the Pantone website to find RGB and CMYK formulas for Pantone colours. I had a quick look and it doesn't look like Pantone 5375U exists. I did find Pantone 537U though: www.pantone.com/color-finder/537-U

The Pantone numbers refer to specific Pantone colours.

Pixels Ink I mean the number it self.

If you want consistent accurate colour on every single print run you do, then Pantone colours will give you that accuracy and consistency. Other print processes, other than RAL (which is intended for industrial uses) won't give you precise colour control in your prints.