- Pantone
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This article is about the corporation and its color space. For other uses, see Pantone (disambiguation).
Pantone Inc. is a corporation headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey, USA.[1] The company is best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries, primarily printing, though sometimes in the manufacture of colored paint, fabric, and plastics.
In October 2007, X-Rite Inc, a supplier of color measurement instruments and software, purchased Pantone Inc for $180 million.[2]
Contents
Overview
Pantone began as a commercial printing company in the 1950s. In 1956, they hired recent Hofstra University graduate Lawrence Herbert as a part-time employee. Herbert used his chemistry knowledge to systematize and simplify the company's stock of pigments and production of colored inks; by 1962, Herbert was running the ink and printing division at a profit, while the commercial-display division was $50,000 in debt; he subsequently purchased the company's technological assets from his employers and renamed them "Pantone".[3]
The company's primary products include the Pantone Guides, which consist of a large number of small (approximately 6×2 inches or 15×5 cm) thin cardboard sheets, printed on one side with a series of related color swatches and then bound into a small "fan deck". For instance, a particular "page" might contain a number of yellows of varying tints.
The idea behind the PMS is to allow designers to 'color match' specific colors when a design enters production stage—regardless of the equipment used to produce the color. This system has been widely adopted by graphic designers and reproduction and printing houses for a number of years now. Pantone recommends that PMS Color Guides be purchased annually as their inks become more yellow over time.[4] Color variance also occurs within editions based on the paper stock used (coated, matte or uncoated), while interedition color variance occurs when there are changes to the specific paper stock used.[5]
Original Pantone Color Matching System
A Solid Matte Formula Guide from Pantone, 2005 edition.
The Pantone Color Matching System is largely a standardized color reproduction system. By standardizing the colors, different manufacturers in different locations can all refer to the Pantone system to make sure colors match without direct contact with one another.
One such use is standardizing colors in the CMYK process. The CMYK process is a method of printing color by using four inks—cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. A majority of the world's printed material is produced using the CMYK process, and there is a special subset of Pantone colors that can be reproduced using CMYK[citation needed]. Those that are possible to simulate through the CMYK process are labeled as such within the company's guides.
However, most of the Pantone system's 1,114 spot colors cannot be simulated with CMYK but with 13 base pigments (15 including white and black) mixed in specified amounts.[6]
The Pantone system also allows for many 'special' colors to be produced such as metallics and fluorescents. While most of the Pantone system colors are beyond the printed CMYK gamut, it was only in 2001 that Pantone began providing translations of their existing system with screen-based colors. (Screen-based colors use the RGB—red, green, blue—system to create various colors.)[7] The Goe system has RGB and LAB values with each color.[8]
Pantone colors are described by their allocated number (typically referred to as, for example, 'PMS 130'). PMS colors are almost always used in branding and have even found their way into government legislation (to describe the colors of flags). In January 2003, the Scottish Parliament debated a petition (reference PE512) to refer to the blue in the Scottish flag (saltire) as 'Pantone 300'. Countries such as Canada and South Korea and organizations such as the FIA have also chosen to refer to specific Pantone colors to use when producing flags. U.S. states including Texas have set legislated PMS colors of their flags.[9]
Pantone Goe System
On September 5, 2007 Pantone introduced the Goe System.[10] Goe consists of over 2,000 new colors in a brand new matching and numbering system. In addition to the standard swatch books (now called the GoeGuide), the new system also includes adhesive-backed GoeSticks, interactive software, tools, and an online community where users are able to share color swatches and information.
The Goe system is streamlined to use fewer base colors (10 + Clear coating for reflections) and accommodates many technical challenges in reproducing colors on a press.[6]
Other products
In mid-2006 Pantone, partnering with Vermont-based Fine Paints of Europe, introduced a new line of interior and exterior paints. The color palette uses Pantone's color research and trending and has more than 3000 colors.
Color of the Year
Annually Pantone will declare a particular color "Color of the Year". The color is chosen to purportedly connect with the zeitgeist; for example the press release declaring Honeysuckle the color of 2011 said "In times of stress, we need something to lift our spirits. Honeysuckle is a captivating, stimulating color that gets the adrenaline going – perfect to ward off the blues."[11]
2000
Cerulean
Pantone 15-40202001
Fuchsia Rose
Pantone 17-20312002
True Red
Pantone 19-16642003
Aqua Sky
Pantone 14-48112004
Tigerlily
Pantone 17-14562005
Blue Turquoise
Pantone 15-52172006
Sand Dollar
Pantone 13-11062007
Chili Pepper
Pantone 19-15572008
Blue Iris
Pantone 18-39432009
Mimosa
Pantone 14-08482010
Turquoise
Pantone 15-55192011
Honeysuckle
Pantone 18-2120Intellectual property
Pantone asserts that their lists of color numbers and pigment values are the intellectual property of Pantone and free use of the list is not allowed.[12] This is frequently held as a reason why Pantone colors cannot be supported in Open Source software such as GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) and are not often found in low-cost software.[13] Pantone palettes supplied by printer manufacturers can be obtained freely, and, depending on supplier, do not come with usage restrictions beyond a sales ban on hard copies of the palette.
Pantone also produces Hexachrome, a patented six-color printing system.[14][15]
See also
- Color chart, other color systems and charts
- Database right (copyright protection of databases in the EU)
- Natural Color System (NCS), Munsell color system, and other proprietary color spaces where most consumers use swatches to make color decisions; unlike Pantone, these systems are based on underlying color models rather than pigment mixtures.
- Process color
- RAL (color space system)
- Spot color
References
- ^ Horyn, Cathy. "Pantone's Color of the Year Is... ", The New York Times, December 20, 2007. Accessed September 8, 2008. "Nonetheless, Pantone’s choice of blue iris, or No. 18-3943, got some news media attention last week, which seemed to be partly the objective of the company, which is based in Carlstadt, N.J."
- ^ Pantone US$180m Acquisition Completion For X-Rite: News from X-Rite
- ^ Pantone Inc. - Company History
- ^ Senior Staff (interview) October 27, 2006. Ink Systems, Inc
- ^ "Pantone Press Release, 6 May 2004". Archived from the original on 2006-01-03. http://web.archive.org/web/20060103153832/http://www.pantone.com/aboutus/aboutus.asp?idArticle=588&idPressRelease=190. Retrieved 2007-02-23. "Colors in the new formula guide and chips books have changed due to a shift to coated paper that is brighter and whiter"
- ^ a b Pantone 2.0: After 45 Years, the Sequel to PMS
- ^ Pantone announces RGB conversions for Pantone system Press Release Providing Designers with Simple and Accurate Methods for Recreating Pantone Matching System Colors in Web Designs
- ^ Pantone Goe and RGB Values and CMYK Conversions
- ^ CHAPTER 3100. STATE FLAG (b) The red and blue of the state flag are (1) the same colors used in the United States flag; and (2) defined as numbers 193 (red) and 281 (dark blue) of the Pantone Matching System.
- ^ Pantone Unveils Goe System Press Release Over 2,000 New Pantone Colors to Inspire, Explore and Express the Color of Ideas, Press Release, September 5, 2007
- ^ "Pantone Reveals Color of the Year for 2011: PANTONE 18-2120 Honeysuckle". http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/pantone.aspx?pg=20824&ca=10.
- ^ Pantone Terms of Use Clause 4 includes "published materials of Pantone, are protected by copyright laws and include, for example, graphic presentations, color references, Pantone Colors, Pantone Names, numbers, formulas, and software" Retrieved 30 July 2009
- ^ Linux.com :: Pantone and free software
- ^ United States Patent: 5734800
- ^ Pantone.com
External links
- Official website
- Informal discussion of intellectual property rights, including Pantone (search article)
- Spot colors Pantone spot color vs. CMYK
- Pantone Formula Guide
Color space List of color spaces · Color models CIE RGB color spaces · sRGB · Adobe · Wide Gamut · ProPhoto · scRGB
YUV Other See color vision for the vision capacities of organisms or machines. Categories:- Color space
- Graphic design
- Printing
- Companies based in Bergen County, New Jersey
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