WHAT IS PANTONE?
Pantone LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of X-Rite, Incorporated, is the world-renowned authority on colour and provider of colour systems and leading technology for the selection and accurate communication of colour across a variety of industries. The PANTONE® name is known worldwide as the standard language for colour communication from designer to manufacturer to retailer to customer.
CORPORATE OVERVIEW
Pantone LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of X-Rite, Incorporated, is the world-renowned authority on colour. For over 50 years, Pantone has been inspiring design professionals with products, services and leading technology for the colourful exploration and expression of creativity.
In 1963, Lawrence Herbert, Pantone’s founder, created an innovative system for identifying, matching and communicating colours to solve the problems associated with producing accurate colour matches in the graphic arts community. His insight that the spectrum is seen and interpreted differently by each individual led to the innovation of the PANTONE® MATCHING SYSTEM®, a book of standardised colour in fan format.
Pantone has since expanded its colour matching system concept to other colour-critical industries, including digital technology, fashion, home, plastics, architecture and contract interiors, and paint. Today, the PANTONE Name is known worldwide as the standard language for accurate colour communication, from designer to manufacturer to retailer to customer, across a variety of industries. Pantone continues to develop colour communication and inspirational tools and aggressively adopts new digital technology to address the colour needs of the creative community everywhere.
Pantone was acquired by X-Rite, Incorporated in October 2007.
MARKETS & PRODUCTS
Each year, innumerable products and services are sold by Pantone and its hundreds of licensees in over 100 countries in the graphic arts, fashion, home, interior, plastics, architectural, paint, industrial design and consumer markets.
GRAPHIC ARTS – PRINTING, PUBLISHING & PACKAGING
The PANTONE PLUS SERIES for multimedia graphics – today’s version of the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM – is the definitive international reference for selecting, specifying, matching and controlling ink colours. The PANTONE FORMULA GUIDE, a two-guide set consisting of 1,867 solid PANTONE Colours on coated and uncoated stock, shows corresponding printing ink formulas for each colour, and the two-book set of SOLID CHIPS provides coated and uncoated perforated tear-out chips that can be used for quality control.
The digitally created PANTONE CMYK Guides provide a comprehensive palette of 2,868 colours achievable in four-colour process printing. The PANTONE COLOUR BRIDGE® GUIDES coated and uncoated compare solid PANTONE Colours to their closest possible match in four-colour process (CMYK), providing values for best-reproducing colours on a computer monitor, output device or printing press. The PANTONE EXTENDED GAMUT Coated Guide offers seven-colour process simulations of 1,729 solid PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM Colours (with an aqueous finish) – approximately 60% better matches to PANTONE Colours over CMYK when process printing! Other PANTONE Colour Reference Guides for the graphic arts include METALLICS, PREMIUM METALLICS, PASTELS and NEONS.
FASHION, HOME + INTERIORS
The PANTONE FASHION, HOME + INTERIORS Colour System is a vital tool for designers in the apparel, home furnishings and interior design industries for selecting and specifying colour used in the manufacture of textiles and fashion. The System—consisting of 2,310 colours in cotton or paper format—is ideal for assembling creative palettes and conceptual colour schemes, as well as for providing colour communication and control in the manufacturing process.
Through a partnership with Archroma, one of the world’s largest textile colourant and chemical producers, the PANTONE SMART Colour Swatch Card System enables designers and manufacturers to expedite the colour development cycle efficiently and accurately, dramatically increasing speed-to-market and reducing costs.
The PANTONE VIEW Colour Planner is a biannual trend forecasting tool that offers seasonal colour direction and inspiration 24 months in advance for multiple usages, including menswear, women’s wear, activewear, cosmetics and industrial design. Introduced in 2004, PANTONE VIEW Home is a comprehensive forecasting tool for the home furnishings industry.
PLASTICS
The PANTONE PLUS – PLASTIC STANDARD CHIPS COLLECTION™ allows designers, manufacturers and suppliers who work with plastics to select, specify, control and manufacture hundreds of colours through opaque and transparent plastic colour chips in the system. It offers a comprehensive colour range that is reproducible in plastics.
PANTONE UNIVERSE
PANTONE UNIVERSE is a collection of lifestyle products based on fashion colour trends for the consumer. The collection, consisting of tabletop, stationery items, travel gear, accessories and rainwear, combines timeless designs and modern materials with current trend colours. More information is available at www.pantoneuniverse.com.
COLOUR MANAGEMENT:
In 2001, Pantone began marketing affordable digital colour control solutions to graphic artists, designers, photographers and printers.
LIGHTS AND SCALES
PANTONE 3 and 5 LIGHT BOOTHS allow the user to preview colour choices in different lighting conditions.
PANTONE formula scales are pre-programmed with formulas for all PANTONE Colours, including PASTELS and METALLICS, and are available in various sizes for small, medium and large print shops.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT LABS
Pantone supports its colour communication systems with industry-specific research and testing labs.
- Ink Lab scientists develop new formulas to update PANTONE Colour palettes and test licensee samples for quality control.
- Textile Lab technicians verify formulas for colour reproduction, and dye and prepare fabric for the PANTONE FASHION, HOME + INTERIORS swatch books. They also provide custom colour dying services to textile clients.
- Advanced Colour Technology experts develop core technology and digital solutions for the accurate viewing and printing of PANTONE Colours. The department provides licensed technology to software and colour output device manufacturers such as Adobe, Hewlett-Packard, Xerox, Quark and Microsoft to ensure the best possible representation of PANTONE Colours.
CUSTOM COLOUR SERVICES:
PANTONE Custom Colour Services provide custom colour standards for corporate managers and art directors in fashion, home, contract design, paint, beauty, automotive, sports and pharmaceutical – any industry requiring colour accuracy.
PANTONE Custom Colour Services also provides products to specify corporate identity, product colour and packaging standards, including colour standards showing one or more PANTONE Colours or custom colours on paper, cotton or custom substrates, as well as the corresponding CMYK, HTML and RGB values.
PANTONE COLOUR INSTITUTE®
The Pantone Colour Institute is a colour research and information centre that shares its colour expertise with professionals in a variety of industries including fashion, commercial/industrial, contract and interior design, graphic arts, advertising, film and education. Recognised throughout the world as the leading source of colour information, the Institute is used as a resource by the world’s most influential media.
Through the Pantone Colour Institute, Pantone continues to study how colour influences human thought processes, emotions and physical reactions, furthering its commitment to providing professionals with a greater understanding of colour and to help them utilise colour more effectively. Leatrice Eiseman, America’s leading colour expert, is the executive director of the Pantone Colour Institute.
Universal Colour Swatch for Interior Designers here.
