Pantone to Spot Colors - Color Basics You Should Know Before Printing!

What Is Pantone?

PANTONE is a company that provides precise color selection and the beauty of color across a wide range of industries, organizing more than 10,000 colors into a systematic color system. Pantone colors are the most widely used standard in the design world, so if you design using Pantone color codes or Pantone swatches, you can ensure consistency without worrying that the color on screen will look different in real life. For that reason, Pantone colors are widely used in graphic design, printing, publishing, textiles, and many other industries.

If you're working on package design, see also: Package Design Color Guide: A to Z for Non-Designers

Source: color119

What Is Pantone Color of the Year?

Since Rose Quartz x Serenity became hugely popular in Korea in 2016, interest in Pantone's Color of the Year has grown.

The Color of the Year is announced through a color trend analysis presented since 2000. Representatives from color standards groups in various countries gather for two days of presentations and debate before Pantone reveals the color selected for the following year. Because the new colors chosen by Pantone have the power to create new color trends across industries such as cosmetics, printing, publishing, video, and consumer goods, it is always a good idea to keep an eye on Pantone colors if you are interested in design.

If you're curious about custom boxes, see also: 11 Essential Questions to Ask Before Making Boxes

Here are the Pantone Color of the Year selections over the years.

If you'd like to learn more about the latest Pantone colors:

2020: Classic Blue
2021: Illuminating and Ultimate Gray
2022: Very Peri

So, What Is PMS?

PMS is short for PANTONE Matching System, a color system developed to solve the challenges of color matching in graphic arts.

Source: PANTONE

The Pantone Matching System defines colors by blending 10 ink colors and assigning each color a specific symbol and number, allowing every color to be described through Pantone's code system as a printing ink formula.

By mixing these 10 inks, Pantone develops a wide range of colors and publishes fan-shaped standard color books so users can find the color they want and use it directly from the color book.

So if you want to check an exact color before printing or before starting web design, we recommend checking the PMS number in a Pantone color book and choosing your color accordingly.

If you're working on packaging design, see also: Why Minimalist Product Packaging Design Is Efficient

When outsourcing printing, I often see the terms “spot color” or “spot ink.” What is spot color printing?

Spot color printing is a method that creates and prints a color outside the standard CMYK four-color process. In most cases, Pantone Solid colors are used as the reference color chips. The reasons for using spot colors are as follows:

When the printed color must remain consistent, such as a signature color for brand identity, or when printing a logo or an image that represents a company's identity, the color must always be the same. Spot color printing helps prevent accidental color shifts and keeps the color uniform.
To prevent uneven color output: when colors are mixed using CMYK, the print may come out unevenly and white streaks can appear. Spot color printing can help prevent this.
When producing single-color print materials: full-color printing is usually charged as a four-color process, so if you want a print job that uses only one or two colors overall, spot color printing can help reduce printing costs.

Source: gogoprint

So if you have a fixed brand color and want to print it accurately, spot color printing is the way to go.

If you'd like to learn more about what to watch out for when printing, see: Essential Checklist Before Ordering Packaging Box Printing

At Packative, we offer spot color printing services on our own die-cut templates, but the service is only available if the spot colors are specified in the PDF file. Please note that using more than one spot color may incur additional charges. We are also preparing to make spot color printing available in the editor, so please keep an eye on Packative!