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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.[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]

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. Pantone recommends that PMS Color Guides be purchased annually, as their inks become yellowish 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]

Pantone Color Matching System

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 (14 including 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 color model—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 and military standards (to describe the colors of flags and seals).[9] In January 2003, the Scottish Parliament debated a petition (reference PE512) to refer to the blue in the Scottish flag 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. US states including Texas have set legislated PMS colors of their flags.[10] It has also been used in an art project by the Brazilian photographer Angelica Dass[11] which applies Pantone to the human skin color spectrum.[12][13]

Pantone Goe System

On September 5, 2007 Pantone introduced the Goe System.[14] Goe consists of over 2,000 new colors in a 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 (ten, plus 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 3,000 colors.

Color of the Year

Annually Pantone declares a particular color "Color of the Year". Twice a year the company hosts, in a European capital, a secret meeting of representatives from various nations' color standards groups. After two days of presentations and debate, they choose a color for the following year; for example, the color for summer 2013 was chosen in London in the spring of 2012.[15] The color purportedly connects 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."[16] The results of the meeting are published in Pantone View ($750), which fashion designers, florists, and many other consumer-oriented companies purchase to help guide their designs and planning for future products.[15]

2000
Cerulean
Pantone 15-4020
#9BB7D4

2001
Fuchsia Rose
Pantone 17-2031
#C74375

2002
True Red
Pantone 19-1664
#BF1932

2003
Aqua Sky
Pantone 14-4811
#7BC4C4

2004
Tigerlily
Pantone 17-1456
#E2583E

2005
Blue Turquoise
Pantone 15-5217
#53B0AE

2006
Sand Dollar
Pantone 13-1106
#DECDBE

2007
Chili Pepper
Pantone 19-1557
#9B1B30

2008
Blue Iris
Pantone 18-3943
#5A5B9F

2009
Mimosa
Pantone 14-0848
#F0C05A

2010
Turquoise
Pantone 15-5519
#45B5AA

2011
Honeysuckle
Pantone 18-2120
#D94F70

2012
Tangerine Tango
Pantone 17-1463[17]
#DD4124

2013
Emerald
Pantone 17-5641
#009473

2014
Radiant Orchid
Pantone 18-3224[18]
#B163A3

In 2012, the color of the year, Tangerine Tango, was used to create a makeup line, in partnership with Sephora.[19] The product line, named Sephora + Pantone Universe collection, features Tangerine Tango–embellished false lashes; nail lacquers, cream, glitters, and high-pigment lip glosses.[20]

The person behind Pantone's Color of the Year, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute Leatrice Eiseman, explains how 2014's Color of the year, Radiant Orchid, was chosen for a two-part interview held by custom printing company Signazon:

I look for ascending color trends, colors that are being used in broader ways and broader context than before… In this case, Radiant Orchid descends from the purple family, which is kind of a magical color that denotes creativity and innovation. Purple is just that kind of a complex, interesting, attracting kind of color… [The] back-story to purple is that it inspires confidence in your creativity, and we're living in a world where that kind of creative innovation is greatly admired. In the world of color, purple is an attention-getter, and it has a meaning. It speaks to people, and we felt that it was time for the purple family to be celebrated. That's why we chose the particular shade called Radiant Orchid.

— Leatrice Eiseman[21]

Intellectual 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;.[22] This is frequently held as a reason Pantone colors cannot be supported in open-source software and are not often found in low-cost proprietary software.[23] It has been claimed that "it seems as if the company is being intentionally unclear" but it is acknowledged that "the simplest claim would be trademark misappropriation or dilution towards someone who produced a color palette marketed as compatible with Pantone's".[24] 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 produced Hexachrome, a patented six-color printing system.[25][26] In addition to custom CMYK inks, Hexachrome added orange and green inks to expand the color gamut, for better color reproduction. It was therefore also known as a CMYKOG process. Hexachrome was discontinued by Pantone in 2008 when Adobe Systems stopped supporting their HexWare plugin software.

See also

References

  1. ^ 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, NJ."
  2. ^ "Pantone US$180m Acquisition Completion For X-Rite: News from X-Rite", Printing talk.
  3. ^ "Pantone Inc. History", Company histories, Funding universe.
  4. ^ Senior Staff (interview), Ink Systems, Inc, October 27, 2006.
  5. ^ "Pantone Press Release, 6 May 2004". Archived from the original on 2006-01-03. 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.
  6. ^ a b Pantone 2.0: After 45 Years, the Sequel to PMS, Creative Pro.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Pantone Goe and RGB Values and CMYK Conversions, Wide format imaging.
  9. ^ Directive (PDF), USCG.
  10. ^ "3100. State Flag", Statute, TX, US, (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.
  11. ^ "Angélica Dass", About me.
  12. ^ "Pantone skin color spectrum", Design boom.
  13. ^ Humanæ, Tumblr.
  14. ^ Pantone Unveils Goe System (press release), retrieved September 5, 2007, Over 2,000 new Pantone colors to inspire, explore and express the color of ideas.
  15. ^ a b Vanderbilt 2012.
  16. ^ "Pantone Reveals Color of the Year for 2011: Pantone 18-2120 Honeysuckle". Pantone.
  17. ^ "2012 Pantone Color of the Year". Pantone.
  18. ^ "Radiant Orchid – Pantone Color of the Year 2014". Pantone.
  19. ^ Hutchings, Emma (2012-03-23). "Pantone Teams Up With Sephora to Create A Color-Saturated Makeup Line". PSFK. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  20. ^ Sragovic, Ana (2012-03-21). "Orange Crush: Sephora and Pantone Team Up for an NYC Pop-Up Shop". Vogue. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  21. ^ Eiseman, Leatrice. "Lee Eiseman, Executive Director, Pantone Color Institute". Spotlight. Signazon. Retrieved 24 January 2014. {{cite web}}: |section= ignored (help)
  22. ^ "Clause 4", Terms of Use, Pantone, 30 July 2009.
  23. ^ "Pantone and free software", Linux.com.
  24. ^ "Pantone and free software", Newsforge, retrieved 6 July 2006 {{citation}}: |section= ignored (help).
  25. ^ Patent, US: PTO, 5734800.
  26. ^ About us (press release), Pantone.

Bibliography

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