Pantone color chips are small, standardized cards printed with specific Pantone colors used for design specification and quality control across various industries. Pantone is a color system that aims to standardize colors for accurate color reproduction in design and manufacturing. Pantone color chips allow designers, printers, and manufacturers to accurately identify, match, and communicate colors.
What is Pantone and how does it work?
Pantone is a proprietary color system started in 1963 by Lawrence Herbert to standardize color matching across the entire manufacturing workflow. Pantone works by systematically creating custom inks or mixing existing inks to produce a range of colors with precise specifications. Each color is given a unique Pantone number identification and printed on paper stock in a fan or chip book format.
The Pantone Matching System (PMS) is the most widely used standard in printing, design, and manufacturing. It consists of over 1,800 solid Pantone colors that printers can accurately reproduce using just 13 base pigments. When a designer specifies a Pantone color in their files, the printer can lookup the exact formula to mix the ink and match the color. This eliminates guesswork and ensures colors are consistent across different materials and finishes.
In digital design, Pantone colors can be specified using their identification number. Design applications like Adobe Creative Cloud have built-in Pantone color libraries that make it easy to sample and specify Pantone colors accurately for web and print design.
Why are Pantone color chips used?
Pantone color chips are a practical tool used across manufacturing and design to achieve accurate color reproduction. The main reasons they are used include:
- Color accuracy – The Pantone system eliminates subjective color decisions and provides an objective way to specify and match colors precisely.
- Cross-media consistency – Pantone colors can be maintained across different materials and finishes, from plastic to fabric to metal coatings.
- Design workflow efficiency – Pantone simplifies communication between designers, printers, and manufacturers around the world.
- Quality control – Pantone colors make color inspection and approval more systematic and reduce cost of rework.
- Color trend forecasting – Pantone Color Institute publishes fashion and culture color trends using Pantone colors.
Overall, Pantone aims to improve color communication and reproducibility throughout the design process. The color chips provide a physical reference to validate selections across different substrates and finishes.
Types of Pantone color chips
Pantone offers different formats of color chips based on industry needs:
Pantone solid chips
The signature Pantone color chip format. Each chip has a precise solid Pantone color on one side and the color name and number specification on the reverse side. Available in coated (glossy) and uncoated (matte) versions.
Pantone formula guides
Shows the mixing formulations needed to match every Pantone color. Used for accurately mixing inks and coatings. Arranged by color family or number.
Pantone cotton and paper chip books
Displays Pantone colors on real paper stock. Used for marketing collateral, business cards, textiles, etc. Different paper finishes can alter appearance of color.
Pantone plastic standard chips
Shows colors on a smooth plastic film to represent hard goods. Useful for plastic, metal, wood, and other surface coatings and finishes.
Pantone color bridges
Fan guides with chips that show Pantone colors side-by-side with other color systems like CMYK. Allow for cross-referencing different color systems.
| Type | Format | Use Cases |
|---|---|---|
| Pantone Solid Chips | Individual color chips | General color specification |
| Pantone Formula Guides | Formula chip book | Custom ink mixing |
| Pantone Cotton/Paper Books | Chips on paper stock | Marketing materials, textiles |
| Pantone Plastic Standard Chips | Chips on plastic film | Plastics, coatings, metals |
| Pantone Color Bridges | Fan books | Cross-referencing color systems |
How to use Pantone color chips
Here is a step-by-step overview of utilizing Pantone color chips in the design and production process:
- Brief project requirements – Are specific Pantone colors required? Any special color considerations?
- Research and select colors – Designer browses Pantone books and pulls suitable color options for the project.
- Specify colors in designs – Designer indicates required Pantone colors in digital or print files for the printer.
- Color proofing – Printer uses Pantone chips to verify color accuracy on test prints before production run.
- Mix inks/coatings – Printer mixes custom Pantone ink or coating formula to match colors chips.
- Quality assurance – Finished products are inspected against the Pantone color chips for approval.
- Color communication – Pantone numbers are provided to suppliers/vendors for matching colors.
This workflow ensures the originally selected colors are accurately maintained across different materials and manufacturing processes with minimal variance between color expectations and final colored product.
Benefits of Pantone color chips
Some key advantages of the Pantone color system and chips:
- Consistency – Eliminates subjective color interpretation for reliable color every time.
- Precision – Colors can be matched within a tolerance of less than 1 Delta E.
- Universal communication – Pantone is recognized globally across all industries.
- Quality control – Allows easy visual validation to maintain color standards.
- Flexibility – Large color library offers endless options and custom colors.
- Technology integration – Seamlessly integrated into design software and equipment.
- Trend forecasting – Pantone Color Institute highlights upcoming color trends.
Overall, Pantone improves workflows, minimizes errors between design intent and final product, and facilitates clear color communication across supply chains.
Limitations of Pantone color chips
While Pantone offers many benefits, there are some limitations to consider:
- Only provides spot color accuracy – does not account for full color blending or gradients.
- Color reproduction depends on printing conditions and stock surface.
- Annual publications quickly go out of date.
- Costly expense to purchase full libraries and updates.
- Does not always translate accurately to digital displays.
- Limited color gamut falls short of full visible spectrum.
- Proprietary system limits integration with open workflows.
Pantone is best suited for spot color matching rather than process color printing. Results still depend on printer calibration and stock surfaces. Must be combined with proper inspection and quality control.
Conclusion
Pantone color chips offer a standardized color communication system to improve accuracy throughout the design and manufacturing workflow. The color chips provide a physical reference to precisely match colors across different materials and processes. While not suitable for every color application, Pantone can make a significant impact for projects requiring precise spot color matching across an end-to-end supply chain.