What is The Pantone Color Matching System (PMS)?

The Pantone Matching System (PMS) is a proprietary and standardized color system that unifies nearly 5,000 delicate color shades and variations. its detailed numbering system makes it easy for brands and manufacturers in different locations to standardize and match colors with precision, eliminating any inconsistencies in printed colors when using CMYK. It is a reliable and essential tool for any professional in the industry, ensuring a perfect color match every time.

Pantone is the universal language of color, empowering brands and manufacturers to make color-critical decisions at every stage of the workflow. With over 10 million designers and producers worldwide relying on Pantone products and services to help define, communicate, and control color with precision – from inspiration to realization – across a wide range of materials and finishes, including graphics, fashion, and product design.

When you think of the color “red”, maybe you think of a dark red, like crimson, or a bright red, like a stop sign?

The color red can come in many different shades, from the dark and mysterious crimson to the bright and bold stop sign. In the printing world, the Pantone Matching System provides a universal standard for understanding and reproducing the many shades and variations of red, ensuring that the color is matched perfectly every time.

The History of The Pantone Matching System

Pantone, a commercial printing company established in the 1950s, was founded by two visionary brothers who were advertising executives. A few years after its establishment, they brought on board Lawrence Herbert, a recent college graduate with a background in chemistry. Herbert utilized his expertise to organize and categorize the company’s vast collection of printing inks and pigments, laying the foundation for the company’s continued success and revolutionizing the color and printing industry.

Imagine you have a tin project with a sticker, The paper sticker will be printed at one location by one printing company, and your custom tin packaging is being produced at a tin factory. How can you be sure that both the printing company and the tin manufacturer will use the exact shades and coloring in your sticker and tin packaging to create perfectly identical versions?

The Pantone Matching System (PMS) offers a comprehensive solution for color consistency. Pantone envisioned a system that would standardize color numbering and eliminate variations in printed colors caused by CMYK. The PMS features entire sheets dedicated to a single color, showcasing an array of subtle shades and variations. These sheets can be compiled into a “fan”, each coded by numbers, enabling print designers to standardize their printing process and match colors, regardless of printing machines or location.