Pantone colours are essentially a language for precise colour communication. Each colour has a unique code that corresponds to a specific shade, defined by a special formula developed by the Pantone company. This system, called the Pantone Matching System (PMS), boasts a library of 18 base colours that can be mixed to create a whopping 1,867 distinct colours.
The beauty of PMS lies in its global consistency. Designers, printers, and manufacturers worldwide rely on this system to guarantee colour accuracy across different materials and production runs. This is particularly important for spot colour printing.
Spot colours are printed using a single, pre-mixed ink. This ink is often created by physically combining base colour inks according to a formula found in a Pantone guidebook – similar to how you’d mix paints to achieve a new shade. Compared to CMYK printing, spot colours offer a wider range of colours, including metallic and fluorescent options that can’t be replicated with CMYK.
