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Designer's Must-Read | When Should You Use/Replace the Pantone Color Card Formula Guide?

Release Time： 2025-01-06 00:00:00.000

If you are a designer, you must be very familiar with the Pantone Formula Guide. Since 1963, the Pantone Formula Guide has been providing color inspiration, standards, and verification for designers around the world. As a practical and efficient color tool, it can save you time, energy, and money, eliminating many troubles and making communication with colleagues, clients, and suppliers smoother.

When you want to improve communication efficiency

Like many designers, you may have received comments such as "The blue should be a little darker, but not too dark" or "It should be light pink, not bright pink." Ambiguous and subjective understanding of color can lead to ineffective communication and results that neither party can accept. With the Pantone Formula Guide, you can eliminate the uncertainty of color, as the guide is arranged in color order, allowing you to instantly compare all colors in the same color family. When choosing colors with clients, you can be sure that everyone sees the same color.

When you want to reduce color difference

When checking prints or samples, recall the dress that caused a huge controversy on the internet. Whether you see blue and black or white and gold, we must admit that light is very important for color evaluation. Use the Lighting Indicator provided in the Pantone Formula Guide to determine the best lighting for evaluating colors and avoid unnecessary disagreements. As shown below, when the lighting is ideal, the two colors on the Lighting Indicator page will perfectly match; when the lighting is poor, the two colors will differ.

When you lack color inspiration

4 hours left until the deadline, you've already had two double espressos, but your mind is still blank, no inspiration, what should you do? The Pantone Formula Guide is also your good helper. It provides 2161 commonly used colors on the market and arranges them by color system. You can carry it with you, let the rich Pantone colors inspire your inspiration, and make various color combinations anytime, anywhere.

When you need to use other Pantone tools

When designing a LOGO for a new bottled beverage, because each plastic color chip has a PMS (Pantone Matching System) color number, you only need to determine the ideal color in the formula guide, and you can find the corresponding color in the Plastics Standard Chips Collection through the color number, so that your packaging design perfectly matches the beverage bottle.

When you want to consistently display colors

Colors often have subtle variations in different materials. For example, the color printing effect is different on glossy coated paper and matte offset paper. Coated paper surfaces can produce a glossy effect, like the magazines you usually see. It is suitable for sharp and complex designs because the ink stays on the paper surface, preventing bleeding. Offset paper has a more porous surface and easily absorbs ink, often used for stationery. It can well demonstrate how colors are reproduced on shipping boxes, stationery, recycled paper, and other offset materials that easily absorb ink.

New colors, new possibilities!

Pantone proudly introduces 224 new colors and 5 base inks, providing designers with a wider range of creative expression and freedom. Having the right color choices is crucial when making design decisions. Now we have a total of 2,390 market-driven Pantone spot colors, imagine the endless possibilities of creativity! In our new global color communication tool series, you can find:

A total of 2,390 market-driven Pantone spot colors [Solid PANTONE Colors].
New colors appear in Pantone Formula Guides, Solid Chips, and Color Bridge Guides.
Collaborated with major brands to develop relevant popular colors that meet the expectations of the modern packaging industry.
Emphasizes a specific color range driven by market demand. The industry makes color requests to us, and we respond to these common requests.
229 new ways to drive creativity.
Bring color into your digital life - learn how the Pantone Connect extension for Adobe® Creative Cloud® allows you to bring true Pantone colors into your digital workflow through Adobe Creative Cloud (InDesign®, Photoshop®, and Illustrator®).

Why update?

If you haven't updated your Pantone guides and swatch books for several years, your colors are no longer fully market-driven and are no longer accurate and reliable. Colors fade and yellow within 12-18 months, meaning guides and swatch books need to be replaced to ensure consistency. To learn more, read here why updating guides will save you valuable production time and money.

These products contain new formulas and are formulated with new base inks that are compatible with coatings during the printing process, and are barium-free and 65% plant-based, making them more environmentally friendly. Pantone guides and swatch books are made to the highest standards. We ensure that each version:

High-specification consistency of ink formulas
Printed on the most common commercial-grade 100lb and 80lb book paper
Carefully supervised during production to avoid defects

However, while we know you may want to keep them forever, due to handling, fading, and aging, the colors become inaccurate over time, and the guides need to be replaced on average every 12 months (depending on your usage and storage habits). Pantone recommends that you update your guides every 12 to 18 months because daily use and exposure can make the colors inaccurate.

Contact = Natural oils from fingertips will smudge and remove pigment
Paper friction = Scratches or removes pigment
Light damage = Fading
Paper aging = Yellowing effect
High humidity accelerates paper aging

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