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Pantone Matching System (PMS) - Page 2
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. 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 (15 including white and black) mixed in
specified amounts.
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.
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). In January 2003, the Scottish
Parliament debated a petition (reference PE512) to refer to the blue in the
Scottish flag (saltire) 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. U.S. states including Texas have
set legislated PMS colors of their flags. It has also been used in an art
project by the Brazilian photographer Angelica Dass which applies Pantone
to the human skin color spectrum.
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 3000 colors.
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