If you have a logo image, and you would like to know what Pantone color code is it. or you would like to know what PMS color closest to the logo. Unfortunately, you don't have Photoshop or Illustrator, this is your best online free color matching tool.
The PANTONE Matching System (PMS) is the dominant spot color printing system in the United States. Printers use a special mix of ink to achieve the color needed. Each spot color in the PANTONE system is assigned a name or a number. There are over one thousand PANTONE spot colors available.
Are PANTONE 624 U, PANTONE 624 C, PANTONE 624 M the same color? Yes and No. While PANTONE 624 is the same ink formula (a shade of green), the letters that follow it represent the apparent color of that ink mix when printed on different types of paper.
The letter suffixes of U, C, and M tell you how that particular color will appear on uncoated, coated, and matte finish papers, respectively. The coating and finish of the paper affects the apparent color of the printed ink even though each lettered version uses the same formula.
In Illustrator, 624 U, 624 C, and 624 M look exactly the same and have the same CMYK percentages applied to them. The only way to truly tell the difference between these colors is to look at an actual PANTONE swatch book.
PANTONE swatch books (printed samples of ink) come in uncoated, coated, and matte finishes. You can use these swatch books or color guides to see what the actual spot color looks like on the different finished papers.
A Color Matching System, or CMS, is a method used to ensure that colors remain as consistent as possible, regardless of the device/medium displaying the color. Keeping color from varying across mediums is very difficult because not only is color subjective to some extent, but also because devices use a wide range of technologies to display color.
There are many different color matching systems availlable today, but by far, the most popular in the printing industry is the Pantone Matching System, or PMS. PMS is a "solid-color" matching system, used primarily for specifying second or third colors in printing, meaning colors in addition to black, (although, obviously, one can certainly print a one-color piece using a PMS color and no black all).
Many printers keep an array of base Pantone inks in their shops, such as Warm Red, Rubine Red, Green, Yellow, Reflex Blue, and Violet. Most PMS colors have a "recipe" that the printer follows to create the desired color. The base colors, along with black and white, are combined in certain proportions within the printer's shop to achieve other PMS colors.
If it is very important to match a certain PMS color in your project, such as when a corporate logo color is used, you may want to suggest to the that printer purchase that particular color pre-mixed from the ink supplier. This will help ensure a close match. Another possible reason to buy pre-mixed PMS colors is if you have a very long print run, since it can be difficult to mix large amounts of ink and keep the color consistent through several batches.
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