Pantone and colour monopoly
What does Pantone actually do?
Pantone is the name that comes to mind of many when thinking of the colour industry. How is Pantone allowed to own colours? What does it actually do?
The company solved a tricky problem of the design industry at the time: communication. Slightly off colour is not that much of an issue in our daily lives, but when it comes to marketing, it is a death sentence. The difficult task lay in nailing that exact shade in the printing process, each printer had their own unique formula for colours and no universal colour palette was established. In 1963, Lawrence Herbert, Pantone’s founder, came up with a solution: The Pantone Matching System (PMS).
PMS contains an extensive colour palette along with the formula to recreate those exact shades, and every shade is assigned with its own unique code. The palettes are sold as a booklet (Pantone Formula Guide) composed of colour chips showing how the colours would look after printing. The system quickly took off and was soon referred to as the industry’s standard for colour matching. In short, Pantone doesn’t actually own colours but the formula and specifications for it, PMS is more like a cookbook with “recipes” to make the exact colour the client wants every time.
The monopoly of Pantone
PMS is a reliable and accurate system that has claimed its way to become the industry standard. In the world of physical printing, Pantone became the dominant standard. In the digital age, it continues its relevance with providing digital colour guides. Pantone Colour Bridge integrated its colour chips to digital colour systems: CMYK, RGB and HTML to industry favourites like the Adobe softwares.
For a system so widely used, Pantone is incredibly difficult to access without paying large sums of money. Colour coordination can be terrible across different screens, and even worse on paper. For that reason, it is advised that users should purchase the Pantone Formula Guide, and to change it annually to ensure colour accuracy. The problem is that this book is expensive, costing hundreds of dollars, and the cost adds up when you change it annually.
Generally, Pantone intellectual properties unlicensed usage by a third party is a violation of Pantone’s proprietary right. The legal claims made by the company have been accused to be intentionally vague. However, the most basic claim states that using its colour palette would be trademark violation, thus preventing the use of Pantone colour palette in open-source softwares, adding another layer to the inaccessibility.
Adobe - Pantone dispute and alternatives
In December 2021, Pantone announced the end of its licensing with Adobe. Artists would have to pay Pantone a separate subscription of $15 per month to have access to Pantone’s colour library. Therefore, if they don’t pay for the subscription, the colours in their work will turn black. This additional cost on top of Pantone pricey subscription created an additional fee to pay on top of the already expensive software subscription, essentially creating a paywall for beginner artists and blocking workflow of professionals.
Pantone’s seemingly monopoly over the standardization of colour left many artists frustrated. Many efforts have been made to create alternatives for this system. These alternatives usually work for beginner artists and small businesses who do not need the accuracy of PMS. The more economical option proved to be useful.
Many view Pantone as the villain of the story. However, the brand is deeply integrated in the system. It is used in printing, paint, fashion, design and taught in design schools. Pantone’s extensive laboratory and rigorous standards ensure precise accuracy and professionalism, its spot colors are more vibrant and consistent than CMYK printing . It is hard to beat the system, especially when the system works as well as PMS.
Author: Bao Phuong Tran
