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Matching Pantone (PMS) colors using Process (CMYK) Printing

What are Pantone (PMS) colors?

This is a standardized color matching system, used to ensure color consistency with specific colors.

It can be very frustrating to see the logo you worked hard to create look deep blue on the client's letterhead, blue-greenish on his business card, and light blue on his very expensive envelopes.

A way to prevent color shifts from one print run to the next, or from front to back, on objects of critical color is by using a standardized color matching system, such as the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM. Though PANTONE is not the only color standardization system, it is the most widely used system. Aside from being able to have consistency, PANTONE Colors allow you to use colors that cannot be mixed in CMYK.

Most Pantone colors can be matched closely using a CMYK mix, however, we recommend using Pantone color(s) when color consistency is critical, with a logo, for example.  If your file contains a Pantone color but you want to print using only CMYK, we recommend converting your file to CMYK prior to submitting it for print. This will let you see the extent of the color shift before your project is printed.  We also recommend using a specific Pantone color for any blues in the Reflex blue range as these colors tend to gain red on press and shift the color to a purplish shade rather than the blue you intended.