If you have a logo and want to know what the Pantone color code or the nearest PMS color in the logo is and do not have Photoshop or Illustrator available, this simple and quick tool can help you find the color.
Pantone Matching System (PMS) is the dominant color printing system in the United States. Printers use a special blend of ink to achieve the required color. Each color in the Pantone system is assigned a name or number. There are over a thousand Pantone colors available.
Is PANTONE 624 U, PANTONE 624 C, PANTONE 624 M the same color? Yes and no. While the PANTONE 624 has the same ink formula (a shade of green), the letters represent the color mix when printed.
Letters U, C and M tell you how a particular color appears on uncoated, coated, and matte finish papers. The coating and paper quality affect the color of printed ink even if each letter spell uses the same formula.
In Illustrator, 624 U, 624 C, and 624 M look exactly the same and have the same CMYK percentages. The only way to really tell the difference between these colors is to look at an actual Pantone color library.
Panton color charts (printed ink samples) come in uncoated, coated, and matte surfaces. You can use these color charts or color guides to see how the actual color looks on different printed papers.
Color Matching System, or CMS, is a method used to ensure that the colors remain as consistent as possible, regardless of the device or medium that shows the color. Preventing colors from varying across media is very difficult not only because colors vary on material, but also because devices use a wide range of technologies to display colors.
There are many different color systems available today, but the most popular in the printing industry is the Pantone system, or PMS. PMS is a solid color matching system, which is mainly used to specify second or third color in prints, colors in addition to black. (although one can print a color using PMS color without any black)
Many retailers have a base of Pantone ink in their stores, such as hot red, Rubine Red, Green, Yellow, Reflex Blue, and Violet. Most PMS colors have a "recipe" that the printer follows to create the desired color. Base colors, along with black and white, are compounded in certain proportions in the dealer's store to obtain other PMS colors.
If it is very important to match a certain PMS color in the project, for example, when a company logo color is used, you might want to suggest purchasing the particular ready-mixed color from the supplier. This will help ensure a correct result. Another possible reason to buy ready-mixed PMS colors is if you have a very long printer update since it can be difficult to mix large amounts of ink and keep the color consistently through multiple lots.