From RGB to CMYK to HEX to PMS
If you do not have Photoshop or Illustrator and you want to know what a PMS color is in the color code system RGB, CMYK or HEX, this tool can help you!
How to use it?
- Select the RGB or SMART color you want in the panel, or enter a HEX code
- If any PMS colors are close to the selected RGB color, it will appear
- If no PMS colors are close to the selected RGB color, try selecting a different color code.
- You can add color spacing to get more results.
- Internet Explorer loads slow, please be patient ...
Select an RGB color and you will know which pantone colors are closest.
What are PMS colors?
Normally, all professionals know that PMS stands for the Pantone Matching System. But here's a problem: How do you explain the printout what color you want them to print your business cards or other products?
Ok, you can only send them a picture by email with the color, but this image will appear differently on their computer screen. If you work with two computer monitors, the colors will probably not appear similar to your screens.
This is why the PMS, Pantone Matching System was created. It is a default language for color identification and communication. When you say to the printer: I want to print pink 1767C, you can be sure it knows what color you mean. So it's easy, just use a Pantone guide, which contains over 1000 different colors and tell the printer Pantone code of the color you choose. What if you do not have a Pantone guide? All professional printing companies have one, and you'll find it in stores where you can buy paint, like Maxbo, ByggMax etc.
What are RGB colors?
Digital cameras and scanners create images using combinations of only three colors: red, green and blue (RGB). These are the primary colors of visible light, and this is how computers and TVs display images on their monitors. RGB colors are often displayed clearer and more vivid, especially because the light is projected directly into the eyes of the viewer.
This is an "additive" process where the three colors are combined in different amounts to produce different colors. It is called "additive" because you have to add varying amounts of two or more colors to achieve hues and values other than the three basic red, green and blue colors.
On computer monitors and TVr, the amount of each color displayed from 0 to 255 is maximum. Maximum amount of all three colors (often expressed as R255, G255, B255) creates white. The absence of all three colors (R0, G0, B0) creates black. Equal amounts of all three colors, somewhere between 0 and 255, will create different shades of gray.