Your logo’s Pantone colour: why you are asked for it and how to find it

You see your logo first on a screen. Yet a screen emits light, whereas ink applied to a product reflects it. The same file therefore cannot give exactly the same colour on both media. Add to this a problem well known to communications departments: two screens set up differently rarely display the same shade, so everyone approves a slightly different colour without knowing it.

A HEX or RGB code describes a colour for the screen; a CMYK code describes it for four-colour printing on paper. Neither guarantees the shade of a single ink applied to a bag, a pen or a textile. Pantone meets this need: it is a standardised physical reference, a precise shade that can be compared with a real sample. It is the only way to get the same blue from one order to another, from one product to another and from one workshop to another, wherever it may be.

There are several ranges of Pantone references. We work with the Solid Coated range, the most common in product marking. Its references can be recognised by the letter “C” that follows the number or name of the shade.

In practice, here is what you need to send us:

• one reference per colour of the logo, with its final letter, without rounding or abbreviating;
• the match between each reference and the element of the logo it colours, to avoid any mix-up;
• any mention of another range if your brand guidelines give a reference followed by another letter: let us know, so that the shade is chosen with full knowledge of the facts.

Black and white rarely raise questions, but a brand colour close to a grey or a beige deserves as much care as a bright red: it is often the subtlest shades that drift the most if they are not referenced.

Pantone is a proprietary system: we are not allowed to include its colour guide on our site, or to offer an automatic conversion. You can, however, find your reference yourself, at no cost, with the tools Pantone makes available.

• Look at your brand guidelines first. If your visual identity was designed by an agency or a graphic designer, the Pantone reference is almost always in them. Ask the person who created it.
• Otherwise, use the colour finder on pantone.com: you enter your HEX or CMYK code, and the tool gives you the closest reference.
• Or use the Pantone Connect app, which offers a free plan giving access to the same search by code.

The result is an approximate equivalent, not an exact translation: the tool suggests the physical reference closest to your screen colour. If several references are close, choose one with the person responsible for your brand image, then write it into the brand guidelines. It will be used for all your subsequent orders.

The Pantone reference is essential as soon as a process applies ink or thread colour by colour. Each shade of the logo then becomes a separate element, which must be defined precisely.

• Screen printing: one colour per pass, generally from one to four depending on the area. Each pass receives an ink of the requested shade. See the screen printing page.
• Pad printing: same logic, one colour per pass, on small products and curved surfaces such as pens. See the pad printing page.
• Embroidery: each colour corresponds to a thread, and your references are used to choose the threads closest to your brand guidelines. See the embroidery page.

For these processes, also prepare a vector file in solid colours, with no gradients or shadows: each colour must appear in it as a clean area, linked to its reference. Our guide to the vector logo file details this preparation.

Other techniques require no reference, for different reasons.

• Laser engraving: no colour is applied, the material itself is marked. The result depends on the metal, wood or glass, not on an ink.
• Digital printing and transfer: the number of colours is unlimited, as solid colours, and the shades are reproduced from your file. No Pantone needs to be provided. Our guide to digital textile printing presents how it is used.
• Sublimation: your image serves as the basis, with a resolution requirement of 300 dpi at actual size. It is the only process that renders gradients and photos.

For these techniques, shades are checked on the proof. When a brand shade must remain exact over a large solid area, a process that starts from a physical reference is preferable.

Once you have found your references, the most useful thing is never to have to look for them again. Write them into your brand guidelines, next to the HEX and CMYK codes, and send them with every order. Your products will remain consistent with one another, even when ordered months apart or marked with different processes.

Two reflexes complete this work. The first: think about the colour of the product. A perfectly accurate reference can become illegible on a material of a similar shade. The second: respect the maximum number of colours for the area, shown on each product page; a five-colour logo will have to be simplified for an area that accepts fewer. Common questions about colours and files are gathered in our FAQ.