Pantone

Corporate brand

Unclaimed Request correction

Global color-standardization and color-communication brand serving design, manufacturing, and creative industries.

Last updated October 6, 2026

AI crawler reads

No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.

Overview

Pantone is a United States color-standards and color-communication brand best known for the Pantone Matching System, a proprietary numbering and reference framework that allows organizations to specify, reproduce, and discuss color with greater consistency. Its systems are used across graphic design, commercial printing, packaging, fashion, textiles, plastics, product design, interiors, cosmetics, digital workflows, and manufacturing supply chains. The brand developed from a New Jersey commercial printing and ink business acquired by Lawrence Herbert in the early 1960s. Herbert recognized that designers, printers, and manufacturers often lacked a common way to identify and reproduce particular shades. Pantone addressed that problem by organizing colors into a standardized library and pairing each color with a unique designation and production guidance. The resulting Pantone Matching System became a shared vocabulary between people who select colors and the companies that formulate or reproduce them. Pantone’s business is based substantially on intellectual property, standards, physical references, software, licensing, and professional services. Its physical products include fan decks, swatch books, color guides, formula guides, textile references, and specialized references for fashion, home, and interiors. Digital products and services extend the system into color-management applications, cloud-based workflows, mobile tools, and integrations intended to connect design decisions with production and quality control. The company also licenses its name and color expertise for consumer merchandise and commercial collaborations. A major part of Pantone’s public visibility comes from the Pantone Color Institute and its annual Color of the Year program. Introduced in 2000, the program selects a featured color intended to reflect cultural, social, and design currents. The announcement has become a recurring media and marketing event, influencing fashion collections, interiors, packaging, beauty products, advertising, and branded merchandise. The program also helps translate Pantone’s technical authority into a more accessible cultural language, making the brand recognizable well beyond professional design circles. Pantone’s consulting activity extends beyond selling guides. The Pantone Color Institute advises companies on color strategy, palette development, brand identity, product development, and the emotional or cultural associations of color. This positions Pantone both as a technical standards provider and as a source of trend intelligence and creative direction. X-Rite acquired Pantone in 2007, bringing the color-standard business together with X-Rite’s color-measurement hardware, software, and services. X-Rite later became part of Danaher, and in 2023 X-Rite became part of Veralto following Danaher’s separation of its environmental and applied-solutions businesses. Pantone remains an active brand within that broader color-technology portfolio. Its present role combines physical standards, digital color tools, trend forecasting, consulting, licensing, and education for organizations that need color to remain consistent across materials, locations, devices, and stages of production.

History

Pantone’s roots lie in a New Jersey printing and ink operation that Lawrence Herbert acquired in the early 1960s. Herbert’s central insight was that the printing industry needed a practical shared language for color. Different designers, printers, and ink manufacturers could use the same verbal description for a color while still producing visibly different results. A numbered standard, supported by printed references and formulation information, offered a more dependable alternative. In 1963, Pantone introduced the Pantone Matching System. The system organized colors into a catalog of coded references and associated ink formulations. Designers could select a color from a guide, specify its code, and communicate that choice to printers or manufacturers. This helped reduce ambiguity in commercial printing and gradually extended Pantone’s relevance into advertising, publishing, packaging, graphic design, and corporate identity. The system’s importance grew as companies began managing brands and products across multiple suppliers and production locations. Pantone references gave organizations a repeatable way to specify colors on paper, packaging, textiles, plastics, coatings, and other substrates. The company expanded its reference products and adapted its standards for specialized sectors, including fashion, home furnishings, interiors, cosmetics, and industrial applications. Pantone also developed a broader cultural and strategic role. The Pantone Color Institute became a vehicle for research, consulting, education, and trend communication. Its annual Color of the Year, first issued in 2000, turned an expert color-selection process into a widely followed public event. Each selection is accompanied by explanations, palettes, imagery, and commercial opportunities, allowing Pantone to influence both professional decisions and consumer conversations. The company’s transition into digital workflows accelerated as design and manufacturing processes became increasingly software-based. Pantone developed digital libraries, applications, and cloud-oriented tools intended to help users select and communicate color across screens, physical references, and production systems. PantoneLIVE, announced by X-Rite in 2012, represented an effort to connect standardized color data with manufacturing and packaging workflows. Pantone Connect later extended access to color tools through digital and mobile environments. X-Rite acquired Pantone in 2007 for a reported cash purchase price of $180 million. The acquisition made Pantone a business unit within X-Rite and combined the brand’s color standards with X-Rite’s measurement instruments, software, and services. Danaher acquired X-Rite in 2012, placing Pantone within Danaher’s product-identification activities. In 2023, X-Rite became part of Veralto, a company formed through Danaher’s separation of businesses focused on environmental and applied solutions. Today, Pantone operates across several connected activities: professional standards and guides, digital color-management tools, consulting and trend forecasting, educational resources, licensing, and consumer-facing collaborations. Its enduring significance comes from making color actionable. Pantone does not merely describe colors; it provides a system through which designers, suppliers, manufacturers, marketers, and consumers can coordinate decisions across media and production environments.

2024
Mocha Mousse selected for 2025
[8]Pantone Color of the Year: Join the Marketing Movementbaerpm.com
Pantone selected PANTONE 17-1230 Mocha Mousse as its 2025 Color of the Year.
2023
X-Rite joins Veralto
[2]X-Rite brands and company historyxrite.com
X-Rite and Pantone became part of Veralto following Danaher’s corporate separation.
2019
Classic Blue selected for 2020
[7]The integrated campaign: Pantone annual color launchingslideshare.net
Pantone selected PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue as its 2020 Color of the Year and promoted it through an integrated launch.
2012
PantoneLIVE announced
[2]X-Rite brands and company historyxrite.com
X-Rite announced PantoneLIVE, a cloud-based color-standard initiative for connected production and color-management workflows.
2012
X-Rite acquired by Danaher
[4]Danaher to buy Pantone owner for $468 millionreuters.com
Danaher agreed to acquire X-Rite, bringing Pantone into Danaher’s product-identification group.
2007
Acquired by X-Rite
[3]X-Rite Completes Acquisition of Pantoneinkworldmagazine.com
X-Rite completed its acquisition of Pantone and made it a business unit within the color-technology company.
2000
Color of the Year program begins
[10]Color of the Year program beginsbranding.news
Pantone began its annual Color of the Year program, which later became a major source of global media attention and commercial activity.
1963
Pantone Matching System introduced
[5]Pantone LLC company profilednb.com
Pantone developed its standardized, numbered color-reference system for more consistent communication between designers, printers, and manufacturers.
1962
Lawrence Herbert acquires the company
[9]Lawrence Herbert acquires the companylinkedin.com
Lawrence Herbert acquired the New Jersey printing and ink business that became the foundation of Pantone.

Products and positioning

Pantone positions itself as a global authority on color and as a bridge between creative color selection and accurate color production. Its value proposition combines standardized color language, physical and digital references, trend insight, consulting, and supply-chain consistency.

Color standard · 1963
Pantone Matching System
Pantone’s core color-reference system assigns identifiers to colors and provides production guidance for reproducing them. It is widely used in graphic design, commercial printing, publishing, packaging, branding, and related manufacturing workflows. The system serves as a communication bridge between color selection and physical production, although results can vary according to substrate, process, equipment, and viewing conditions.
Color guide
Pantone Formula Guide
The Formula Guide is a professional printed reference used to select and communicate Pantone spot colors. It presents swatches with identifying codes and formulation information intended to help printers and designers coordinate color choices. As a physical reference, it is used in prepress, branding, packaging, and print-production decisions and is periodically updated as printing papers and standards evolve.
Digital color tool
Pantone Connect
Pantone Connect is a digital color platform associated with Pantone’s color libraries and workflows. It supports activities such as color search, palette creation, digital reference, and collaboration. The service is designed to help creative users move between Pantone standards and contemporary digital design environments.
Cloud color-management platform · 2012
PantoneLIVE
PantoneLIVE is a cloud-oriented color-standard and workflow initiative designed to connect Pantone references with production and supply-chain processes. It is intended for organizations that need to communicate color targets across packaging, manufacturing, suppliers, and quality-control operations.
Consulting and trend intelligence
Pantone Color Institute
The Pantone Color Institute provides color-related consulting, trend interpretation, palette development, and brand or product guidance. Its public-facing work includes the annual Color of the Year program, while its professional work helps organizations apply color strategy to identity, product development, marketing, fashion, interiors, and consumer experiences.
Trend program · 2000
Pantone Color of the Year
The annual Color of the Year program selects and promotes one featured color intended to reflect cultural and design conditions. The selection is accompanied by editorial explanations, palettes, imagery, partnerships, and licensed products. It has become a prominent trend-marketing platform across fashion, beauty, interiors, packaging, and digital media.

Marketing campaigns

2025Mocha Mousse Color of the Year marketing program
Global
Pantone’s 2025 Mocha Mousse selection was extended through editorial content, palettes, merchandise, and commercial partnerships, including beauty-oriented activity associated with IPSY.
Outcome. The program translated the annual color selection into consumer-facing applications across beauty, lifestyle, interiors, and marketing.
Source
2020Classic Blue integrated Color of the Year launch
Global
Pantone used social media, visual storytelling, customer engagement, and a multisensory event to launch Classic Blue as the 2020 Color of the Year.
Outcome. The launch expanded the annual color announcement into a broader experience intended to increase awareness and strengthen customer interaction.
Source
2020Create Your World
France · Global
TBWA/Paris produced five surreal visual scenes featuring unusual, saturated landscapes. The campaign invited audiences to use color as a means of personal creativity and self-expression.
Outcome. The work reinforced Pantone’s leadership positioning and presented its color language as a tool for imagining and shaping personal environments.
Source
2014Pantone Y&R Shanghai print campaign
China
Y&R Shanghai created print advertising built around individual Pantone references including 158C, 7686C, and 361C, using the colors as the central communication device.
Outcome. The campaign demonstrated Pantone’s use of concise, color-led advertising in a key design and manufacturing market.
Source
Larger Fan Guides advertising campaign
United States
And Partners developed a national print and digital campaign announcing Pantone fan guides in a larger format. The creative concept focused on the practical and visual benefits of increased size.
Outcome. The campaign supported awareness of an updated physical-reference product and emphasized usability for professional color selection.
Source

Brand decisions

2025
Select Mocha Mousse as Color of the YearProduct launch
Background
Pantone continued using the annual selection to connect color-trend authority with consumer products, partnerships, and marketing programs.
Action taken
Pantone selected PANTONE 17-1230 Mocha Mousse for 2025 and promoted associated palettes and applications.
Aftermath
The color was adopted as a reference for beauty, interiors, fashion, lifestyle content, and commercial merchandise.
Source
2020
Select Classic Blue as Color of the YearProduct launch
Background
Pantone’s annual program had become a major cultural and commercial platform connecting professional color expertise with broader consumer audiences.
Action taken
Pantone selected PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue for 2020 and supported the selection with a large integrated launch and creative campaigns.
Aftermath
Classic Blue became a reference point for design, fashion, marketing, interiors, and branded collaborations during 2020.
Source
2012
Danaher acquires X-RiteM&A
Background
Danaher identified color measurement and product identification as complementary areas for its portfolio.
Action taken
Danaher agreed to acquire X-Rite, including its Pantone business, through a cash tender offer.
Aftermath
Pantone became part of Danaher’s product-identification activities alongside other color and packaging technologies.
Announced enterprise value including assumed debt. Approximately $625 million (2012 acquisition announcement)
Source
2012
Expand color standards into connected digital workflowsStrategy
Background
Design and manufacturing processes were increasingly dependent on digital systems and distributed supply chains.
Action taken
X-Rite announced PantoneLIVE as a cloud-based initiative connecting Pantone standards with color-management and production workflows.
Aftermath
The move extended Pantone’s role beyond printed guides toward digital coordination, manufacturing consistency, and supply-chain quality control.
Source
2007
Join X-RiteM&A
Background
X-Rite sought to broaden its color-management offering by adding Pantone’s color standards to its measurement hardware, software, and services.
Action taken
X-Rite acquired Pantone for a reported $180 million in cash and made it a new business unit.
Aftermath
The combination linked Pantone’s specification standards with X-Rite’s color-measurement and management capabilities.
Reported acquisition purchase price. $180 million (2007 acquisition)
Source
1963
Introduce the Pantone Matching SystemProduct launch
Background
Commercial color communication was inconsistent because designers, printers, and manufacturers could interpret color descriptions differently.
Action taken
Pantone organized colors into a numbered reference system supported by standardized swatches and production formulations.
Aftermath
The system became a widely used color language across printing and later expanded into textiles, plastics, packaging, fashion, interiors, and digital workflows.
Source

Recent events

Unconfirmed
FitFlop x Pantone 'The Colour of Comfort' Collection Launches in the Philippines[13]FitFlop x Pantone“The Colour of Comfort”系列在菲律宾上市manilatimes.net
Reported: 2026-08-16
FitFlop Philippines launched The Colour of Comfort, an exclusive footwear collaboration with Pantone, as part of the Spring/Summer 2026 Collection. The collection features eight styles across four FitFlop silhouettes, each available in three exclusive Pantone colorways, and is now available at FitFlop stores in the Philippines and selected department stores and online channels.
2022-01-12
Pantone launches updated FHI Paper Traveler[14]Pantone 推出更新版 FHI Paper Travelertextileworld.com
Reported: 2022-01-12
Pantone announced the launch of the newest edition of the Fashion, Home + Interiors (FHI) Paper Traveler, an updated product featuring 2,625 colors in a compact accordion-style format.
2022-01-06
Pantone launches SkinTone Validated program[15]Pantone 推出 SkinTone Validated 验证计划textileworld.com
Reported: 2022-01-06
Pantone announced the launch of Pantone SkinTone Validated, a program for testing and validating whether displays, TVs, mobile devices and printers can authentically reproduce Pantone SkinTones.
Unconfirmed
Pantone announces updated Pantone Connect platform[16]Pantone宣布更新Pantone Connect平台whattheythink.com
Pantone announced a new version of Pantone Connect with features including digital mood boards, palette creation and live collaboration tools.
2021-09-07
ViewSonic and Pantone partner on ColorPro Talks[17]ViewSonic与Pantone合作推出ColorPro Talksprnewswire.com
Reported: 2021-09-07
ViewSonic and Pantone announced a collaboration to launch the ColorPro Talks event series, with an in-person event planned in London and an online broadcast planned afterward.
2020-09-29
X-Rite announces subscription pricing for Color iMatch and Color iQC[18]X-Rite 宣布 Color iMatch 与 Color iQC 订阅制价格prweb.com
Reported: 2020-09-29
X-Rite Incorporated and Pantone announced subscription-based pricing for Color iMatch formulation software and Color iQC quality control software. The subscription includes regular software updates and access to online training materials.
2020-08-11
Corridor partners with Pantone on design process[19]Corridor 与 Pantone 合作改进设计流程textileworld.com
Reported: 2020-08-12
Pantone LLC announced a partnership with menswear brand Corridor to streamline its color and design process using Pantone Fashion, Home + Interiors tools.
2020-08-05
Clearpay introduces new global brand identity[20]Clearpay推出全球新品牌形象prnewswire.com
Reported: 2020-08-05
Clearpay introduced a new global look, feel and positioning, including an updated logo and the Bondi Mint color. The company said the logo would roll out across its merchant websites and physical stores over the coming weeks.

Sources20 sources

Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/pantone · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled