Grand Rapids, Mich. – X-Rite Incorporated, a global leader in color science and technology, and Pantone LLC, announced today that their cloud-based digital color standard ecosystem, PantoneLIVE?, will include the official spectral data from the popular Pantone Fashion, Home + Interiors System for cotton and nylon and the Pantone Matching System (PMS) for plastics and coatings. For the first time, color specifiers and manufacturers will have instant access to up-to-date spectral values for Pantone Colors for plastics, coatings and textiles, including the Pantone Color of the Year 2018: PANTONE 18-3838, Ultra Violet. The new offering, PantoneLIVE Production – Plastic, Coatings and Textile, integrates with X-Rite color management tools to ensure seamless color communication from design to production, improving consistency between design intent and finished products.

“While physical color references continue to play a critical role in specifying and managing color for textile and product applications, we are seeing many companies transition to digital processes across their design and manufacturing teams,” said Adrián Fernández, General Manager, Pantone. “The PantoneLIVE Production – Plastic, Coatings and Textile license gives users instant access to the official Pantone spectral color values as their single point of truth. Suppliers can easily integrate these values into digital workflows and begin production faster and with confidence. By using both physical and digital standards, customers can more easily and effectively communicate and verify color intent while improving manufacturing efficiency, reducing errors and rejects due to color issues in production. The ability to start formulation with digital references can save significant time that otherwise would be consumed waiting for physical samples to arrive.”

Fashion, homeware and product designers routinely use physical Pantone Color Standards for inspiration, specification, communication and verification of color intent. The PantoneLIVE Production – Plastic, Coatings and Textile license can be used to improve color communication with production suppliers giving them access to the precise spectral data for the colored material they need to produce. This allows coatings, plastics and textiles suppliers to seamlessly match any Pantone Color Standard and begin formulation immediately. Spectral matching also helps suppliers determine the most cost-effective amount of pigment to achieve accurate color at any opacity level. This saves valuable time in the formulation and production process while reducing costs.

Integrated Color Management Ecosystem for Manufacturing

Manufacturers and suppliers can access Pantone spectral data in PantoneLIVE Production – Plastic, Coatings and Textile standards through X-Rite Color iMatch and Color iQC software while measuring with an X-Rite benchtop spectrophotometer or a Ci64 handheld spectrophotometer. This provides an integrated color management workflow designed to ensure accurate color formulation for Pantone Colors.

The spectral data references available through a PantoneLIVE Production – Plastic, Coatings and Textile license are the official Pantone standards measured using X-Rite benchtop and handheld spectrophotometers under the appropriate measurement conditions.