Posted by: Suzi Senna

If you’re a business with a logo and brand colors, you’ve probably memorized your PMS (Pantone Matching System) numbers by now. Pantone is used throughout the world and was the first color system created for the purpose of reproducibility. So whether you were printing with Printer A or Printer B, your couldn’t-live-without-it canary yellow 102 or your beloved Reflex Blue would always turn out the same. Born from the genius of Lawrence Herbert in the early 1960′s, Pantone has been and still is the color standard of the world.

But as recently as last year, Pantone reinvented the (color) wheel with it’s new system, Pantone Goe (pronounced “go”).

The Goe System was created largely in response to designers who wanted a broader range of colors to choose from. And they got just that. With almost twice as many colors (2058 from 1114), the Goe System also offers designers other advantages such as the color management software myPantone and matching RGB values.

But the grass isn’t all PMS 7483 green. The new system comes with a price (starting at $499). And we remember how successful New Coke was? (Or perhaps you don’t, which is the point.) When trying to alter a standard that has been around for almost half a century, surely there will be resistance or reluctance to change. Also only a small percentage of original PMS colors have a true color match equivalent since this system uses different base inks. Make sure to ask your printer if they have the new inks before you get your heart set on any new color.

So don’t go throwing away those PMS swatch books just yet. This system should be used as an addition, not as a replacement to your color system. And when all else fails, blame it on the printer!

Tags: Logo Design

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