The Pantone Matching System was created in 1963 by Lawrence Herbert, who built a standardized library of numbered ink formulas specifically to solve the problem of color matching drifting between print runs and printers. Each number in the system corresponds to a precise ink mixing formula that any print shop with a Pantone formula guide can reproduce identically, regardless of location or equipment \u2014 the current Pantone Formula Guide catalogs 2,390 spot colors across coated and uncoated paper stocks.<\/p>
Because the system standardizes color across an entire supply chain, PMS numbers are the natural piece of metadata to attach to a brand’s logo or key visual assets inside a DAM. A single field carrying the exact number and finish \u2014 for example a coated versus uncoated variant of the same number, since ink can look different depending on the paper \u2014 lets any print partner anywhere reproduce the brand’s exact color without needing to open the original design file or rely on a monitor that may not be calibrated.<\/p>
Where this breaks down in practice is when the Pantone reference exists only inside the design file’s swatch palette, invisible to anyone browsing the DAM’s asset library. A print vendor onboarding for the first time then has to either request the source file or guess, both of which introduce delay or risk to what should be a one-line lookup.<\/p>
A complete Pantone reference on an asset record typically includes:<\/p>
Pantone matching uses the Pantone Matching System (PMS) \u2014 a standardized numbered ink reference library created in 1963 \u2014 to specify and reproduce an exact spot color across different printers and materials.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","faq":[{"question":"What does the C, U, or M after a Pantone number mean?","answer":"It indicates the paper finish the color was formulated for \u2014 C for coated, U for uncoated, M for matte stock. The same Pantone number can look noticeably different depending on which finish it's specified for, since ink behaves differently on different paper surfaces."},{"question":"How many colors are in the Pantone Matching System?","answer":"The core Pantone Matching System\u2014the Pantone Graphics System sold as the Formula Guide for coated and uncoated stock\u2014currently lists 2,390 spot colors, each assigned a unique PMS number and a documented ink formula for consistent printing. Pantone periodically expands the library, retiring and adding shades as market demand shifts, so the count creeps upward over time. Pantone's other product lines, covering fashion, plastics, and interiors, use separate numbering systems with their own color counts."},{"question":"Who created the Pantone Matching System, and when?","answer":"Lawrence Herbert created the Pantone Matching System. Herbert bought the company\u2014then a small commercial printer\u2014in 1962, and drawing on his chemistry degree, he standardized its ink-mixing formulas into numbered swatches. He released the resulting fan-deck system in 1963, giving printers, designers, and manufacturers a shared numeric reference so a chosen shade could be reproduced identically across different presses, materials, and vendors worldwide."},{"question":"Why does a DAM need to store the Pantone reference separately from the design file?","answer":"So the exact color can be looked up by anyone \u2014 a new print vendor, a licensee, an internal team \u2014 without needing access to or the software to open the original design file, speeding up onboarding and reducing the chance of a color mismatch."},{"question":"Can a Pantone color be reliably matched using RGB or CMYK values instead?","answer":"Not exactly \u2014 RGB and CMYK are both approximations of a Pantone spot color's actual appearance, useful for on-screen or process-printed reference, but the true match comes from the physical ink formula, which is what a Pantone number specifies."},{"question":"Does Pantone matching apply outside of print?","answer":"Yes \u2014 the Pantone system is also used across product design, packaging, plastics, textiles, and paint industries as a shared color reference, though the print-focused Formula Guide and coated\/uncoated finishes are specific to the graphic arts side of the system."}],"checked_date":"2026-08-11","sources":[{"statement":"The Pantone Formula Guide displays 2,390 market-driven spot colors across coated and uncoated paper stocks.","source_name":"Pantone, Formula Guide product page","url":"https:\/\/www.pantone.com\/products\/graphics\/formula-guide-coated-uncoated","checked":"2026-08-07"},{"statement":"Lawrence Herbert acquired Pantone in 1962 and created the Pantone Matching System in 1963.","source_name":"Wikipedia, Pantone","url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pantone","checked":"2026-08-07"}],"kicker":"","fact_checker":0,"reading_time":0,"revisions":[],"seo_title":"Pantone matching: how PMS spot colors stay consistent","seo_description":"","noindex":false,"related":[2645,2647,2649,2646,2643,2644],"definition":"Pantone matching uses the Pantone Matching System (PMS) \u2014 a standardized numbered ink reference library created in 1963 \u2014 to specify and reproduce an exact spot color across different printers and materials.","why":"A DAM's brand-asset metadata commonly carries the PMS number and finish (coated, uncoated, matte) attached to a logo file, so any print partner anywhere in the world mixes the identical ink rather than eyeballing a match on an uncalibrated monitor or press. 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