Pantone FAQ'S

No, fabric swatches are only available for colours in the Pantone Fashion, Home +Interior range, all of the other Pantone ranges (e.g. Coated and Uncoated) are produced on printed paper not fabric.

The Pantone Fashion, Home +Interior range colours have 6 digit numbers and they are available on three different substrates:

2626 colours are available as Cotton swatches where the numbers have 6 digits and are suffixed TCX e.g. 11-0601 TCX, purchase Cotton fabric swatches

203 unique colours are available as Polyester swatches where the numbers have 6 digits and are suffixed TSX e.g. 14-1906 TSX, purchase Polyester swatches

21 unique colours are available as Nylon swatches where the numbers have 6 digits and are suffixed or are suffixed TN e.g. 16-2150 TN, purchase Nylon swatches

We try to maintain stock of at least 2 swatches (more of popular colours) of every one of the 2850 FHI colours ready for same day despatch if orders are placed before 12.30pm.
To purchase fabric swatches (and cut down variations of these) see the swatch ordering page of our website.

Why is my Pantone swatch labelled revised standard, have they changed the colour?

Revised Standard means that the dye recipe has changed since the colour was first established; it may not have been recently. The colour will still match the original colour standard under D65.

The first Pantone TCX colours were formulated in 2007 these 1925 colours are still in the range, however dyeing technology has changed since and some dyes are no longer available.

The recipes of some colours were changed in response to customer demand, to make them more reproducible in the real world and to reduce problems achieving the colour. Pantone has worked closely with a number of dyeing mills to optimise colour matching, where difficulty remained the decision was made to reformulate the colour.

It does not mean that the actual colour swatch has changed as the revised recipe is formulated to match the original colour perfectly under D65 daylight lighting. The swatches are marked up to alert you to the possibility that the colour may be slightly different under another light source (metameric).

Yes, if you and your suppliers have purchased SMART fabric swatches recently and stored them correctly* they will match.

Ensure both sets of fabric swatches match, purchase direct from an authorised Pantone partner such as VeriVide.

Production of Pantone fabric swatches is tightly controlled,  subsequently they are shipped globally to Pantone offices and authorised Pantone partners.

Swatches are sold sealed in a protective plastic wrap.*Once opened we recommend that you replace the swatch inside the plastic wrap. Store away from light and dust in a closed box or drawer to prevent fading and contamination.

Dyeing of SMART swatches occurs in one dye house and the quality control is very strict. Fabric for SMART swatches is matched to the original spectral data standard with a delta E measurement of 0.5 or less. This is hardly noticeable when visual matching. Additionally, production of a colour is always on the same side of the standard in chroma, hue and lightness.

Still worried? First check that your supplier is matching to a SMART swatch. Matching to a paper or fabric Pantone book  will cause variation. The Cotton chips in the Cotton Passport, Cotton Planner or Cotton Chip Set are affected by the background paper and glue. The paper books are produced using ink pigments and will not be a perfect match to the cotton swatch.

Ask the age of the SMART swatch, old swatches may have faded or be dirty from handling!

Fluorescent colours absorb ultraviolet light and emit it as visible light which increases the perceived brightness of the colour. Used in fashion products as well as in safety clothing these colours are in demand.

Pantone developed the Nylon Brights Swatch ring which contains 21 super bright colours – brighter than can be achieved on Cotton. The colours are dyed on Nylon 6,6 to optimise lightfastness and wash fastness. Of the 21 colours, 14 contain flavine or rhodamine acid dyestuff which qualifies them as true fluorescents. Colours include Safety Yellow 13-0630 TN, Green Gecko 13-0340 TN and Knockout Pink 16-2130 TN

Pantone developed additional fluorescent colours on Polyester, found in the Polyester Swatch Book. Sun Glare 13-0663 TSX, Lounge Lizard 16-0163 TSX, Candy Kiss 15-1863 TSX, Live Wire 15-1363 TSX.

Individual large swatches are also available, select Nylon swatch Cards or Polyester swatch Cards to access the colour range.

Cotton cannot be dyed with fluorescent dyes, therefore fluorescent colours cannot be found in the Pantone Fashion, Home +Interiors Cotton TCX range.

No, If you only require one Pantone colour you can purchase individual fabric swatches, TPG sheets or Plastic Chips if it is a Fashion, Home + Interiors colour. Cotton, Polyester or Nylon colour it is possible to purchase individual and we hold stock of all 2850 colours in the range, we also sell Replacement Pages for the TPG Color Specifier.

If you need a Graphics Coated (C) or Uncoated (U) colour then you can purchase a Replacement Page for all of the Graphics Solid Chip books pages contain up to seven colours and each colour is represented by 6 perforated chips like postage stamps to tear out (approx 2cm x 2cm).

To purchase Replacement Pages please order online and then advise colour numbers or page numbers in the comments box under the billing address at the check out.

Individual Plastic Standard chips are also available for both Coated (C ) and TCX colours.

Of course a Pantone book is a good investment for regular use and offers flexibility for your clients colour selection

For more assistance contact pantone@verivide.com and the team will point you to the best product for your project.

No, most online shop stock is available in our warehouse to send out immediately, some items are order on demand and are clearly marked before you purchase.

We try to hold at least one of each of all Pantone Graphics and Fashion, Home + Interior books in stock (more of the popular items) ready for despatch the same day if your order is completed before 12.30pm but we cannot guarantee stock of every item. If your order is out of stock you will be informed and provided with an estimated delivery date.

We will order any out of stock items from Pantone as soon as possible and usually receive these within 10-14 days. Occasionally stock may take longer to arrive if Pantone are waiting for stock themselves.

TPX meaning is Textile Paper. This was the paper version of the Cotton TCX colours in the Pantone Fashion, Home +Interiors range until 2015.

TPX is the old suffix for the textile colours on paper, it has now been replaced by TPG, the 2100 colours in the TPX range prior to the change to TPG have been retained in the TPG book and are approximately the same colour even though reformulated.

The suffix changed from TPX to TPG in 2016 because Pantone had to prove to the EU governments that they had removed banned chemicals from the coating process. All lead pigments and chromium have been removed to ensure compliance with environmental requirements.

If you have a TPX book this is obsolete and should be replaced with a TPG book, 700 colours have been added since the change from TPX and so you are missing out on colours for your creativity!

TPG colours are found in the Paper Traveler, Color Guide, Color Specifier and as individual TPG sheets.

TPG meaning is Textile Paper Green. This is the paper version of the Cotton TCX colours in the Pantone Fashion, Home +Interiors range.

The suffix changed from TPX to TPG in 2016 because Pantone had to prove to the EU governments that they had removed banned chemicals from the coating process. All lead pigments and chromium have been removed to ensure compliance with environmental requirements.

TPG colours are found in the Paper Traveler, Color Guide, Color Specifier and as individual TPG sheets.

The colours in the TPX/TPG books are developed to be the closest possible visual match to Pantone Cotton TCX colours under D65 Daylight lighting. They cannot be guaranteed to match under other light sources due to the difference in chemistry of dye on fibre to ink on paper giving a potential metameric effect.

In practice, approx 60-80% of textile paper TPX/TPG colour chips are a good match to the cotton standards in D65 lighting but with the darker and more saturated colours do not match the cotton. This is true for Black, Navy, Bottle Green, Scarlet and dark reds. The reason for this is it difficult to build up sufficient depth of colour on the paper.

When matching a textile colour within a large supply chain it is important to ensure everyone matches to the same colour standard. Cotton TCX SMART swatches are engineered standards meaning that each swatch is the same colour wherever in the world it is purchased.

Smaller brands and freelancers may only have buget for a paper TPG fan guide, this is suitable for initial colour selection, however we recommend that colour is then translated into TCX references before specification. Individual TCX swatches are available so you can purchase just the colours you need to confirm selection and specify to your suppliers.

When producing soft and hard goods in the same range we recommend that the soft goods are matched to cotton TCX SMART swatch standards and the hard goods to Pantone Plastic Chip standards which replicate the cotton TCX colours on large Polypropylene chips.

Please note applying the same colour to different materials may cause different colour appearances due to surface construction, reflectance and other variables.

Pantone colour names are chosen by the Pantone Color Institute (PCI) which is headed by a team of five people led by Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman.

The inspiration for the colour names came from all around the globe, in different natural environments and cultures as well as street fashion trends. Many colours are named after flowers, trees, minerals and animals and some use traditional place names.

We have written blogs about the naming of Pantone colours, the most recent was in response to Pantone reviewing and changing some of them in 2022, the new names were due to sensitivity around the original names. You may also find  ‘Pantone colour names – where do they come from?’ interesting as well.

We hope you found this blog helpful, if so you may find our other blog, ‘Pantone FAQs for Interior Design’ useful too!

Pantone strive to supply products which are sustainable and less damaging to the environment than their legacy products. Pantone work with their suppliers of paper, dyes and pigments to identify the best materials for the products for both quality and sustainability.

The most recent colours additions to the Pantone Fashion & Home cotton range were developed in conjunction with Huntsman Textile Effects using Huntsman’s AVITERA® SE range of dyes. AVITERA® SE provides significant economic benefits and improved environmental footprint: reducing water and energy consumption by over 50% and cutting CO2 emissions by up to 50% during the dyeing process.
In addition, all lead pigments and chromium have been removed from the Pantone Fashion & Home paper range to ensure compliance with environmental laws.

There are thousands of Pantone colours which designers can use to create their products!

For the Fashion, Home and Interiors (FHI) industry there are currently 2,850 Pantone colours available as SMART colour swatches. 2,626 are cotton swatches, 203 are on Polyester and the remaining 21 are nylon bright and fluorescent colours, this number increases approximately every four years when Pantone add relevant trend colours as requested by designers. If you have updated Pantone books and still feel there is a gap in the colours available to you then please contact pantone@verivide.com and provide an example for possible inclusion in future (subject to achievability on the standard substrates).

For the graphics and print industry, the Pantone Formula Guides currently include 2390 PMS colours. The Pantone Graphics range also includes 154 Pastels, 56 Neons, and 655 Metallics colours so the Graphics range in total has 3255 PMS colours as well as 2,868 CMYK process colours which do not relate to the PMS colours.

There are also the Plastic Chips to consider, you can request all of the Cotton swatch colours as well as all of Graphics PMS colour range as Plastic Standard Chips so it is possible to choose from 5016 colours in the Plastic chips. N.B. the less often requested colours will have a longer lead time while they are formulated.

If your question hasn’t been answered, simply drop an email to pantone@verivide.com or call +44 (0)116 284 7790 and we will be happy to answer! We may even include it on our blog!