How often should you update your Pantone books?

The answer is to update Pantones regularly! 

How often Pantones need replacing depends on how you store them and how often they are used. For example a small manufacturer of coated metal components matching Pantone infrequently and who stores their book in its original box in a closed drawer, will not need to update as often as a brand agency with a team who handle the book daily in meetings.

Recently I received an enquiry from someone wanting to buy replacement pages for their Solid Chips book. They were missing a few colours requested by a client, but, while aware their book was out of date updating regularly wasn’t critical for them because they were using it as a guide to producing coloured transparent material. I agreed that it wasn’t necessary for them to update the Pantones annually and recommended updating every 2-3 years instead. They were shocked when I told them their book was 20 years old and missing over 1200 colours!

Why is it important not to miss the new Pantone Colours?

The above example showed that missing Pantone colours can affect your relationship with your client, causing embarrassment during meetings. This can lead to questions about your professionalism, the lead time for the project and even to lost orders.

An older Pantone book also stifles creativity and inspiration. The market always demands new trend colours therefore Pantone updates the books with new colours every 3 to 4 years. It is beneficial for designers and manufacturers to regularly update their Pantone colour guides and books to capture the latest colour additions.

Having updated Pantones means you are giving your designers the best chance in the race to design next season’s star product. Updated Pantone colour standards aid the creation of colour palettes and communication between supplier and brand.

Updating your Pantone PMS guides regularly is crucial to access on-trend colours, base inks, and formulas. The newest edition features new formulas derived from the latest base inks, designed to be coated during the print production process. They’re also more environmentally friendly, containing no barium and 65% vegetable-based content.

The last colour additions to the PMS Coated and Uncoated range were made in late 2023 with 224 new colours with numbers 6001 to 6224 and 5 new vibrant ink bases.

Fashion and textile customers also need to be aware of new colours. The Fashion, Home + Interior range was updated in 2024 to include 98 contemporary, vibrant and fresh pastel colours and 77 neutral tones.

Update your Pantones today!

Challenges to colour communication

Pantone colours are so popular because they are used all over the world for production of multiple materials. This makes colour communication easier even if designers and manufacturers are on a different continent. However, one challenge is ensuring the books properly represent the requested colour.

If you have an older Pantone book that has been frequently handled and not properly protected the colours may be lacking in both accuracy and relevancy. The colours could have faded or worn away in an older copy.

Facts about colour changes in your paper Pantone book :

• Yellow and Orange: These colours typically fade the fastest due to their lighter pigments
• Red: Red inks are also prone to fading as they absorb more UV light
• Light Blues and Greens: These colours tend to fade more quickly than darker shades

Pantone guides and books are produced to the highest manufacturing standards. Each edition ensures:

• Highly regulated ink formula consistency
• Printing on popular commercial-grade 100 lb and 80 lb text weight stocks
• Careful monitoring for imperfections throughout the production process

Recipes have changed 

Pantone have updated the dye recipes used for some textile colour standards to improve colour reproducibility in bulk production. Older dyes with pigments containing heavy metals, now banned under tighter legislation, have been removed.

Likewise ink formulas have been updated to remove heavy metals and improve the coating process.

Why update Pantones?

But while you may want to keep your investment for years, it’s essential to replace the guides every 12 to 18 months on average (depending on use and storage conditions). Even well stored Pantones should be replaced every 2 years. This is due to handling, fading, and aging. Colours are worn down, either by everyday wear and tear or natural elements like sunlight and moisture.

Factors causing colours to appear inaccurate include:

• Handling = smearing or removing pigment due to natural oils on fingers
• Pages rubbing together = scratching or removing pigment
• Light exposure = fading
• Paper aging = yellowing effects
• Ambient moisture = accelerated paper aging

This isn’t just true of the paper printed or coated books as the fabric chips in the Pantone FHI books are also affected by fading, dust, and handling not to mention the other hazards of the office such as coffee or crumbs!

Do you use textile swatches or chips from your books on palettes or moodboards? Any exposure to light and dust can degrade the colour. Instead buy an individual SMART swatch and use this for your presentations while keeping the original chip in the Pantone book

Stay current with your Pantone books to ensure accurate and vibrant colour representation!

 

Factors affecting Pantone colours

We know that you love your Pantone books and you treat them properly. However, it is important to understand the factors affecting performance of the colours.

• The daily use

Using the guides and books every day makes it unavoidable that colour and pigment of the paper will be discoloured and wear off because of the natural oils of your hands even if they are washed properly.

• Atmospheric contaminants

The atmospheric dust and grit can affect the pages when rubbing together, removing the pigments or making scratches in the surface of the fabric.

• Light exposure

The colours will naturally fade if they are exposed constantly in light. If you leave your guide, swatch or book on your desk or in the production area the fading will be accelerated. Keeping them stored in the dark will help, but fading will still occur over time with the lighter colours being most susceptible.

• Paper ageing

The older the paper, the higher the possibility that yellowness will start to appear. When the paper is yellowing it affects the colour matching procedure, as the printed colour squares are affected by the underlying paper colour.

• Ambient moisture 

 The humidity of the storage room is another important factor as moisture accelerates the age of the paper.

How often should I update Pantones?

Pantone recommends that you replace your colour standards every 12-18 months, with many customers only budgeting to change them every three to five years. While Pantone books are a significant investment, colour is a vital resource for companies. When the supply chain has well-maintained and updated colour standards, rejections and time to market is greatly improved. The updated standards pay for themselves many times over.

So, why is it important to renew your colour standards regularly?​

• For better communication and fewer misunderstandings with your clients. If your client wonders why you say “I don’t have this colour, please advise another number” or “this is the best achievable match” but they think the colour is yellow, dirty or too light.
• For speedier time to market and production efficiency.

Maybe it’s time to upgrade your Pantone books? Buy Now PMS Coated and Uncoated Fashion, Home + Interior range