FAQs

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 TPX is the old suffix for the textile colours on paper, it has now been replaced by TPG, the 2100 colours in the TPX range prior to the change to TPG have been retained in the TPG book and are approximately the same colour even though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 If you have a TPX book this is obsolete and should be replaced with a TPG book, 700 colours have been added since the change from TPX and so you are missing out on colours for your creativity!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!

RAL is a German company. In 1925, German industry together with the government of the time decided to standardise and define the quality requirements for selected products and ensured that adherence to these requirements was monitored. The foundation of the “ReichsAusschuss für Lieferbedingungen” (National Board for Delivery Conditions) – since known as RAL, established an independent institution. To this day they are responsible for the approval of RAL Gütezeichen (Quality Marks). It is an umbrella organisation for all Quality Assurance Associations, and is the independent institution responsible for the creation of quality assurance processes in Germany. They have since branched into several sub companies to provide quality marks (labels) for the environment, logos, and colours. One sub company, RAL Farben (Colours) have been standardising and labelling colours and colour tones since 1927. The Classic range was the first one launched. They are considered to be the leading colour standard for automotive, aerospace, architecture and design. Many prominent companies specify their brand colours in RAL numbers and use them for their vehicles and buildings. You will often find industrial paint, powder coat, epoxy resins, plastics, varnishes and lacquer coatings specified in RAL colours.  

RAL colour charts are booklets and fan decks containing printed or coated coloured rectangles which represent the different RAL colours. Used for colour identification, product colour matching, design and inspiration. There are 3 different ranges of RAL colours - Classic, Design and Effect which are used for different products. Use RAL Classic for building materials, company logos and vehicle liver. RAL Classic colour charts contain up to 216 colours, read the blog we wrote for more information on usage. Whereas RAL Design charts have 1825 colours and are larger reference books, more similar to Pantone books, used by Architects and Interior designers. Finally, RAL Effect charts are small charts of metallic colours with solid colours which coordinate. Polypropylene standards in selected Classic and Design colours can be used for colour matching of plastics and other industrial materials.

A RAL paint code is the RAL colour reference number. The code only refers to the colour standard not the type of paint or other material. Each standardised RAL colour is issued with a number or code. This number or code is used to define the standard colours for paints, varnish, powder coatings and plastics etc. RAL is the most commonly used Central European colour standard especially in architecture, construction, industry and road safety. The RAL Classic codes are four digits but the RAL Effect codes are 3 digits followed by a letter and the RAL Design codes are a sequence of three sets of numbers which refer to the lightness, chroma and hue of the colours. Paint suppliers can match to a RAL paint code. They may request a colour standard if they are unfamiliar with the code supplied.

To convert RAL to Pantone and Pantone to RAL is difficult. These are separate colour systems and we recommend buying a book of each to check. Each company owns the IP of their respective colours and there has been no collaboration to produce a chart for translation from one system to another. Other companies (particularly paint companies) have attempted to cross reference RAL and Pantone colours but they cannot always be trusted. If you search the web you may find paint suppliers offering translations for RAL Classic colours but these can be quite far apart in colour space. RAL Classic colours were developed for external paint colours whereas Pantone was developed for printing inks and later for textile dyes. To convert RAL to Pantone we recommend that you purchase the relevant RAL Guide and Pantone Guide and check yourself under controlled lighting conditions in a light booth.

Can I get RAL colours in Dulux paint? A small range of RAL Classic colours can be purchased in Dulux trade paint, as can some British Standard colours. Dulux is an Akzo Nobel brand name which was originally developed by ICI. The brand name ‘Dulux’ is a combination of ‘Durable’ and ‘Luxury’. Most colours marketed under the brand are their own colour range with unique names designed to appeal to the public. Need a colour which isn't in the Dulux Trade range? If your supplier cannot access the Trade range, or the colour isn't available then take a sample of the colour to a Brewers Decorating Centre or similar DIY store or paint supplier. Usually they have a paint mixing machine and will measure the colour sample and mix the colour to match. If you need a RAL colour chart so that you have a sample of the required colour, we can sell you one from our online shop