Pantone, CMYK, RGB, HEX: one logo, four color codes

A properly delivered logo has its color written down four times: a Pantone code for printing with special inks, a CMYK value for everyday printing, an RGB value for screens and a HEX code for the website. All four describe the same color, for machines that work differently, and each one should be picked by looking at a sample, not just by letting software convert it.

Why one code isn't enough

A screen makes color out of light: red, green and blue added together. Print makes it out of ink on paper, which absorbs light. Some colors you see on a monitor, especially very bright greens and oranges or electric blue, can't be reached with the four inks of standard printing. The reverse is also true: some special inks (fluorescent, metallic) have no on-screen equivalent.

So a single code, converted automatically, almost always surprises you somewhere: the logo looks right on the website and muddy on the flyer, or the other way around.

What each code does

Pantone: the pre-mixed color

A Pantone code (say, "PANTONE 286 C") is an ink recipe. The printer mixes it in advance and prints it as its own separate color, so it comes out the same on every run. It's the right choice for packaging, bags, screen-printed T-shirts and anywhere the brand color has to match every single time.

The letter at the end matters. C means coated paper (gloss or matte), U means uncoated. The company that makes the Pantone guides explains why: on coated paper the ink sits on top of the coating, on uncoated paper it soaks in, and the same color looks noticeably different. If your logo appears on both papers, write down both versions.

CMYK: four inks, lots of conditions

CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) is the language of everyday print: business cards, flyers, brochures. Here's the catch: the same CMYK percentages print differently on different papers. That's why printers work with color profiles. One that's widely used in Europe, FOGRA39, describes offset printing on coated paper according to ISO 12647-2. Uncoated paper uses a different profile.

For brand colors, Pantone also publishes CMYK simulations (the Color Bridge guides, with the CP or UP suffix). They're a good starting point, but check them on a printed proof.

RGB and HEX: color for screens

On the web, HEX codes are colors in the sRGB space. HEX isn't a separate system; it's RGB written in hexadecimal. According to the W3C CSS spec, #00FF00 is exactly rgb(0 255 0). Developers want the HEX, whoever builds your presentations wants the RGB. Hand over both so nobody has to eyeball them.

A change worth knowing: Pantone in Adobe apps

Since November 2022, most Pantone libraries no longer come bundled with Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. You need a Pantone Connect license and its plugin to use them. In practice, on a computer without the license you no longer have the Pantone libraries at hand when you pick or check a color. One more reason to write the values down in your brand guide instead of keeping them only inside a file.

What a logo's color sheet looks like

For each color in the logo, on a single page:

1. The Pantone code, in both C and U versions.
2. The CMYK values, with the name of the profile they were set for (for example, FOGRA39 for coated paper).
3. The RGB values and the HEX code.
4. A note for special materials: for embroidery you pick the thread, for vinyl wraps you pick the film, from the supplier's samples, as close to the Pantone as possible.

As for what to send whom: the printer gets the vector file with CMYK or Pantone colors, depending on the job; the developer gets the HEX; social media gets RGB. Nobody should be sampling the color with an eyedropper from a JPG.

If your logo doesn't have a sheet like this, we can put one together along with the rest of your company materials: see Merch & Print for businesses. For the screen-versus-paper difference in more detail: CMYK or RGB: why screen colors don't print the same.