PMS colours (also called Pantone® colours) are patented, standardised colour inks made by the Pantone company. Pantone has been around for over 50 years and is responsible for the creation of the first comprehensive standardised system of creating and matching colours in the graphic community. They literally wrote the book on it. Each of the 1,755 solid PMS colours in their Formula Guide is a Pantone proprietary blend and is sold to printers either premixed or as a formula that printers mix on their premises. Designers use their colour swatches to pick the colours, and printers refer to the same swatches. This ensures everyone works to the exact same PMS colour no matter where they are. This standardisation means most businesses and organisations use PMS colours for their branding, especially logos, to ensure the strictest colour consistency across different print products and across the globe.
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