What’s the difference between Pantone, CMYK, Hex, & Madeira Colours when branding corporate gifts & clothing?
If you are one of the people who get completely confused when it comes to the different colour charts available when branding your corporate gifts and clothing, you should not feel alone. Most people have very limited knowledge about the difference between Pantone Colours, CMYK Colours, Hex Colours and are clueless when it comes to Madeira Colour Charts.
The Need for a Corporate Identity Manual
If you are part of a large corporate company, your marketing department and advertising agency will have a corporate identity manual or brand manual that lists all the different colour scheme codes for their logo depending on which material is being printed or embroidered on.
A corporate identity manual is the number one item that all companies should have if they are serious about their brand. This is where you should be listing the various codes for each specific colour management scheme, i.e. Pantone, Hex, Madeira, CMYK, or even RGB. Without a corporate identity manual, you will find that each marketing assistant or supplier chooses their own idea of what they think your colours should be and that is a disaster waiting to happen.
What is the Pantone Colour Chart or PMS?
Pantone provides a universal language of colour that enables colour-critical decisions through every stage of the workflow for brands and manufacturers. More than 10 million designers and producers around the world rely on Pantone products and services to help define, communicate and control colour from inspiration to realization – across various materials and finishes for graphics, fashion and product design.
Yes, it is possible to match a CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black) combination as close as possible to Pantone, but you will never get an exact match. And if you are serious about building a professional brand, having a Pantone colour defined in your corporate identity manual is of utmost importance.
Pantone colours are generally used in the paper printing process. A ‘C’ behind the code defines that this is the colour as it will look on coated papers and a ‘U’ behind the code is supposed to be the final colour for uncoated paper. Nowadays it is common to find a Pantone colour specified for screen printing on corporate gifts & clothing.
What is a CMYK Colour?
CMYK colour stands for cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K for “key”), and is the colour mode used by printers to create full-colour graphics and images. The printing process involves combining varying amounts of different colour inks to produce a full spectrum of colour. The “K” represents black, for “key”, refers to the printing plates being keyed, or aligned, to the black printing plate. CMYK colour is also called process colour, or four-color process.
The insert shows for example how addShine’s Yellow is made up of 19 units Magenta and 100 units Yellow. addShine’s Orange is made up of 77 units of Magenta and 100 units of Yellow. addShine’s Black only has 100 units of Black or ‘K’, but not all blacks are 100% black. It could have easily incorporated a dash of something else.
What is a Hex Colour?
Designers and developers use HEX colours in web design. A HEX colour is expressed as a six-digit combination of numbers and letters defined by its mix of red, green, and blue (RGB). A HEX colour code is shorthand for its RGB (Red, Green & Blue) values with a little conversion gymnastics in between.
Essentially, you will never need a Hex Colour code when branding corporate gifts & clothing. This is only used for web-based designs.
What is a Madeira Colour?
This is where things get interesting. Most people don’t even know what a Madeira Colour is, let alone what their company’s Madeira colours are. Essentially a Madeira colour code is your company’s code that you use when embroidering clothes. Yes, one could use a guestimate, but it is so much more professional and effective if you can stick to exactly the same colour every single time you embroider your logo onto a garment.
Why should you have the different Pantone, Madeira, Hex, RGB, and CMYK Colour Codes when branding your corporate clothing & gifts?
You spend a small fortune on corporate gifts and clothing and if the colours that you use do not match 100% every time that you spend money on it, the results will not be nearly as effective as they could be.
Yes, we know there are companies out there that do not give you grief on your exact colours and do exactly as you say, but we do believe it is our duty to assist you in getting the most professional result every single time that you spend money on corporate gifts and clothing.
And yes, if you do not have a corporate identity manual, we can assist you through our sister company addVentures. Give addShine a call today to see how we can make a massive difference in your corporate gift and clothing results to expand your brand to new heights.
