New X-Rite Service Helps Printers and Converters Better Manage Color Libraries

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., March 21, 2016 – X-Rite Incorporated, a global leader in color science and technology, and its subsidiary Pantone LLC, today expanded its PantoneLIVE™ cloud-based solution for digitally communicating color with a new service that helps printers and packaging converters manage color libraries. The new PantoneLIVE Rationalization Service analyzes and consolidates a printer’s color library to improve color consistency, increase production efficiencies, and avoid wasteful duplication of color.

Rationalization
Over time, a printer’s color libraries can grow substantially when new colors are added. Without appropriate management or attention to the potential issues of duplication, this can quickly evolve into an unmanageable number of colors, resulting in inefficiencies in ink matching, production planning and increases ink inventory costs.

“Printers and converters can benefit from the PantoneLIVE Rationalization Service by analyzing and consolidating colors that are so close together in the color space that they are effectively the same,” said Chris Halford, Technical Director for PantoneLIVE Services, X-Rite Pantone. “We have worked with a number of converters who have seen a 30 percent to 45 percent reduction in their color libraries. This creates a leaner color palette with fewer colors to manage and a smaller inventory of inks. This saves time, budget and reduces errors. The remaining colors in the digital library can be easily accessed, giving the printer and the brand owner the confidence that their colors are consistent, no matter where the item is produced or what substrate is used.”

Color Mapping
Color Mapping is another service included in the PantoneLIVE Rationalization process. Client colors are mapped to standard Pantone® Matching System (PMS) colors and to PantoneLIVE dependent references. With this mapping, a converter’s entire packaging supply chain can easily make use of both Master and Dependent Libraries within the PantoneLIVE ecosystem.

Sometimes, due to the realities of production materials and processes, the desired Pantone Master Standard color cannot be achieved with the target substrate and printing process. Pantone Dependent Standards are designed to represent desired Master Standards, and are the Pantone approved best match to the Master standards, while taking into account the effect on color outcome of using various different substrates, inks and printing processes. By mapping original colors to Pantone Master and Dependent Libraries in PantoneLIVE, printers and converters can accurately communicate color across the color supply chain, from designer to brand owner to supplier.

To prevent future color redundancy, PantoneLIVE and the new PantoneLIVE Private Cloud include process controls that assess and evaluate a new color standard when it is added to the library. The system alerts the user if the color already exists or if there is a suitable color match in the library before the new color is added. The PantoneLIVE Private Cloud is an X-Rite service offering that enables the secure publication and sharing of a converter’s own color standards via the PantoneLIVE infrastructure.

“The combination of rationalizing and color mapping allows printers to create a palette of known converter-validated and Pantone approved colors,” says Halford. “As a result, printers can take full advantage of the benefits of reducing spot color libraries.”

X-Rite will demonstrate the PantoneLIVE services at drupa 2016, May 31 through June 10 at the Düsseldorf Fairgrounds in Hall 8b A23. Attendees can speak with X-Rite color experts to learn how the mapping and rationalization service can improve efficiencies across the supply chain delivering fast return on investment (ROI) and increasing customer satisfaction.

For more information about PantoneLIVE Rationalization Service, visit http://www.xrite.com/color-mapping-and-rationalization-services.

About PantoneLIVE
PantoneLIVE is a cloud-based solution that enables the universal PANTONE Color language to be accurately communicated across the entire packaging workflow – from design concept to retail store shelves. PantoneLIVE extends the PANTONE PLUS SERIES Color Library, mapping critical color information to packaging-specific substrates. The PantoneLIVE ecosystem is supported by licensed hardware and software that enables each area of a packaging supply chain to access the same PantoneLIVE Colors, in addition to brand specific palettes. This results in consistent and repeatable color across product families, regardless of media or print technology, providing a cohesive brand approach.
While users of any manufacturer’s ink will be able to take advantage of PantoneLIVE, Sun Chemical is the preferred ink partner. Esko, a global supplier of integrated solutions for packaging, sign and display finishing, commercial printing and professional publishing, is also a preferred partner supporting PantoneLIVE. Both companies worked closely with Pantone and X-Rite to develop PantoneLIVE. For more information, please see www.pantone.com/live

About X-Rite
Founded in 1958, X-Rite, Incorporated is a global leader in color science and technology. With its wholly owned subsidiary Pantone, X-Rite employs more than 800 people in 11 countries. The company’s corporate headquarters are located in Grand Rapids, Mich., with regional headquarters in Europe and Asia and service centers across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas. X-Rite Pantone offers a full range of color management solutions used by manufacturers, retailers, printers, photographers and graphic design houses to achieve precise management and communication of color throughout their processes. X-Rite Pantone products and services are recognized standards in the printing, packaging, photography, graphic design, video, automotive, paints, plastics, textiles and medical industries. For further information, please visit www.xrite.com. For the latest news, information and conversations, connect with X-Rite on LinkedIn, Vimeo, Twitter, and Facebook.

About Pantone
Pantone LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of X-Rite, Incorporated, has been the world’s color authority for nearly 50 years, providing design professionals with products and services for the colorful exploration and expression of creativity. Always a source for color inspiration, Pantone also offers paint and designer-inspired products and services for consumers. More information is available at www.pantone.com. For the latest news, trends, information and conversations, connect with Pantone on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

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©2016 X-Rite, Inc. All rights reserved. X-Rite is a registered trademark of X-Rite, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. PANTONE®, PantoneLIVE and other Pantone trademarks are the property of Pantone LLC. PANTONE Colors may not match PANTONE-identified standards. Consult current PANTONE Color Publications for accurate colors. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Pantone is a wholly owned subsidiary of X-Rite, Incorporated. Licensed under Sun Chemical Corporation [Sun Chemical’s patented technology enables the communication of a consistent, digital description of the desired appearance of a product] -U.S. Patent Nos. 7,034,960; 7,202,976; 7,268,918; 7,417,764 (and their foreign equivalents). Adobe and Illustrator are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. © Pantone LLC, 2016. All rights reserved.