Achieving Color Consistency with Digital Color Standards

Maintaining color consistency across global supply chains is one of the biggest challenges facing brands and packaging printers today. Whether you're producing folding cartons, flexible packaging, or labels, color variation can happen at any stage — from design to final production. But why does this happen, and more importantly, how can you fix it?

Where Does Color Go Wrong?

At the start of every print project, color expectations are set. Unfortunately, this is often where problems begin.

Sometimes, color targets aren’t clearly communicated. Other times, the desired colors are simply unachievable with the chosen materials or inks. If left unchecked, these challenges can result in costly rework, production delays, and disappointing results for brands and customers alike.

Without clear and achievable color specifications — shared consistently with every supplier — color variability creeps into production at every stage.

The Limitations of Physical Guides

For decades, physical color guides like fan decks or printed books have been essential tools in the print industry. These guides help align creative intent with production reality. While physical color guides are valuable tools, they have inherent limitations:

• Production variability means no two guides are ever perfectly identical
• Ink room proofs often show uneven color application, making them less reliable for consistent quality checks
• Light/standard/dark guides involve a degree of subjectivity, which can introduce inconsistencies during production
• Can fade, discolor, or become damaged over time
• Different suppliers may reference different guide versions
• They’re subject to varying lighting conditions and human interpretation

When multiple suppliers interpret the same color using physical guides alone, variability is inevitable — especially across different print conditions, substrates, and locations.

The Solution: Digital Color Standards

So how can brands fix color inconsistencies across a complex supply chain?

The key is transitioning from physical guides to digital color standards.
Digital standards are created by precisely measuring the approved color target and capturing its full spectral data. This digital data becomes the definitive reference — distributed to every supplier for accurate color formulation and quality control.

Benefits of Digital Color Standards:

• Eliminates the variability of physical guides
• Maintains color accuracy over time
• Enables faster, more precise color formulation
• Ensures consistent communication across suppliers
• Reduces rework, waste, and production delays

Best Practices for Managing Digital Color Standards

While digital color standards offer powerful advantages, they must be properly managed to maintain accuracy.

Here are essential quality control methods to ensure success:

1. Capture Spectral Data
   Digital color standards should include full spectral data — not just L*a*b* values. Spectral data provides the most accurate information for ink formulation and quality control, ensuring colors look correct across different lighting conditions.
2. Control the Source
   Digital standards should always be created and approved from the original color reference. Avoid using production samples or outdated guides as the source for new standards — doing so can introduce unintentional variation.
3. Distribute Consistently
   Once a digital standard is approved, distribute it to every supplier across the supply chain. This ensures everyone is working from the same accurate color target.
4. Monitor and Measure
   Implement color quality control methods throughout production to monitor results against the digital standard. Use color measurement devices like spectrophotometers to verify accuracy in real-time.

Color Data Standardization with CxF

The Color Exchange Format (CxF) is an ISO standard that outlines how color data should be stored and exchanged. This standard is widely supported across modern color production software and ensures accurate color communication.

While CxF provides a standardized way to store and exchange color data, Pantone Master Standards offer a globally recognized visual reference for color communication.

Understanding Pantone Master Standards

What is the role of master standards in color management and why so many brand owners and suppliers rely on them?

Pantone has long set the industry standard for color communication through its master standards. These are the colors you see in a Pantone Formula Guide or fan deck — a globally recognized visual reference for designers, brand managers, printers, and ink suppliers.

Why does this matter? Because it gives everyone in the supply chain a common language for color. No matter where you are in the world — whether you’re in a design studio, a print shop, or a packaging facility — you can reference the same Pantone color number and know exactly what you’re aiming for.

These Pantone master standards are based on specific ink formulations printed on high-brightness, white, coated paper using offset lithography. So, if your print conditions closely match that environment — bright white substrates, high-quality inks, and consistent print processes — you have a high likelihood of matching the color in the guide.

Are Master Standards Enough for Every Printing Scenario?

But here’s the challenge — real-world print production is rarely that simple.

What happens when your packaging isn’t printed on bright white paper? What if you’re printing on kraft board, flexible film, or clear labels? What if your inks need to meet specific performance requirements like food safety compliance or outdoor durability?

Different materials, substrates, and print methods can dramatically affect the appearance of color. Even with a Pantone master standard as your starting point, the achievable color result can vary significantly depending on print conditions.

This is where digital color standards take color management to the next level.

PantoneLIVE: Achievable Color Standards for Consistency

PantoneLIVE digital color standards introduces dependent standards—linked standards tested and proven achievable across different printing conditions. These standards eliminate guesswork and prevent wide variations in color across suppliers. PantoneLIVE colors are stored securely on a cloud server and are accessible through a subscription service, integrating seamlessly with various software tools throughout the supply chain.

Achieve Predictable, Repeatable Color Results

Digital standards provide a clear and consistent way to define color, eliminating ambiguity and ensuring accuracy. Pantone Master Libraries deliver cloud-based color consistency, while PantoneLIVE dependent standards set achievable targets for inks and press rooms. By implementing digital standards, the entire print process becomes more precise and predictable, reducing the error stack and ensuring consistent brand colors across multiple regions.

Ready to take your color evaluation to the next level? Get in touch with our Color Experts to learn how our digital color solutions can help you achieve achievable, repeatable color — and fix color inconsistencies across your supply chain.