PMS Explained-Finally! (Dallas, TX)

Oh, please. In my world PMS stands for Pantone Matching System, the industry standard for color matching. Each color in the Pantone spectrum is assigned a permanent number so each time your refer to PMS 186 you’ll get the same shade of red.

Look at the swatch book closely and you’ll see that each number is represented twice. There will be a PMS 186 C and a 186 U. The C stands for “Coated” and the U means “Uncoated”. Notice that each of those two samples are printed on different stock? The colors ending in a “C” are printed on coated stock and the intent is to show you what 186 looks like on coated paper. 186 U is printed on uncoated paper so you may see what that looks like. They’re substantially different but they’re both 186 right out of the same ink can.

So if you’re project is being printed on uncoated stock and you request 186C you’ll be greatly disappointed. And people will laugh at you and your mother will be embarrased.

Phillip Crum is the Chief Idea Officer of MarketingMeasure and is committed to the idea of helping small business owners do a better job of finding their next customer or client. He and his two sons also own a Sir Speedy Printing franchise and employ those additional capabilities in the overall marketing services menu of offerings. Phillip can be reached at 214-213-7445, or pcrum@MarketingMeasure.com