Pantone Colour Chart & PMS Colour Guide

About Pantone Colour Matching for Branded Merchandise

The Pantone Matching System (PMS) is the internationally recognised standard for colour reproduction across print and physical products. When you order branded merchandise — whether that's printed clothing, embroidered jackets, screen-printed bags, or laser-engraved drinkware — specifying a Pantone colour code ensures your brand colours are reproduced consistently, regardless of which supplier, factory, or printing method is used.

For businesses with strict brand guidelines, specifying Pantone colours for your logo is essential. Where a product supports Pantone matching, a logo in PMS 286 will reproduce consistently whether it's on a pen, a tote bag, or a notebook. Not all products or branding methods support exact Pantone matching, but specifying your PMS codes allows us to get as close as possible and advise where a compromise is needed.

How to find your Pantone colour

Your brand's Pantone colours should be listed in your brand guidelines document. They'll typically appear as a code like "PMS 186 C" (the C denotes Coated stock) or simply "PMS 186". If you don't have brand guidelines, your designer or marketing agency will be able to provide them.

If you're unsure of your exact Pantone code, our team can help identify the closest match using your existing branded materials. We work closely with suppliers to achieve the most accurate colour reproduction possible for each product and branding method.

Pantone colour codes explained

The standard PMS Solid Coated range — the most commonly used for promotional products — runs from PMS 100 through to the 500s and includes named colours such as Warm Red, Reflex Blue, Rubine Red, Rhodamine Red, Process Blue, and Green. Beyond the core numbered range, Pantone also produces the 1000–1900 series, the 2000–5000 extended ranges, and specialist systems including Metallics, Pastels and Neons.

For most promotional product orders, the standard solid coated range will cover your requirements. If your brand uses a metallic or pastel Pantone, let our team know and we'll advise on which products and branding methods best support those colour specifications.

Screen colours vs. physical Pantone swatches

The colour swatches shown in this guide are screen approximations only. Monitors, phones, and tablets display colours using the RGB colour model, which has a fundamentally different gamut to printed Pantone inks. Some Pantone colours — particularly vivid oranges, bright greens, and fluorescents — cannot be accurately represented on screen. For final colour approval on any branded merchandise order, physical Pantone swatch books should always be used as the reference standard.

Pantone matching at Zest Promotional

We work with suppliers across the UK, Europe, and Asia who support Pantone colour matching across a wide range of products and branding methods including screen printing, pad printing, embroidery, dye sublimation, and laser engraving. When you provide a PMS code with your order, we pass this through the supply chain to ensure accuracy at every stage.

Not all branding methods support exact Pantone matching — embroidery, for example, works to thread colour charts rather than PMS codes, and we'll always advise on the closest available match. If colour accuracy is critical to your brief, we can arrange pre-production samples for approval before committing to a full production run.

To discuss colour matching for your next branded merchandise order, contact our team on 0161 672 5804 or email [email protected].