Pantone conversion to CMYK, RGB and Hex

Posted September 9, 2011

"There is no single "good" conversion rule between RGB and CMYK, because neither RGB nor CMYK is an absolute color space."

Pantone® Matching System (PMS) Color Chart
Use this chart with caution. Pantone® colors viewed on computer screens and printed to inkjet printers will not match actual colors precisely. In general, Pantone® inks tend to print slightly darker and flatter than they apear on computer monitors. Pantone® Metallic, Hexachrome and some other special inks are omitted from this list, as they are not reproducible in RGB colors for display on screen. Whenever possible, refer to a current printed Pantone® color swatch book - that is the only way to accurately proof colors. The colors in Pantone® swatch books which have been exposed repeatedly to direct light, or are more than three years old, may appread slightly lighter or paler than real Pantone® inks. Be sure to replace your swatch books every few years, and keep them out of direct light when not in use, to avoid fading.

Pantone® is a registered trademark of Pantone, Inc.

Note that the conversions in this color codes chart are best described as "nominal". They will produce an invertible conversion between the RGB code and a subset of CMYK; that is, one can take an RGB color code and convert to certain CMYK colors, and from these CMYK colors obtain the matching, original RGB codes. However, conversion of CMYK colors to RGB cannot be reversed; this means, given a CMYK color code which is converted to RGB, performing the former conversion may not give the original CMYK color. In addition, CMYK colors may print differently from how the RGB colors display on a monitor. There is no single "good" conversion rule between RGB and CMYK, because neither RGB nor CMYK is an absolute color space.

(PMS)                        C   M   Y   K    RGB Hex
 
               100             0    0   51    0    #ffff7d
               101             0    0   79    0    #ffff36
               102             0    1   95    0    #fffc0d
               103             0    3  100   18    #d1cb00
               104             0    3  100   30    #b3ad00
               105             0    3  100   50    #807c00
               106             0    2   69    0    #fffa4f
               107             0    4   79    0    #fff536
               108             0    6   95    0    #fff00d
               109             0   10  100    0    #ffe600
               110             0   12  100    7    #edd100
               111             0   11  100   27    #baa600
               112             0   10  100   38    #9e8e00
               113             0    7   66    0    #ffed57
               114             0    8   73    0    #ffeb45
               115             0    9   80    0    #ffe833
               116             0   16  100    0    #ffd600
               117             0   18  100   15    #d9b200
               118             0   18  100   27    #ba9900
               119             0   12  100   49    #827200
               120             0    9   58    0    #ffe86b
               1205            0    5   31    0    #fff2b0
               121             0   11   69    0    #ffe34f
               1215            0    9   45    0    #ffe88c
               122             0   17   80    0    #ffd433