Pantone Colors Discontinued! WorkAround for Pantone Colors Not Supported in Adobe (Pantone Connect)

[@GDHT]

Here's a link to download all legacy Pantone + swatch pallets for illustrator from an awesome subscriber, James Gia: drive.google.com/drive/folders/15GcaKNQ-MoorMm7BLkRiGHu8s7gwrS7j?usp=share_link And, learn how to ETHICALLY get Adobe CC free (or cheap) here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5OVo5-JaMmGoLM

[@ahmedmalikov1192]

Thank you ❤

[@SVGCF]

You’re welcome!

[@GDHT]

Mini-workaround: Click on the magnifying glass in the interface of Pantone Connect, then type a color: e.g. 200 C. When it finds it, click on the “name” part. It will replace the active color. Double click to add the swatch, rename it and define it as spot color (it will come in as a process color). UPDATE: Some viewers were rightfully concerned about Pantone licensing restrictions with doing this. I reached out to Pantone and asked about the 'legality' of renaming a swatch to a Pantone color, and they said renaming a swatch "can certainly be done, as long as the production or designer getting the artwork has a Pantone guide and understands that the color created is a ‘placeholder’ rather than a Pantone spot color specified in the art. In many cases, the artwork is sent to a printer to be converted and printed. By creating a swatch with values that are ‘close’ to the Pantone specification, if that printer was to then print the artwork based on these values it could lead to variation in intended color." So when using renamed 'representative' Pantone swatches, make sure that a Pantone book/guide is being used in the process, AND let your printer know that the swatch is just a representation.

[@scottparker6253]

I want to thank you for taking the time to make these workaround videos for AI and PS. The solution worked perfectly and enable me to actually do my job. Much appreciated!

[@GDHT]

You're welcome - I'm so happy they helped you!!

[@TRNimen]

Don't forget that you can also perform an Internet search for a specific Pantone color, and once you find the RGB, CMYK, or hexadecimal formula, create a spot color swatch as well. Thanks for your video.

[@GDHT]

Yes, absolutely!!

[@bobwatkins1271]

Now that Adobe doesn't have to pay Pantone, maybe they will reduce the CC subscription price. /s

[@GDHT]

Haha, righhhhht. :D

[@welling1]

HAHAHAHAHAHA

[@ClayWheeler]

This comment aged poorly. They just increased the price LMAO

[@Turtleback8024]

My thoughts exactly. 🤷‍♂️

[@Turtleback8024]

@@ClayWheeler Huh?😳

[@GDHT]

Thank you so much for taking the time to watch! If you'd like to take one of my classes, you can get a FREE 2-week Skillshare premium membership - (it also helps to support the channel): skl.sh/2WF8UZP

[@chance2646]

Thanks for this workaround. About half the studios I've worked with are still running pre-subscription Adobe (they tell me "please send in version X) and I always thought they must miss the features ... here we are losing another one while paying for the privilege, and I can't really think of what new features we've gained since about CS5.

[@GDHT]

I do think we've gained a LOT since then, but yes...I hate that they take away some features (although, this is more a Pantone thing than an Adobe thing, I think).

[@chrisxcr]

If you save a library as ASE out of Illustrator you can also import it into InDesign. This is a good reason to save as ASE instead of AI. You can't load swatches into InDesign from a color library in AI format. Also, if you are going to create your own swatches with the expectation that the files you send to a printer will be converted properly make sure you define your colors with the correct Lab values from an existing library instead of converting from CMYK, RGB, Hex, etc. Your ink definition won't make a difference on press but depending on your printers proofing workflow you could end up with a surprise when the proof doesn't match the ink mixed for press.

[@GDHT]

Thank you - this is great info!!

[@tonymoretti5053]

Thank you for this. I never saw anything prior to today about Pantone colors being removed so I was fairly surprised when I updated indesign to discover majority of the color books I used were removed. Luckily I hadn't updated my second computer so now I'm using your method, creating and copying the swatch libraries over to the first computer.

[@GDHT]

You're welcome! At least some books are staying in the Adobe programs. :)

[@nikoniko893]

Photoshop 2021 still has the color books...for now.

[@LunaGuinevereStudio]

I didn't even know they were gone until I watched your video because I was using other websites for the palette but they are lacking. You're such a great help! I was able to download the palettes back from your gdrive, I haven't completed adding back all of them though, thank you so so much you're the best!!

[@GDHT]

You're welcome - and thank you so much!!

[@Barry101er]

Big news, thanks for the work around.

[@GDHT]

You're welcome!

[@bethweiss5054]

Boy do I wish I would have seen this sooner! I would have saved my own color Pantone libraries!!😁

[@GDHT]

Dang it! Hopefully the ones that are staying in the programs are all you'll need. :)

[@scarymuttstudio662]

Mind blown - Thanks for letting me know, I had no idea.

[@GDHT]

You're welcome!

[@prokassim]

Great info and tip, thank you very much for the update.

[@GDHT]

You're welcome - I'm glad it was helpful!

[@ESTEESMIPODER]

Thank you so much, i just started a new job where i deal with Pantone colors everyday, this so useful

[@GDHT]

You're welcome!! I'm so glad it helped!

[@babywallet3224]

Seriously, this is great. Forcing people into subscriptions for a billion dollar company just is depressing. Now Mac is forcing us to buy monitors to go with there new Macs.

[@GDHT]

Yes I know, it’s pretty annoying. I hadn’t heard that about Mac monitors. I just bought a new Mac and it works ok with an off brand monitor.

[@nikoniko893]

I've not heard of this, what are they doing exactly?

[@joelveuve8443]

RIP PANTONE.

[@GDHT]

Maybe not--I heard they've postponed this till August, and will allow us to keep a couple color books in Illustrator.

[@nikoniko893]

We have Creative Cloud at work and I was able to load photoshop 2021 on my M1 laptop. I was very surprised to see all of the color books available for use as spot channels. Adobe took most of the books away with photoshop 2022 & 2023.

[@GDHT]

Yes, this is a fairly recent change, I think last September or so. So older versions still have everything.

[@btimec5290]

Adobe just bites. I never liked their subscription model, and the fact it was forced on us "for our convenience", These companies serve themselves first, not their customers.

[@GDHT]

While I do agree with you, I actually love how powerful the programs are. And there are always alternatives like Affinity products (1-time payment) if you don't want to go with Adobe.

[@teriwilson6922]

You can just copy or move over the Pantone Books from your older versions of Illustrator and Photoshop and drop them in the same folder(s) for the application in the newer version instead of adding all the swatches in the swatch pallet and saving....

[@GDHT]

Yes - and if you've deleted those and don't want to reinstall (or have no room) - the top comment has a link for all the swatches! :D

[@dsophie]

Thanks for sharing! March 8 and they're still there, thankfully I was able to save the colors on my computer.

[@GDHT]

You're welcome! I've heard March 22 is the day. Glad you got them saved now!

[@AmethystWoman]

@@GDHT I'm going to guess we will be able to find this file all over the web once they are gone. Too bad Adobe.

[@GDHT]

@@AmethystWoman I’m thinking there will be lots of ASE files that will be shared!

[@Lucius35]

Thanks for the video and for your clear and understandable way of communicating. I wonder if I create a spot color with the eyedropper and rename it as Pantone XXXX, can I be sure that the right color will be used in the printing phase? I'm wondering this because the screenshot doesn't feature the exact hue like the original Pantone. Sorry for my English!!! Greetings from Italy.

[@GDHT]

You're welcome!! That should work, but it's best to sample from actual Pantone colors. They're still available (Adobe put off removing them till August).

[@Lucius35]

@@GDHT thank you so much! Today I asked my printer and he replied that I can create any flat color and rename it with the desired Pantone name. Then he will provide to use the right color in printing phase.

[@GDHT]

@@Lucius35 this is really the best course of action - to reach out to your printer and ask them what they want. :)

[@PhotosRFun4Me]

Great work arounds. I was wondering if there might be a way to save them to your library, as well? Thanks.

[@GDHT]

Probably - I haven't tested it yet, though! :)

[@danselzer]

My only concern is that you named the swatch Pantone 2347C with no space. A printer making plates will know what to do, but I think when working with RIPs and digital front ends, it's important for the name to 100% match so that the RIP recognizes the spot color and is able to refer to it's library to best match it. If the name is any different, it will refer to it's reference breakdown which may not be as close. I'm not totally sure that the lack of the space would trip it up, but I think so?

[@GDHT]

I think (it’s been a while) I named it the same way it would be named by clicking on the color in a Pantone swatch list. But I’m not 100% sure. I’ll have to check that!

[@IoannaGalanomati]

This is so useful thank you! Just one question, if i save the Pantone swatches as my own palette, will it retain the names of each swatch? E.g. Pantone 12-0311

[@GDHT]

I *think* so, but why not give it a try and find out for yourself? :)

[@AmethystWoman]

so, thanks so much. I have been woefully unaware of this change. I also saved them as a color group which saves them as .ai files. Not sure the difference. For a backup I also saved the .ase pantone file in a folder in my Doc folder. I've have trouble with adobe programs and had them come into my computer and delete it all - I would lose them! Good to have a backup elsewhere since we can never do this again! Great tutorial. My regular swatches are gone now tho and not sure how to get them back. my "swatches" tab is empty. I guess I only need pantone anyway? March 18th, could still do it today. yeah.

[@GDHT]

An AI file works too! Yes, it's good to get a backup for sure! As far as your regular swatches go, just open a new doc, and they should come back.

[@pius222]

so we are screwed if we didn't save the Pantone color coated swatch before Adobe removed... Anyway to salvage this for folks like myself to find out about adobe/pantone dispute just now?

[@GDHT]

Please check the pinned comment :)

[@kellizane2362]

Thank you for this! I am having trouble though. When I go to Illustrator 23 the "User Defined" is greyed out?? Any suggestions?

[@GDHT]

Have you saved anything in there yet? It will only be active if you've saved a swatch set in it.

[@chericerigby6454]

I have adobe illustrator 2023. Never had an older version. I have a pantone formula guide book and want to type in the pantone color (example 231) and have that color match to what I see in adobe illustrator. Is there a way to do this without monthly payments to pantone connect? All I see in Adobe in the pantone colors are numbers that make no sense to the pantone color formula guide book. Thank you for your help!

[@GDHT]

In the top comment is a link where you can download the color books (you'll need to get the one that matches your book - I usually use Pantone Solid Coated). Then load them into Illustrator.

[@davidtsmith33]

Thank you. So confusing to hear Adobe won't be making Pantone available/accessible anymore after March and I'm still unsure what this means. What I'm wondering though is what if you have the Pantone Colour Manager (PCM) app from Pantone installed? (which I do)....which you would have installed and exported colour swatch libraries/books to Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign (eg CC 2020-2021). Are those not going to be available or accessible come March anymore in the Adobe apps or would they remain available having previously been gotten from Pantone and already installed?

[@GDHT]

PCM has been discontinued, but if you're still able to use it now, I would go ahead and export your libraries to your computer. I'm guessing PCM will continue to work in older versions of Adobe software, it just won't work going forward on new updates...but I'm not sure on that of course.

[@davidtsmith33]

@@GDHT Thank you. I'm assuming the same. It's a bummer though.

[@GDHT]

@@davidtsmith33 yes it is!!

[@xiaohanma2584]

if i get the paid version will I be able to add pantone color swatches to an adobe file like we used to with the adobe pantone color book? And even so, what happens when I give my file to my client or a printer who does not have a pantone subscription?

[@GDHT]

I'm actually not sure...but I think it will be easy to use them like before. I'm going to get the free trial version and do a video about how to use Pantone Connect soon, so stay tuned! :) When you give your file to a client, you won't have any problems, because the color travels with the file - it's not connected to a service, if that makes sense.

[@xiaohanma2584]

@@GDHT Yes that makes sense! Thank you. Look forward to your new video :)

[@GDHT]

Thank you!!

[@MrJoeyWheeler]

As a hobbyist, I have no freaking clue what any of this is. I just use the colour wheel to find the colour I want. I still don't really understand what a "pantone colour" is or how anyone can claim to own colours.

[@GDHT]

This video might help - kzbin.info/www/bejne/hmHCqYR9driNjM0 Basically they aren't owning the colors, but they own the system of matching colors, if that makes sense. Pantones are really only needed if you absolutely MUST have a blue (for example) be exactly the same every time it's printed. Big brands (think McDonald's, Coke, etc) definitely require that, so Pantone is necessary.

[@ladybirdbrig]

That's amazing. Thank you sooo much!

[@GDHT]

You're welcome!!

[@DiscoBarbarian]

Freetone is the Way.

[@GDHT]

I hadn't heard of that! If it's free and it does what Pantone does, though, I'm all for it! :D

[@eelhum]

thank you so much you just saved me!!!

[@GDHT]

You're welcome! Glad I could help!

[@mhudson_illustration]

Thank you! This was so helpful!

[@GDHT]

You're welcome ... and thank you!!

[@ftla2014]

Thank you for this !

[@GDHT]

You're welcome!

[@vectorvids1249]

Very helpful, thank you!

[@GDHT]

Thank you! I'm glad it was helpful!

[@svetletom]

Cool, thank you!

[@GDHT]

You're welcome!!

[@jessicaloy6911]

If you save the libraries to ASE, can you also use them in Photoshop?

[@GDHT]

Yes, I believe so!

[@indiannumber1818]

I am back with some issue your subscriber is always active 😊😊🤗 Please tell me what are requirements for uploding vectors on adobe stock

[@GDHT]

Here you go! 😊😁 kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYfIdWVtd7NkeJY

[@LH74]

Can't we just Google any Pantone Color and get a percentage or Hex # and apply them in Illustrator?

[@GDHT]

Yes, but the swatch needs to be named correctly, and it has to be the right kind of swatch (usually Lab color).

[@CarlosGarro]

Pantone Connect Free is a very bad joke!

[@GDHT]

Yes, it's pretty minimal as far as usability.

[@texnartist]

Can I download your swatch library?

[@GDHT]

Yes - I just added a link in the comments section. :)

[@yenhuiho9051]

The Plugin doesn't work like this anymore

[@GDHT]

Ok, thank you for letting me know! Can you let me know what part? You can also just bypass the plugin completely (see top comment).

[@martinavwenagha753]

You are amazing

[@GDHT]

Aww thank you so much!!

[@indiannumber1818]

Please tell vector upload requirements for adobe stock

[@GDHT]

I have a video for that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYfIdWVtd7NkeJY 😊

[@GabrielaRivas]

How do you do this for InDesign?

[@GDHT]

It's a bit of a different process - I'll try to make a video soon!

[@My10centsWorth]

Ooooeeehhh. Pantone Connect has a rating of 1.5....

[@GDHT]

Yeah. It’s not great.

[@sanderpappot]

I already upgraded my software, anybody would be so kind to share these swatches, thanks for the lesson! ; )

[@GDHT]

Here's a link to download all legacy Pantone + swatch pallets for illustrator per @jamesgia985 lower in comments: drive.google.com/drive/folders/15GcaKNQ-MoorMm7BLkRiGHu8s7gwrS7j?usp=share_link

[@sanderpappot]

@@GDHT Hey thank you so much! And James!

[@GDHT]

@@sanderpappot you're welcome! He's the real MVP! :D

[@ened30]

pantone, thats just greedy.. its basically like "its mine because i found that color"

[@GDHT]

Thankfully they can't copyright the actual colors! It's just the system that is theirs. And there are other systems around. :)

[@flaguser4196]

and i was thinking nft's were stupid. this is a new level of greed.

[@GDHT]

They're going the route of everyone else with the subscription model. I agree, it's pretty annoying.

[@NeoWorm]

Leave Adobe finally! Please, it will make the whole industry better in long term.

[@GDHT]

I can't do it! They are so integrated in my workflow.

[@patrickmarchese6071]

@@GDHT Hi Anne, Markzware has tools for converting InDesign to Affinity Publisher (IDMarkz), and checking files for Pantone swatches (FlightCheck). Let me know if you would like NFRs. Cheers, Patrick

[@MsFatpigs]

As soon as there is an equal replacement...ill join ya.

[@indiannumber1818]

Usful ver very usful 👍👍👍😊😁

[@GDHT]

Thank you!!

[@IvTHstreet]

You’re brave lol they’re gonna sue you if you are not careful.

[@GDHT]

I thought this might be the case, so I reached out to them - here's a video about it! kzbin.info/www/bejne/m3vOdaidnd9jfZI

[@jimst3r1]

pantone connect does not work on WINDOWS loL WHAT A JOKE!

[@GDHT]

Everything I could find online says it does work on Windows - are you using the most recent version of Windows? By the way, I have a Mac, so I'm not 100% sure on this info.