Files & prepress
What is spot color?
Also called: Pantone, PMS color
A spot colour is a specific premixed ink standard — most famously Pantone's numbered system — used to specify an exact brand colour independent of any printer's CMYK mix.
Brand guides say 'PMS 186' because that number means the same red everywhere, while a CMYK recipe drifts between devices. Large-format digital printers don't load spot inks; the RIP converts the Pantone number to the closest mix the machine can make — which is close, and sometimes not close enough.
The professional move on brand-critical work is a printed drawdown of the converted colour for approval before the run. Franchise brand police carry fan decks; a corporate rollout matched by eye is a job you may print twice.
Related terms
Software that speaks the trade
PrinterFlo runs print & sign shops on one board — quotes that price by size and material, proofs approved from one link, and a production checklist the quote writes for you.