Pantone Inc. is a corporation headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey, USA.[1] The company is best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries, primarily printing, though sometimes in the manufacture of colored paint, fabric, and plastics.
In October 2007, X-Rite Inc, a supplier of color measurement instruments and software, purchased Pantone Inc for $180 million.
Pantone began as a commercial printing company in the 1950s. In 1956, they hired recent Hofstra University graduate Lawrence Herbert as a part-time employee. Herbert used his chemistry knowledge to systematize and simplify the company's stock of pigments and production of colored inks; by 1962, Herbert was running the ink and printing division at a profit, while the commercial-display division was $50,000 in debt; he subsequently purchased the company's technological assets from his employers and renamed them "Pantone".[3]
The company's primary products include the Pantone Guides, which consist of a large number of small (approximately 6×2 inches or 15×5 cm) thin cardboard sheets, printed on one side with a series of related color swatches and then bound into a small "fan deck". For instance, a particular "page" might contain a number of yellows of varying tints.
The idea behind the PMS is to allow designers to 'color match' specific colors when a design enters production stage—regardless of the equipment used to produce the color. This system has been widely adopted by graphic designers and reproduction and printing houses for a number of years now. Pantone recommends that PMS Color Guides be purchased annually as their inks become more yellow over time.[4] Color variance also occurs within editions based on the paper stock used (coated, matte or uncoated), while interedition color variance occurs when there are changes to the specific paper stock used.
With the job market improving, workers may be tempted to test new waters -- and many companies are missing the boat when it comes to staff retention. Only half (50 percent) of advertising and marketing executives polled recently said they're concerned about keeping talent on board.
The survey was developed by The Creative Group, a specialized staffing service providing marketing, advertising, creative and web professionals on a project basis. It was conducted by an independent research firm and includes 250 responses - 125 from advertising executives with the nation's 1,000 largest advertising agencies and 125 from senior marketing executives with the nation's 1,000 largest companies.
Advertising and marketing executives were asked, "How concerned are you about retaining current staff members if the job market improves?"
Their responses:
Very concerned 12%
Somewhat concerned 38%
Not very concerned 32%
Not at all concerned 18%
"Many companies don't focus on retention until it's too late," said Tracey Fuller, executive director of The Creative Group. "Now is the time for firms to ensure top performers feel valued and are fully engaged in their jobs. Those who are respected and have consistently positive interactions with their managers will be more reluctant to leave, even when presented with attractive job offers."
Fuller noted that turnover can significantly reduce productivity. "Organizations may lose skills and experience that are vital to the launch of new products or the implementation of other marketing initiatives," she said. "Tenured staff members not only understand a company's unique style and goals, but also the nuances of client relationships and how to use the firm's internal and external resources to successfully complete projects."
Today I see, via John Gruber, that Pantone has been acquired by X-Rite. In 1995, I gave Pantone’s CEO some advice that might have made them a lot of money. He didn’t take it, but it’s an amusing story.
What happened was, I was a Vice-President and founder of Open Text, then mostly in the search and retrieval business, which was at that time part of the publishing business. We’d long been attendees of the “Seybold Seminars”, for many years the Conference that Mattered in the publishing-tech business. When Open Text suddenly hit the big time in 1995 with one of the first Web Search Engines, I became something of a Web Authority, and spoke regularly on the subject at Seybold.
That year, we had a partnership with Yahoo! (the employee count was still in the low double digits, but they had white-hot buzz). At that fall’s Seybold, I was invited to the “Founders’ Dinner” at a really nice San Francisco restaurant. I called the hosts and asked if I could bring Jerry Yang from this weird new Web-Startup world along. Jerry got a lot of attention; the Web was absolutely Terra Incognita to those guys at that time.
Later in the evening, I was chatted up by the Pantone CEO, a grizzled guy in a rumpled suit. He asked “Is there anything Pantone could do to make its mark on this new Internet thing?”.
The answer seemed obvious. I said “Well, color online mostly sucks, and that’s partly because computer geeks mostly totally don’t understand it. Why don’t you guys write some software that takes a Pantone number as input and really works hard, using everything it knows about your computer and operating system and monitor and video card, to come as close to that color as you’re gonna get, on-screen.”
He asked “Well, how do I make money?”
I said “Give the software away to Netscape and Microsoft (for IE). If it’s good, millions of page designs on the Net will be specced in Pantone numbers. Your upside is huge.”
He looked at me like I was completely fucking nuts. To his credit, he was polite, but it was obvious he thought I was from another planet.
Offering child care in the workplace forms an important part of a family friendly policy for many employers. Childcare vouchers offered through salary sacrifice (to make the most of the tax break) is a benefit commonly offered to working parents. Beside child care voucher services, some companies also run child care services such as the onsite nursery, while emergency childcare provision is becoming increasingly popular among staff.
Voluntary benefits schemes enable organisations to offer extra perks, discounted products and services to the workforce at little or no extra cost to the company. These benefits are paid for by the employee, sometimes through payroll. Perks that attract an employer tax break can be offered through a salary sacrifice arrangement. It is advisable to get in a tax expert when you implement a salary sacrifice scheme.
In October 2007, X-Rite Inc, a supplier of color measurement instruments and software, purchased Pantone Inc for $180 million.
Pantone began as a commercial printing company in the 1950s. In 1956, they hired recent Hofstra University graduate Lawrence Herbert as a part-time employee. Herbert used his chemistry knowledge to systematize and simplify the company's stock of pigments and production of colored inks; by 1962, Herbert was running the ink and printing division at a profit, while the commercial-display division was $50,000 in debt; he subsequently purchased the company's technological assets from his employers and renamed them "Pantone".[3]
The company's primary products include the Pantone Guides, which consist of a large number of small (approximately 6×2 inches or 15×5 cm) thin cardboard sheets, printed on one side with a series of related color swatches and then bound into a small "fan deck". For instance, a particular "page" might contain a number of yellows of varying tints.
The idea behind the PMS is to allow designers to 'color match' specific colors when a design enters production stage—regardless of the equipment used to produce the color. This system has been widely adopted by graphic designers and reproduction and printing houses for a number of years now. Pantone recommends that PMS Color Guides be purchased annually as their inks become more yellow over time.[4] Color variance also occurs within editions based on the paper stock used (coated, matte or uncoated), while interedition color variance occurs when there are changes to the specific paper stock used.
With the job market improving, workers may be tempted to test new waters -- and many companies are missing the boat when it comes to staff retention. Only half (50 percent) of advertising and marketing executives polled recently said they're concerned about keeping talent on board.
The survey was developed by The Creative Group, a specialized staffing service providing marketing, advertising, creative and web professionals on a project basis. It was conducted by an independent research firm and includes 250 responses - 125 from advertising executives with the nation's 1,000 largest advertising agencies and 125 from senior marketing executives with the nation's 1,000 largest companies.
Advertising and marketing executives were asked, "How concerned are you about retaining current staff members if the job market improves?"
Their responses:
Very concerned 12%
Somewhat concerned 38%
Not very concerned 32%
Not at all concerned 18%
"Many companies don't focus on retention until it's too late," said Tracey Fuller, executive director of The Creative Group. "Now is the time for firms to ensure top performers feel valued and are fully engaged in their jobs. Those who are respected and have consistently positive interactions with their managers will be more reluctant to leave, even when presented with attractive job offers."
Fuller noted that turnover can significantly reduce productivity. "Organizations may lose skills and experience that are vital to the launch of new products or the implementation of other marketing initiatives," she said. "Tenured staff members not only understand a company's unique style and goals, but also the nuances of client relationships and how to use the firm's internal and external resources to successfully complete projects."
Today I see, via John Gruber, that Pantone has been acquired by X-Rite. In 1995, I gave Pantone’s CEO some advice that might have made them a lot of money. He didn’t take it, but it’s an amusing story.
What happened was, I was a Vice-President and founder of Open Text, then mostly in the search and retrieval business, which was at that time part of the publishing business. We’d long been attendees of the “Seybold Seminars”, for many years the Conference that Mattered in the publishing-tech business. When Open Text suddenly hit the big time in 1995 with one of the first Web Search Engines, I became something of a Web Authority, and spoke regularly on the subject at Seybold.
That year, we had a partnership with Yahoo! (the employee count was still in the low double digits, but they had white-hot buzz). At that fall’s Seybold, I was invited to the “Founders’ Dinner” at a really nice San Francisco restaurant. I called the hosts and asked if I could bring Jerry Yang from this weird new Web-Startup world along. Jerry got a lot of attention; the Web was absolutely Terra Incognita to those guys at that time.
Later in the evening, I was chatted up by the Pantone CEO, a grizzled guy in a rumpled suit. He asked “Is there anything Pantone could do to make its mark on this new Internet thing?”.
The answer seemed obvious. I said “Well, color online mostly sucks, and that’s partly because computer geeks mostly totally don’t understand it. Why don’t you guys write some software that takes a Pantone number as input and really works hard, using everything it knows about your computer and operating system and monitor and video card, to come as close to that color as you’re gonna get, on-screen.”
He asked “Well, how do I make money?”
I said “Give the software away to Netscape and Microsoft (for IE). If it’s good, millions of page designs on the Net will be specced in Pantone numbers. Your upside is huge.”
He looked at me like I was completely fucking nuts. To his credit, he was polite, but it was obvious he thought I was from another planet.
Offering child care in the workplace forms an important part of a family friendly policy for many employers. Childcare vouchers offered through salary sacrifice (to make the most of the tax break) is a benefit commonly offered to working parents. Beside child care voucher services, some companies also run child care services such as the onsite nursery, while emergency childcare provision is becoming increasingly popular among staff.
Voluntary benefits schemes enable organisations to offer extra perks, discounted products and services to the workforce at little or no extra cost to the company. These benefits are paid for by the employee, sometimes through payroll. Perks that attract an employer tax break can be offered through a salary sacrifice arrangement. It is advisable to get in a tax expert when you implement a salary sacrifice scheme.