Content uploaded by Michael Abildgaard
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Michael Abildgaard on Sep 20, 2019
Content may be subject to copyright.
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
Reinventing the wheel
An attempt to create an objective technical color wheel for
Pantone colors by using hue angles (hab) as the deciding factor
stuttiarigairt
2019
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
The Yin and Yang of Colors
How to calculate the exact
Complementary Color
to a specific chromatic Brand Color
L* 30.32
a* -47.27
b* -78.51
h* 238.90
L* 69.68
a* 47.27
b* 78.51
h* 58.90
h* 58.90
Can this be used to
determine other colors
and color groups?
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
ISO Color groups?
ISO 12647-6:2012 (..Flexographic Printing)
Withdrawn
Can this be used to
determine other
colors and color
groups?
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
Are these colors yellow, red or orange?
Formula Guide. Page 28
Same page as 1655 (orange)
Formula Guide. Page 45
After Red 032C
Formula Guide. Page 37
Same page as 485 (red)
L* 77
a* 35
b* 30
h* 40,6
C* 46,1
L* 60
a* 49
b* 41
h* 39,9
C* 63,9
L* 69
a* 35
b* 28
h* 38,7
C* 44,8
Formula Guide. Page 6
Same page as 113 (yellow)
L* 85
a* 8
b* 89
h* 84,7
C* 89,9
PANTONE®
1625 C
PANTONE®
7416 C
PANTONE®
486 C
PANTONE®
116 C
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
Are these colors yellow, red or orange?
L* 77
a* 35
b* 30
h* 40,6
C* 46,1
L* 60
a* 49
b* 41
h* 39,9
C* 63,9
L* 69
a* 35
b* 28
h* 38,7
C* 44,8
Formula Guide. Page 28
Same page as 1655 (orange)
Formula Guide. Page 45
After Red 032C
Formula Guide. Page 37
Same page as 485 (red)
Formula Guide. Page 6
Same page as 113 (yellow)
L* 85
a* 8
b* 89
h* 84,7
C* 89,9
PANTONE®
1625 C
PANTONE®
7416 C
PANTONE®
486 C
PANTONE®
116 C
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
Are these colors yellow, red or orange?
L* 77
a* 35
b* 30
h* 40,6
C* 46,1
L* 60
a* 49
b* 41
h* 39,9
C* 63,9
L* 69
a* 35
b* 28
h* 38,7
C* 44,8
Formula Guide. Page 28
Same page as 1655 (orange)
Formula Guide. Page 45
After Red 032C
Formula Guide. Page 37
Same page as 485 (red)
Hue angles in the
CIEab projection circle
Formula Guide. Page 6
Same page as 113 (yellow)
L* 85
a* 8
b* 89
h* 84,7
C* 89,9
PANTONE®
1625 C
PANTONE®
7416 C
PANTONE®
486 C
PANTONE®
116 C
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
Is this color difference acceptable?
4 ∆Eab 4 ∆E00
We don't even have to see the colors or the color difference
to answer this question
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
Methods
The orange color group on coated paper is used as an example, after which the same systematics
might be used to determine other boundaries between other color groups.
Two physical color sample catalogs have been used
•The Pantone Matching System, Printers Edition from 1973
(same original colors and structure as the first edition, in 1963)
•The Pantone Formula Guide Coated, The Plus Series 2019
These have been used to visually find specific colors, color order, and color group ranges.
All colors were evaluated in a Largo Ortospectra viewing booth at 5000 Kelvin
The Pantone CIELAB data from all 1,867 Pantone colors in the 2019 edition of Pantone Formula
Guide Coated was downloaded from Pantone Color Manager software v.2.3.1.260 for Windows and
stored and sorted in Excel.
Hue angles (h*/hab) and chroma values (C*) were applied using the formulas from ISO 13655:2009,
section 5.3.2.
No measurements have been made in this study
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
The Orange area?
Billmeyer and Saltzman divide the visual spectrum into clearly
separated colors and specified the orange color group to be
located between 590 nm and 630 nm.
(Billmeyer and Saltzman, 2019 p.2)
Phil Green introduced boundaries between 21 color groups in
the CIE Chromaticity diagram in which the orange color group
is defined to be located between 580 and 620 nm.
(Green 1995, figure 3-7, p.39)
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
The Orange area in existing Color Wheels?
Isaac Newton (1643-1727) Johann W. von Goethe (1749-1832) Albert Henry Munsell (1858-1918)
CIE a*b*
Projection Circle
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
The Orange area in existing Color Wheels?
Orange
27° - 72°
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
The Orange area in existing Color Wheels? Orange
27° - 72°
Newton’s circle flipped 180°
and turned 30°to fit the
CIE a*b* projection circle
Goethe’s circle flipped 180°
and turned 30°to fit the
CIE a*b* projection circle.
Munsell circle flipped 180°
and turned 73°to fit the
CIE a*b* projection circle.
0° - 60°30° - 60°36° - 72°
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
The Orange area in existing Color Wheels?
Newton (adapted): 30°-60°
Goethe (adapted): 00°-60°
Munsell (adapted): 36°-72°
RAL: 40°-70°
NCS: 27°-72°
PANTONE?
John Seymour: 57°-67°
While existing color wheels were created from the visual
spectrum (on a scientific basis), around which a model was
built, a future Pantone color wheel will have to be built in
the opposite manner.
It is necessary to begin with existing physical color
samples, after which a model can be built.
The reason for this is that Pantone is a practical color
mixing system where physical printing inks are used to mix
all of Pantone’s different colors.
The Pantone colors already exist, but can they be placed
systematically into a color circle?
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
PANTONE’s unofficial Color Wheel
Figure 1: Two versions of “Our Color Wheel” (Before & AfterMagazine).
Left divided into 12 hues/5 steps and right divided into 24 hues/7 steps.
Added lines show orange areas of 90°placed differently.
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
PMS
Figure 2:
The 1963 (1973 edition)
of the PMS color
catalogue.
Left:
PMS page 1 showing the
eight primary colors.
Right:
PMS page 9 showing a
secondary color (151) as
the centerline color.
Middle:
Faned out to simulate the
CIE a*b* Projection
Circle.
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
PMS
Figure 3:
PMS 1963 (1973) fan deck pages
forming a CIE a*b* projection
circle.
Centerline colors (secondary colors)
are marked in between the bold
circles.
Axis for CIE a* and b* added.
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
Figure 4:
PMS 1963 (1973) CIE a*b*
coordinates for
•8 primary colors and
•36 secondary colors
plotted into the CIE a*b* circle.
The orange color group seems to
be between
h*36.2 - h*44.4 and h*80.8 -
h*84.7
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
Figure 5:
All 1,867 Primary, Secondary,
Tertiary, and Quaternary Colors
from Pantone Formula Guide
Coated 2019.
This color space spans from:
L* 7.9 to 92.1
C* 0.2 to 110.9
All 360 hue angles (h*) are
represented when only whole
rounded numbers are used.
However, more than 1,800 different
hue angles (h*) are represented
when defined by two-digit decimals.
However !
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
Figure 6:
Formula Guide Coated 2019
CIE a*b* coordinates for all
•17 primary colors (squares) and
•90 secondary colors (bullets).
The orange area apparently lies
between 42°and 85°.
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
Figure 7:
Seven Pantone colors from page
21C (circles)
hab from 58.9°to 71.1°(∆h*12.2),
and the corresponding seven colors
from page 21U (triangles)
hab from 52.2°to 63.5°(∆h*11.3).
One page is not one hue
Pure hue
+ Transp. white
Pure hue
+ black
PANTONE
148 C
PANTONE Yellow
PANTONE Warm Red
PANTONE Trans. Wt.
4.70
1.60
93.70
Pure hue
PANTONE®
PANTONE
149 C
PANTONE Yellow
PANTONE Warm Red
PANTONE Trans. Wt.
9.40
3.10
87.50
PANTONE
150 C
PANTONE Yellow
PANTONE Warm Red
PANTONE Trans. Wt.
37.50
12.50
50.00
PANTONE
151 C
PANTONE Yellow
PANTONE Warm Red
75.00
25.00
PANTONE
152 C
PANTONE Yellow
PANTONE Warm Red
PANTONE Black
73.90
24.60
1.50
PANTONE
153 C
PANTONE Yellow
PANTONE Warm Red
PANTONE Black
70.60
23.50
5.90
PANTONE
154 C
PANTONE Yellow
PANTONE Warm Red
PANTONE Black
66.70
22.20
11.10
21 C
h*59
h*59
h*66
h*69
h*71
h*62
h*62
Coated Uncoated
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
Figure 8:
A zoom-in on the upper right
quadrant in the
CIE a*b* Projection diagram.
Primary colors (squares)
Secondary colors (bullets) and
selected tertiary colors (triangles).
The orange area apparently lies
between 42.5°and 85°
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
Figure 9:
342 colors from Pantone Formula
Guide C is located in the orange
color group (41.5°-85°)
However, these 342 colors also
include:
•three black colors:
•Black C
•Black 4C
•Black 7C
•11 gray colors:
•Warm Gray 1 to 11C
•And other colors in the dark
brownish area.
They will have to be excluded
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
Figure 10:
Setting the limits:
Cab > 15 and
L* > 30
excludes 57 colors,
including black, gray,
and some of the colors in the
darkest area,
leaving 285 colors for the orange
area (figure 10).
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
Figure 11:
285 colors in the orange color group, defined by h* 41.5–85, C* > 15 and L* > 30
Right: illustrated in “3D” showing Lightness
Figure 11:
Orange color group in a CIELAB Chroma versus
Lightness diagram
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
Preliminary Result
Figure 12
Preliminary rough sketch for a future
Pantone Coated color wheel
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
Preliminary Result
Figure 13
Estimated preliminary sketch for a
future Pantone Coated Color Wheel.
?
MICHAEL ABILDGAARD PEDERSEN Associate Professor iarigai2019 Reinventing the Wheel map@dmjx.dk
Preliminary Conclusion
The first step in creating a color wheel for Pantone colors has to some extend been possible by setting up
three technical criteria:
Pantone Coated; Orange Color Group = hab 41.50- 85.00, Cab > 15.00 and L* > 30.00
Thus, if a Pantone Coated color meets these criteria it’s orange.
However, this results in very narrow and sharp borders between color groups.
Decimals determines whether a color belongs to orange or red color group.
It doesn’t seem to be ideal and it might be too uncertain.
Thus, it will be necessary to setup other criteria and to analyze much more Pantone colors to determine all
main Pantone color groups in the CIE a*b* projection circle (yellow, green, blue, violet, purple and red).
Therefore, further and deeper investigations are necessary, before it’s possible, with certainty, to verify or
falsify this methodology.