Pantone Support

[Sam Neil]

Does this apply to Affinity too? (I am assuming yes)...

 

https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/1/23434305/adobe-pantone-subscription-announcement-photoshop-illustrator

[Designer1]

4 hours ago, Sam Neil said:

Does this apply to Affinity too? (I am assuming yes)...

 

https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/1/23434305/adobe-pantone-subscription-announcement-photoshop-illustrator

@Patrick Connor That would be really very bad!

[Graphite Addict]

https://culturehustle.com/products/freetone might help if it ever does become a problem. It is free and I've downloaded it before Pantone try a cease and desist. I'd suggest anyone else do so should they be concerned.

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, Designer1 said:

@Patrick Connor That would be really very bad!

Your notification "tag" is not in the right format, by the way. Type the @ and then continue typing the user's name, then select from the list you're presented with of matching names. When done correctly it will look like this: @Patrick Connor

[Pšenda]

8 hours ago, Sam Neil said:

Does this apply to Affinity too? (I am assuming yes)...

This is not explicitly stated in the article. Personally, I would understand that if an app requires the user to constantly pay for that app to even work (see Adobe products mentioned), then why should Pantone give anything to this racketeering company for free.
But the fact is that it is already a short distance from demanding it from everyone.

[Brian D]

1 hour ago, Pšenda said:

This is not explicitly stated in the article. Personally, I would understand that if an app requires the user to constantly pay for that app to even work (see Adobe products mentioned), then why should Pantone give anything to this racketeering company for free.
But the fact is that it is already a short distance from demanding it from everyone.

Pantone were never giving Adobe anything for free. Adobe would have licensed the library from them. Either Adobe don’t want to pay anymore, or Pantone demanded a bigger licence fee, we’ll probably never know for sure. Now it’s been put on the users to pay Pantone a monthly fee. Not sure how that would work for Affinity, because it would be on Pantone to develop and sell (rent) a compatible palette.

[MikeTO]

6 hours ago, Designer1 said:

@Patrick Connor That would be really very bad!

It would be only a minor inconvenience because you can define any colour you want, including a Pantone colour. If you had a swatch book you could reference it to choose a colour and find the values. If you didn't have a swatch book, you could find the colours and values online. Years ago before Pantone colours were ubiquitous, people that wanted all the swatches just opened an Illustrator EPS file that had them all defined.

Also, here's another thread on this topic.

 

[lacerto]

It remains to be seen how Adobe apps can access PANTONE library colors in the future, but it seems that many users have misunderstood what losing of .acb libraries [except for PANTONE CMYK Coated and Uncoated and PANTONE+ Metallic Coated, which according to Adobe will stay available as .acb libraries even after the currently still available PANTONE+ Solid Coated and Uncoated are dropped] actually means. If there is no access to library colors, any reference to one will result in that color being replaced with black. But it is possible for the user to fetch an sRGB representation of a missing PANTONE library color using PANTONE Connect extension with a free account (or give a swatch color any arbitrary color representation, e.g. Lab definition, in case it is known). Likewise, it is possible for the user to create a new channel spot color in Photoshop and give it a reference color using the same method. Or assign a shape a permanently saved swatch color with user defined swatches named as PANTONE colors and use sRGB representations picked from the PANTONE Connect library.

PANTONE Connect is at the moment a clumsy, user-unfriendly legacy extension that no-one likes, but it is likely that the interface will be improved along the time. But as it is, even the free account gives much the same functionality as e.g. Affinity apps with the "built-in" PANTONE libraries. It comes with 15 libraries listed as swatches that can be searched by name (color code, etc.), allowing adding a picked color in user-palettes which can be saved with the account. Saved palettes can be shared with other users e.g. via email and downloaded as images with color names and sRGB color representations, which is the only free method of accessing official color definitions "numerically". The premium account gives numeric data directly and allows conversions and diverse other tools, but I suppose that PANTONE no longer gives offline direct (database kind of) access to values of any color libraries [other than mentioned above, which are exceptional because metallic inks cannot really be simulated at all, and CMYK libraries are not inks but mostly a kind of a reminiscence of attempt to achieve some predictability within process printing in pre-color management era], not at least Lab based. It is interesting to see whether human readable tables continue to be distributed (legally) in the future but as far as I know these kinds of limited-use tables have previously been published on PANTONE's consent.

The free account certainly does not give the same functionality as .acb libraries (even if obsolete ones) do (or did), but they provide a means to look up any PANTONE color ID and to get an official sRGB representation of that color, which is probably for most users enough to be able to use PANTONE color reference. Those who need an accurate ink representation, should get a printed swatch library, since a digital reference can never really replace that. Professional users might prefer to get a Lab value, and if PANTONE libraries really are an important part of their workflows, probably do not mind subscribing to the premium version (it can also be subscribed on a monthly basis).

It is true that Adobe libraries were not up-to-date so anyone who has been able to use up-to-date digital PANTONE libraries with Adobe apps must have updated them with utilities like PANTONE Color Manager, which was not a free app, either (but could be used without charge after a purchase of e.g. X-Rite calibrator). As far as I know this utility is now no longer available and even if it still can be used it has limited functionality so currently the premium subscription seems to be the only way to get full PANTONE functionality. 

[Designer1]

I work with Pantone colors in Affinity. Without these colors it would be very difficult for me to find the right colors. I will definitely not pay an extra fee for colors.

[Leigh]

We're not changing anything and our apps will continue to include Pantone colours.

[bteifeld]

On 11/1/2022 at 4:35 PM, lacerto said:

It remains to be seen how Adobe apps can access PANTONE library colors in the future, but it seems that many users have misunderstood what losing of .acb libraries [except for PANTONE CMYK Coated and Uncoated and PANTONE+ Metallic Coated, which according to Adobe will stay available as .acb libraries even after the currently still available PANTONE+ Solid Coated and Uncoated are dropped] actually means. If there is no access to library colors, any reference to one will result in that color being replaced with black. But it is possible for the user to fetch an sRGB representation of a missing PANTONE library color using PANTONE Connect extension with a free account (or give a swatch color any arbitrary color representation, e.g. Lab definition, in case it is known). Likewise, it is possible for the user to create a new channel spot color in Photoshop and give it a reference color using the same method. Or assign a shape a permanently saved swatch color with user defined swatches named as PANTONE colors and use sRGB representations picked from the PANTONE Connect library.

PANTONE Connect is at the moment a clumsy, user-unfriendly legacy extension that no-one likes, but it is likely that the interface will be improved along the time. But as it is, even the free account gives much the same functionality as e.g. Affinity apps with the "built-in" PANTONE libraries. It comes with 15 libraries listed as swatches that can be searched by name (color code, etc.), allowing adding a picked color in user-palettes which can be saved with the account. Saved palettes can be shared with other users e.g. via email and downloaded as images with color names and sRGB color representations, which is the only free method of accessing official color definitions "numerically". The premium account gives numeric data directly and allows conversions and diverse other tools, but I suppose that PANTONE no longer gives offline direct (database kind of) access to values of any color libraries [other than mentioned above, which are exceptional because metallic inks cannot really be simulated at all, and CMYK libraries are not inks but mostly a kind of a reminiscence of attempt to achieve some predictability within process printing in pre-color management era], not at least Lab based. It is interesting to see whether human readable tables continue to be distributed (legally) in the future but as far as I know these kinds of limited-use tables have previously been published on PANTONE's consent.

The free account certainly does not give the same functionality as .acb libraries (even if obsolete ones) do (or did), but they provide a means to look up any PANTONE color ID and to get an official sRGB representation of that color, which is probably for most users enough to be able to use PANTONE color reference. Those who need an accurate ink representation, should get a printed swatch library, since a digital reference can never really replace that. Professional users might prefer to get a Lab value, and if PANTONE libraries really are an important part of their workflows, probably do not mind subscribing to the premium version (it can also be subscribed on a monthly basis).

It is true that Adobe libraries were not up-to-date so anyone who has been able to use up-to-date digital PANTONE libraries with Adobe apps must have updated them with utilities like PANTONE Color Manager, which was not a free app, either (but could be used without charge after a purchase of e.g. X-Rite calibrator). As far as I know this utility is now no longer available and even if it still can be used it has limited functionality so currently the premium subscription seems to be the only way to get full PANTONE functionality. 

PANTONE® USA | Software Download

Pantone Color Manager can be downloaded from the link I have supplied. If you have an Xrite spectro like an i1 and/or a license for i1profiler, you can use Pantone Color Manager.

[lacerto]

7 hours ago, bteifeld said:

Pantone Color Manager can be downloaded from the link I have supplied. If you have an Xrite spectro like an i1 and/or a license for i1profiler, you can use Pantone Color Manager.

Yes, it can still be downloaded and the latest versions are dated for 2022 but as far as I know it is no longer  something for which you could purchase a new license (as an alternative for PANTONE Connect). Also, I am not sure if it has the functionality it used to have, e.g., if PANTONE Live actually updates the available Fan Decks (when I have used it recently it always returns without finding updates, but it may well be that I just have up-to-date libraries at the moment, even if the deck names do not match those of PANTONE Connect). When installed, it appears to scan legacy Adobe (and Quark and Corel Painter) folders for installed apps, but it might be possible to add CC folders as custom paths. It nevertheless still does generate .acb/.ase libraries for available decks with the preferred references (e.g. Lab) using the defined app paths. The created libraries can easily be copied to be used by the latest CC versions, so in that respect, the app is still functional.

[Archangel]

Someone has provided a Freetone Colour Palette which may interest you..

https://culturehustle.com/products/freetone