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CMYK to Pantone Converter

Enter cyan, magenta, yellow and black and get the closest Pantone (PMS) spot inks to the colour those inks print on coated or uncoated paper, ranked by Delta E 2000. Or get any Pantone's CMYK build.

2,597 Pantone Solid colours, coated and uncoated · CMYK read through ISO 15339 print data (CRPC6, CRPC3) · CIEDE2000
#009ADDOn coated paperSimple formula #00FFFFΔE 31.3 apartBeyond the screen
Total ink 100%Within the reference limit for coated paper (320%)

The swatch shows how these inks print on the paper you chose, not the textbook formula.

Try
IndistinguishableSolid CoatedExampleBest match

PANTONE 2925 C

ΔE 20000.69The eye can't tell them apart.

HEX
RGB
CMYK
L*a*b*
  • 2925 C is slightly lighter than your colour, and leans cyan.
  • 2925 U (uncoated) is ΔE 4.0 from 2925 C: the same ink looks different on more porous paper.

Nearest inks8 of 20 · Solid Coated

ΔE 2000 to your colour

Ranked by CIEDE2000 (CIE 2001)

PANTONE® and other Pantone trademarks are the property of Pantone LLC. DNS Robot is not affiliated with Pantone. Screen colours are approximations: check a printed Pantone guide before you print.Codes: Formula Guide, September 2026 · colours: Pantone's screen values

CMYK to Pantone converter: cyan, magenta, yellow and black sliders matched to the closest Pantone spot inks by Delta E 2000CMYK to Pantone converter: cyan, magenta, yellow and black sliders matched to the closest Pantone spot inks by Delta E 2000Your four inksCyan, magenta, yellow and black in percent; paste 0 100 89 0 or cmyk(…) as well.On which paperThe colour the build prints on coated or uncoated paper, from ISO's reference print data.The closest inkThe nearest Pantone spot ink with the difference in ΔE 2000 and what it means.The neighbourhoodWhere the printed colour sits among the Pantone inks around it.
A CMYK build matched to the nearest Pantone inks. Select a number to see what each part shows.

How do you convert CMYK to Pantone?

Work out what colour the four inks print, then find the Pantone ink nearest to it. The converter reads your CMYK through ISO's reference data for the paper you choose, then measures the CIEDE2000 difference to 2,597 Pantone inks: Pantone's own build for 185 C, 0 100 89 0, prints ΔE 2.0 away from the ink.

  1. 1. Enter the build Cyan, magenta, yellow and black in percent, as your layout or printer gives them.
  2. 2. Print it, on paper ISO 15339's reference data say what each build looks like on a calibrated press: coated (CRPC6, the GRACoL 2013 condition) or uncoated (CRPC3).
  3. 3. Compare with every ink The printed colour is measured against the Pantone inks for the same paper with CIEDE2000.
  4. 4. Rank and judge Nearest first. Under 2 is a close match; above 5 the spot ink is only the nearest one.
  1. 1CMYKC0%M100%Y89%K0%0 100 89 0
  2. 2Printed on coated paper#D81F2F
  3. 3Nearest ink1795 C1.0185 C2.1711 C2.1ΔE 2000 · against all 2,597 inks

PANTONE 1795 C · ΔE 1.0 · Very close

0 100 89 0 on coated paper → the nearest ink

Why can the same CMYK numbers print different colours?

Because CMYK is a recipe, not a colour. The same four percentages give different colours on different papers and presses. 100% cyan prints as #009ADD on coated paper and #00A0DE on uncoated paper, while the simple formula most converters use shows #00FFFF, a screen colour no CMYK press can print.

Checked on Pantone's own CMYK builds, the simple formula lands a median ΔE of 9.4 from the ink, and ISO's coated print data 2.8. That is why this converter reads CMYK through a print condition first. Europe's FOGRA conditions sit about 1.3 ΔE from CRPC6, close enough for choosing an ink.

CMYK 100 0 0 0

Coated paper · CRPC6

#009ADD

Uncoated paper · CRPC3

#00A0DE

ΔE 5.5 from the coated print

Simple formula (screen)

#00FFFF

ΔE 31.0 from the coated print

One build, three readings

Pantone to CMYK: what CMYK values does Pantone give its colours?

Pantone publishes a CMYK build for almost every colour (2,587) in its Color Bridge guides, labelled CP for coated and UP for uncoated. Type a code into the converter's Pantone → field to see the build and how close it prints: PANTONE 185 C's is 0 100 89 0.

Pantone updated its CMYK builds in 2019 with the G7 method for the CRPC6 and CRPC3 press references, so older charts differ: 185 C changed from 0 93 79 0 to 0 100 89 0. A build gets close only where CMYK can reach the ink.

PantoneCMYK buildBuild printedΔE to the ink
185 C0 100 89 02.0Close
286 C100 80 0 125.9Nearest only
Reflex Blue C100 87 0 2010.9Nearest only
Process Blue C100 15 0 61.0Very close
354 C85 0 98 07.4Nearest only
7406 C0 13 100 11.1Very close
Warm Red C0 83 81 04.9Noticeable
Orange 021 C0 74 100 05.3Nearest only
Purple C36 89 0 09.2Nearest only
Black C65 66 68 820.8Indistinguishable
Cool Gray 9 C50 40 34 173.6Noticeable
300 C100 56 0 33.0Close

Which Pantone colours can't be printed in CMYK?

Bright blues, purples, oranges, greens and fluorescents. Their CMYK builds stay visibly away from the ink even on a calibrated press: Reflex Blue C, Violet C, Medium Purple C, Purple C, Dark Blue C, and 354 C. For these, print the spot ink.

Spot inks are premixed from Pantone's base inks, so they reach colours four process inks can't. Measured over the colours with a Pantone build, 20% print more than ΔE 5 from their ink on coated paper.

Spot ink against its best CMYK build

  • Reflex Blue C10.9
  • Violet C10.1
  • Medium Purple C9.8
  • Purple C9.2
  • Dark Blue C8.1
  • 354 C7.4
  • 286 C5.9
  • Orange 021 C5.3
  • Bright Red C5.1

Spot ink | CMYK build, printed

Spot colour or CMYK: which should you print?

Print a spot colour when a brand colour must match on every run, when it lies outside CMYK, or for large flat areas and one- or two-colour jobs. Print CMYK for photos and full-colour work, where every colour comes from the same four inks.

Spot: one solid inkCool Gray 9 C
CMYK: four inks in dotsCMYK 50 40 34 17
JobPrintWhy
Logo or brand colour that must match every timeSpotOne premixed ink, the same on every run.
Bright blue, purple, orange, green, fluorescentSpotOutside what CMYK reaches.
Large solid areaSpotSolid ink, no halftone dots to mottle.
Photos, gradients, many coloursCMYKEvery colour from four inks.
Short digital print runCMYKDigital presses usually simulate spot colours with process inks.
Spot ink is solid; CMYK is dots

What is total ink coverage, and why does it matter?

Total ink coverage is the sum of the four percentages: 65 66 68 82 is 281%. Presses limit it, typically to 300–320% on coated paper and 280–300% on uncoated, because too much ink can't dry in time and sets off onto the next sheet.

The converter shows the total as you build a colour and marks it amber above the chosen paper's reference limit: 320% coated (GRACoL 2013), 280% uncoated. Rich blacks are where builds most often run high: ask your printer for their limit.

Total: 281%

C 65M 66Y 68K 82
0%100%200%300%400%

Typical limit: 300–320% coated, 280–300% uncoatedAbove it, ink can't dry in time and sets off onto the next sheet

281% of ink in Pantone's Black C build

How do you turn a CMYK colour into a Pantone spot colour in Illustrator or InDesign?

Open the swatch's options, set Color Type to Spot Color and name it exactly after the Pantone ink, such as PANTONE 185 C. The printer's workflow reads the name and prints that ink on its own plate.

  1. Find the nearest inkEnter the CMYK above and pick the Pantone that matches by eye and by ΔE.
  2. Make the swatchSwatches panel menu → New Swatch (InDesign: New Color Swatch), or double-click an existing swatch.
  3. Set it to spotColor Type: Spot Color (InDesign: Spot). Swatch Name: PANTONE 185 C.
  4. Check the separationsWindow → Separations Preview in Illustrator (CMYK documents, with Overprint Preview on), or Window → Output → Separations Preview in InDesign: the ink appears as its own plate.

Adobe removed Pantone's colour books from Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign between August 2022 and October 2023; picking from Pantone's library needs Pantone Connect. A named spot swatch doesn't.

CMYK to Pantone: questions and answers

How do I convert CMYK to Pantone?

Enter the four percentages in the converter above and choose the paper. It works out the colour those inks print from ISO 15339 reference data, then measures the CIEDE2000 difference to 2,597 Pantone inks for that paper and lists the nearest first. Under ΔE 2 is a close match.

Can CMYK be converted to Pantone exactly?

Rarely. A CMYK build and a spot ink are different ways of making colour, and they meet only where both can reach. The converter finds the nearest ink to the printed colour and shows how far away it is; above ΔE 5 it is only the nearest, not a match.

What is the CMYK for Pantone 185 C?

Pantone's own CMYK build for 185 C is 0 100 89 0, from its Color Bridge guide since the 2019 update; before that it was 0 93 79 0. On coated paper the build prints 2.0 ΔE from the ink. Type any code into the converter's Pantone → field to see its build.

Is CMYK to PMS the same as CMYK to Pantone?

Yes. PMS stands for Pantone Matching System, the numbered spot-ink system Pantone launched in 1963. PMS 185 and PANTONE 185 C name the same ink; C means coated paper and U uncoated. Printers and brand guides use both names, and the converter reads either one in its Pantone → field.

Why do other CMYK to Pantone converters give different results?

Most turn CMYK into a screen colour with the simple formula, which ignores paper, ink and press: 100% cyan becomes #00FFFF, a colour no press prints. On Pantone's own builds that formula lands a median ΔE of 9.4 from the ink, against 2.8 through ISO's coated print data.

Which CMYK profile does the converter use?

ISO 15339-2's characterized reference printing conditions: CRPC6 for coated paper (the GRACoL 2013 condition) and CRPC3 for uncoated, the same references Pantone prints its Color Bridge guides to. A simple screen formula is there to compare. Europe's FOGRA conditions are about 1.3 ΔE from CRPC6.

Can every Pantone colour be printed in CMYK?

No. Bright blues such as Reflex Blue and 286, purples, oranges, many greens and every fluorescent fall outside what four process inks reach. Their CMYK builds print visibly different from the ink. When such a colour carries a brand, print it as a spot ink.

What is the difference between Pantone C and CP?

185 C is the spot ink itself on coated paper. 185 CP is Pantone's CMYK build that imitates it with process inks, shown in the Color Bridge guide. Type 185 CP into the converter and it shows the ink with its build and how close the build prints.

Should I use coated or uncoated Pantone colours?

Use the paper you print on: coated (C) for glossy stock, uncoated (U) for letterhead and notebooks. The converter reads your CMYK on that paper too, so for CMYK to Pantone uncoated matches, set both to Uncoated. The same CMYK prints lighter and duller on uncoated paper.

What total ink coverage is too high?

Most presses cap total ink at about 300–320% on coated paper and 280–300% on uncoated. The converter adds up your build and marks it amber above 320% on coated paper and 280% on uncoated. Check your printer's own limit before sending a rich black or a dark build.

Is DNS Robot affiliated with Pantone?

No. DNS Robot is not affiliated with or endorsed by Pantone LLC. PANTONE® and other Pantone trademarks are the property of Pantone LLC. The converter names the nearest Pantone inks to a colour as a guide; confirm a printed colour against a printed Pantone guide.

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