Supreme x Pantone Formula Guide
Supreme vs. Original
Supreme version
Original — Pantone
Formula Guide Coated & Uncoated (GP1601A)
About the original
The Pantone Formula Guide is the printing industry's standard spot-color reference, first published in 1963 by Lawrence Herbert, who developed the Pantone Matching System to let printers specify color without ambiguity across plants and continents. The current edition is a fan-deck of 2,390 solid ink colors printed on coated and uncoated paper, with CMYK equivalents and base-ink mixing formulas listed beside each chip. It is used daily by graphic designers, brand managers, packaging printers, and ink manufacturers worldwide; Pantone recommends replacing the guide every twelve months due to ink fade. The Supreme version is the standard Formula Guide Coated & Uncoated set (GP1601A) with box-logo branding printed on the cover.
About Pantone
Pantone is an American color standards company founded in 1962 by Lawrence Herbert in Carlstadt, New Jersey, after Herbert bought the printing division of M&J Levine Advertising for $50,000. In 1963 Herbert introduced the Pantone Matching System, a proprietary library that lets designers and printers reproduce specific colors consistently across substrates and presses. The PMS library now contains over 2,100 spot colors, and the Pantone Color of the Year program, launched in 2000, drives an annual cycle of design press. The company is headquartered in Carlstadt and has been owned by Veralto since 2023. Supreme collaborated with Pantone on a paint can and color chip accessories.
