Pantone is a company that created various colour matching systems for the printing industry, There are Pantone colours that are CMYK (process colours), and there are Pantone colours that are spot colours made from mixed inks. So, your question doesn't really make sense. I assume you actually mean Pantone Spot colours

CMYK printing uses four colours of ink (cyan, magenta, yellow and black), sometimes also called full colour process printing, and it requires four printing plates, and often a printing press with four colour heads, or perhaps even two passes through a two colour press.

If you add a Pantone spot colour, and also want full colour process printing on the same sheet (for printing photographic images for example) - that would be five colour printing, and that would be more expensive. It would require an additional print head, or an additional pass through the press, and an additional plate, etc.

Pantone spot colours are often used in printing commercial stationery, for example when you have a logo that is only one/two colours, and when process printing is not required. Printing in only two colours is often cheaper than printing in process colours. Spot colours also look better than process colours up close (see illustration below). This is especially true for small logos, or small coloured text, or line art.

Spot colours look quite different from process colours. Essentially, spot colours are made of solid ink, which is mixed by the printer to a formula guide, whereas CMYK colours are made up of different coloured halftone dots. So it's really a different printing process.

TLDR: Whether you choose CMYK or spot colours would depend on what the client wants, and what their budget is, and the kind of printing required. It's also possible to have both CMYK and spot colours.

Answer from Billy Kerr on Stack Exchange
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PrintNinja
printninja.com › home › resource center › file setup checklist › offset printing guidelines › offset color requirements › cmyk suggested values and color guide
CMYK Suggested Values and Color Guide
March 19, 2020 - Following these CMYK suggested values should get you good results in your printing project. The color charts are organized starting with the dark “base” color on the top left and decreasing color values gradually while progressing around the color wheel. The other wheels on the page increase the values of secondary colors, such as magenta and yellow for example, while creating blues.
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Canva
canva.com › help › cmyk-for-print
Design with print colors - Canva Help Center
While super bright or highly saturated colors (like neon pinks or vivid purples) look great on screen, they may appear more muted or washed out when printed. Choosing slightly lighter versions of these types of colors can help get closer to your intended look. Scroll down to the Using CMYK colors in Canva section, or refer to the image below for the recommended colors.
Discussions

print design - Help! What color palette should i send to printer: CMYK or Pantone? - Graphic Design Stack Exchange
I'm totally newbie in printing production and now I need to print something that requires high color correction (be as close as possible to the colors on design file). So what color palette should i send to the printer: CMYK or Pantone? If Pantone is considered as "standard" in matching colors ... More on graphicdesign.stackexchange.com
🌐 graphicdesign.stackexchange.com
March 1, 2018
That neverending temptation to use bright, none-CMYK colours in branding
I always design with a Pantone book in hand and convert to CMYK. I avoid certain colours that I know won't print well. If the client wants a specific look that requires speciality printing to create the effect then that's communicated to them and for them to decide if they want to pay more. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/graphic_design
59
81
April 13, 2024
What is the best color code (RGB/CMYK/HEX) to use when converting to Pantone (I will then check it against the book)?
Start from the most restrictive system and work towards the least: you’re doing the opposite. If you ever plan on doing print, start from a CMYK+PMS base. If you can’t get the CMYK color you want, spec a PMS, and find PMS values based on CMYK colors you can get. Then back it into RGB and HEX, as those will be much more accommodating. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/graphic_design
12
1
February 6, 2024
[deleted by user]
I’m not a digital artist by any means but I’ve always found magenta and teal paints to be easier to mix than standard red and blue for many colors. I don’t strictly paint with c/m/y, though. I find a lot of times “secondary” colors mix really beautifully anyway, so while primaries are useful to me as well, I’m just not a big fan of super limited palettes because I find working with more colors more enjoyable. For example, mixing a transparent orange with a pthalo blue/teal gives me more beautiful greens than a lot of things out of the tube or straight yellow/blue mixes. Teal and magenta make more gorgeous purples than reds and blues. I guess I just see color mixing beyond any given trio of pigments, there’s a lot out there that can have beautiful results if you are willing to experiment. More on reddit.com
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3
April 25, 2022
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Adobe Stock
stock.adobe.com › search
Cmyk Color Chart Images – Browse 21,323 Stock Photos, Vectors, and Video | Adobe Stock
Search from thousands of royalty-free Cmyk Color Chart stock images and video for your next project. Download royalty-free stock photos, vectors, HD footage and more on Adobe Stock.
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Print Handbook
resources.printhandbook.com › pages › free-cmyk-chart-printable-pdf-download.php
Free CMYK Chart Printable PDF Download - Design Resources
Each color/colour has a value for cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK) so you can pick the perfect CMYK color/colour for your project. The CMYK PDF chart is available in A4 and US Letter sizes. Download the Free CMYK Chart – A4 Size (PDF) Download the Free CMYK Chart – US Letter Size (PDF) ...
Top answer
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Pantone is a company that created various colour matching systems for the printing industry, There are Pantone colours that are CMYK (process colours), and there are Pantone colours that are spot colours made from mixed inks. So, your question doesn't really make sense. I assume you actually mean Pantone Spot colours

CMYK printing uses four colours of ink (cyan, magenta, yellow and black), sometimes also called full colour process printing, and it requires four printing plates, and often a printing press with four colour heads, or perhaps even two passes through a two colour press.

If you add a Pantone spot colour, and also want full colour process printing on the same sheet (for printing photographic images for example) - that would be five colour printing, and that would be more expensive. It would require an additional print head, or an additional pass through the press, and an additional plate, etc.

Pantone spot colours are often used in printing commercial stationery, for example when you have a logo that is only one/two colours, and when process printing is not required. Printing in only two colours is often cheaper than printing in process colours. Spot colours also look better than process colours up close (see illustration below). This is especially true for small logos, or small coloured text, or line art.

Spot colours look quite different from process colours. Essentially, spot colours are made of solid ink, which is mixed by the printer to a formula guide, whereas CMYK colours are made up of different coloured halftone dots. So it's really a different printing process.

TLDR: Whether you choose CMYK or spot colours would depend on what the client wants, and what their budget is, and the kind of printing required. It's also possible to have both CMYK and spot colours.

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Designbylaney
designbylaney.com › home › blog › how to find the best cmyk colors for printing
How to Find the Best CMYK Colors for Printing - designbylaney.com
January 8, 2025 - How to color match your prints with The Printable Palette 👌🏽 #MACscaraface #designer #graphicdesigner #weddinginvitations #weddingplanning #bride ♬ original sound – Design by Laney ... Here’s an example video of me trying to match some invitation prints to the envelopes that we ordered! (Click this link if video doesn’t load) ... Note the CMYK color code of that color, and employ those CMYK color codes for printing within your design file
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Toutes les Couleurs
toutes-les-couleurs.com › en › CMYK-color-code.php
COLOR CODE CMYK
CMYK color code is used in printing, can choose a color based rendering that gives printing. it comes in the form of 4 codes each representing the percentage of the color used ... List of colors with their CMYK codes ...
Find elsewhere
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Adobe Support Community
community.adobe.com › t5 › illustrator-discussions › create-a-color-palette-in-rgb-and-cmyk › m-p › 13099181
Re: Create a color palette in RGB and CMYK - Adobe Product Community - 13099003
October 11, 2025 - This will show the projected result of CMYK printing for any PANTONE color. ... Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more ... /t5/illustrator-discussions/create-a-color-palette-in-rgb-and-cmyk/m-p/13099184#M330242 Jul 28, 2022 Jul 28, 2022
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University of Louisville
louisville.edu › brand › downloads › cmyk-color-palette › view
CMYK Color Palette — Brand Identity & Visual Standards
For importing into Adobe products. For help visit https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/using/swatches.html
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613originals
support.613originals.com › full-color-cmyk-reference-chart
Full Color CMYK Reference Chart
We hope you’ll be able to use ... the best printing result possible. Something important to remember! Your monitor may display these colors differently. Due to varying monitor settings, these colors may not be 100% accurate, but they’ll be pretty close! Interested in the most accurate color matching tool? We recommend purchasing a Pantone Solid Coated Color book and our Full Color Swatch book. Contact us for more info! Download our Full Color CMYK Reference ...
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BookPrintingChina
bookprintingchina.com › blog › cmyk-color-chart-for-printing
CMYK Color Chart For Printing-A Complete Guide
June 5, 2024 - CMYK pinks offer a softer, more delicate palette that can add a touch of femininity and warmth to your designs. For excellent pink colors should be have high levels of magenta and low levels of yellow, cyan, and black. CMYK golds provide a rich, luxurious touch to your designs. In CMYK printing, we can’t offer lifelike metallic gold finishes, while we can produce a flat or non-metallic manifestations of gold.
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Scribd
scribd.com › document › 822917541 › CMYK-color-chart
CMYK Color Chart | PDF | Yellow | Green
It categorizes colors into various groups such as yellows, greens, blues, reds, oranges, purples, and grays, detailing multiple shades within each category. Each color is represented by its CMYK values, allowing for precise color reproduction ...
Rating: 5 ​ - ​ 3 votes
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Itch
exeuntpress.itch.io › game assets › $5 or less
CMYK Color Palette by Exeunt Press
May 16, 2023 - The goal is to share some palettes that I've found to be useful, and that might be helpful when designing for printed materials. Each color's CMYK or RGB value was keyed in by hand, and then saved as an .afpalette file.
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Swagify
swagify.com › swagify blog › employee gifts › cmyk codes: your complete guide to color printing essentials
CMYK Codes: Your Complete Guide to Color Printing Essentials
CMYK codes are like a painter's palette for printing, blending cyan, magenta, yellow, and black to create vibrant colors on paper.
Published   February 20, 2024
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W3Schools
w3schools.com › colors › colors_cmyk.asp
Colors CMYK
CMYK is a suggested standard for CSS4. ... CMYK colors is a combination of CYAN, MAGENTA, YELLOW , and BLACK. Computer screens display colors using RGB color values. Printers often presents colors using CMYK color values.
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SchemeColor
schemecolor.com › simple-cmyk-color-combination.php
Simple CMYK Color Scheme - Palettes - SchemeColor.com
The Simple CMYK Color Scheme has 4 colors, which are Rich Electric Blue (#0093D3), Royal Red (#CC016B), Yellow Rose (#FFF10D) and Black (#000000). The RGB and CMYK values of the colors are in the table below along with the closest RAL and PANTONE® ...
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Mixam
mixam.com › support › cmykchart
CMYK Color Charts and Values | Mixam
We suggest you use even and balanced mixtures, like 100-50-0-0. Otherwise, the result will be a purple or green color. Regal purple tones are CMYK friendly. A 3:2 magenta to cyan ratio is an excellent place to start (79-100-0-0). Pinks in CMYK printing are all about the magenta.
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Gflesch
gflesch.com › blog › cmyk-printing
CMYK Printing vs. RGB: How to Print the Right Colors
Instead of recognizing red, green and blue (RGB) values often used on computer screens, high-end digital printers use a CMYK color wheel consisting of cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black).