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Thank you for your interest in our January 2021 Graphics Webinar, “Bridging the Gap - Designing Digitally with Physical PMS Guides.” This FAQ answers the questions from the sessions. A recording of the Webinar is available here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/236285461400168207

Session 1. January 26, 14:00 GMT

Is there some protocol or specification for a Plotter that I have to tell them before print the project for that the color don't change having used Connect or Adobe Bridge?

Tell them to print to GRACoL / CRPS 6 reference. Make sure they know what this is and that they are not just "G7 calibrated". Tell them you need "G7 Colorspace" matching.

Hello: what is the minimum Android version required for the Connect app?

6.0 or newer.

Why does Adobe convert Pantone with different CMYK values than shown on the Pantone Bridge book?

Which color book are you using in Adobe? If it’s the Color Bridge book, then the answer is that the CMYK values in the color book that comes with Adobe is outdated.

What happens when you print in fabric? Is it the same process?

Same process but if you want to match colors to a physical swatch, try the Pantone Fashion, Home + Interiors products.

Does Pantone have a reference guide of uncoated CMYK colors that have the least shift in color when built from hex or RGB so designers can select branding colors that maintain the highest level of consistency?

Yes, Pantone Color Bridge Uncoated. These colors should have little shift. Remember to compare the right side of the page (CMYK swatch) to the hex or RGB values

What was Lou's email please? [email protected]

How does the Plus Series differ from Color Bridge (since it also shows CMYK values)?

The Plus Guide is outdated, it is missing the latest 294 colors and the printed swatches have probably faded or discolored in some cases which as we dicussed in the session is just the nature of commercially printed products. I recommend you get a new Color Bridge guide.

Can PANTONE CONNECT be used on a photo in my cell phone? Yes.

Which PANTONE Guide is most essential for graphic designers to have?

Color Bridge.

When is the next update for new colours planned? This year would be 2 years since 2019. I would rather wait to grab a new book.

Books are typically revised every twelve to eighteen months since users need to replace physical books in that amount of time before they fade. I'd recommend you get a new one now as yours is almost certainly shifting, new colors aside.

You could mention that people should store the books in a dark drawer and not to leave it open on their desk for long. Just to get the max out of it

This is a helpful hint, although another reason the shift is due to oxidation, which happens even in the dark.

Will you be doing a similar web presentation for Fashion, Home & Textiles?

I will not but we’ll work to offer a session like this for Fashion, Home + Interiors Products.

I have a question regarding how the CP colors appear in Illustrator using CMYK space. Some colors do look close, but others would look quite dull on the screen. Is that okay?

Unless you have a color-calibrated and profiled display, then I wouldn’t worry too much about the appearance of colors on screen. Sometimes the CP colors look dull next to the C colors from the Formula Guide due to the limited of CMYK.

Does Color Bridge work with the metallics?

No, we use the Metallics Guide Coated for that. There is no way to simulate metallic with CMYK.

Does Connect work with Metallics the same as regular colours?

The Metallic libraries are in Connect, yes. But as I pointed out in an answer above, you can't simulate them with CMYK. You really need to mix spot inks that include metallic base inks.

Could you discuss the difference between the coated and uncoated swatches pallet?

Coated guides are printed on gloss coated 100# text with a brightness of 95.6. Uncoated guides are printed on an uncoated 80# text sheet with brightness of 96. Use the book for the paper most like then one you will be printing on. In general we get better appearance and gamut on a coated sheet where the sits on top and adheres to the coating and a smaller gamut on an uncoated sheet where ink can be absorbed into the paper and does not adhere as well. Use the Guide for the type of paper that will be used to print your design. I typically send all print jobs to be printed matte or uncoated, can you recommend the best CMYK working space?

CPRC3 (US and APAC regions) at http://www.color.org/registry/GRACoL2013UNC_CRPC3.xalter or Fogra 52 (European region) at http://www.eci.org/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=downloads:icc_profiles_from_eci:pso- uncoated_v3_fogra52.zip

Why is the uncoated book larger?

The caliper of uncoated paper is larger since it is not coated – the paper is not "compressed" by the coating.

Why does always change to when printed

Bad . Can be due to a bad profile from long ago somewhere in your workflow. Send me an example on LinkedIn and we can take a look at what you are seeing.

When you mentioned synchronizing colors you mentioned it’s easier to synchronize in bridge is that Adobe Bridge? Also how do you do that?

Yes, synchronize using Adobe Bridge. Launch Bridge, Edit Menu -> Color Settings

Are there plans to make Pantone Connect a paid for service? (it was paid for... I’m worried about "bait & switch")

Yes, Pantone will re-commercialize the product to support it. I wouldn’t call it “bait and switch”, the product is very useful and is still currently available at no charge. . Does the trade-in programme work in South Africa?

Sorry, the trade in program is only offered in North America at the current time.

What is the best way to store my Pantone fan?

In a dark drawer.

How do I get the Pantone Connect physical card for mobile app use?

You can purchase here https://www.pantone.com/pantone-color-match-card

How do we deal with matching gradients less than 100pct, as the swatch book is only the full tint of the Pantone Color? Either trust your calibrated monitor or get an inkjet proof made to check. Or tint it from a CMYK solid you can get from the Color Bridge Guide. We can't fit all the tints in a fanbook, but I am thinking about how we can help you with this issue in the future.

Are Pantone's CMYK and RGB formulas in the Bridge guide consistent with those values in Adobe applications?

That is, the mapping from L*a*b* to RGB or CMYK? They are consistent in how they are calculated but not with the tint values you will see in the Adobe Color Books since those are old libraries that came before we had the CRPC press references now in use.

Please address disparities between CMYK values in the Photoshop Pantone guide, Pantone Connect, and the Color Bridge guide

Pantone Connect matches the current Color Bridge guide – if it doesn’t, your Color Bridge Guide may be out of date. Adobe libraries will not match because in 2010, when those libraries were shipped, Color Bridge books were printed in a different way. Now that we print them to CRPC standards, the CMYK tints we use and publish are different than they were in 2010.

Is Pantone Color Manager being discontinued?

Not yet but it will be. We recommend you switch to Pantone Connect.

Assuming designers work with computers to design, what would be the best process for designing and choosing colors? Because the Pantone does not display on screen as it will print. Which comes first, chicken or the egg?

You can get your screen to match if you buy a good monitor and tools to profile it. You’ll also need a tabletop booth to put prints in next to the monitor since it will be calibrated to D50. A cheaper approach is just use the color appearance in Pantone Guides to show you how the colors will print.

In South Africa, which color spaces are most common?

RGB is the same, use sRGB or AdobeRGB. Unless you are using or doing professional where you want to keep high-gamut images archived, I'd use sRGB. For printing use your local standard – contact your print partner and see if they can print to "GRACoL" or "Fogra 51/PSO Coated".

How can new Pantone Colors be appended in Illustrator for use? Right now, the current AI just has the basic set.

Use Pantone Connect, it always has the latest colors. Creative Cloud is missing 1550 colors, not just the 294 from 2019.

I still slightly confused on the actual functionality of the spot colors. If you need to convert them to CMYK to print, then why do you need a book? What are the bene intended to better align PMS and FHI color offerings, fits? So that you can see how they will print. This can be useful in the design process and also helps if you have to pitch designs to clients or an art director. Unless you want to make commercial proofs all the way through your ideation process, it helps to pick the colors from a physical guide you can trust and then just get a proof of your final design or at least the top candidates you want to pitch.

Can you talk to the TCX colors? What do we need to change to print these successfully?

There is no guide to convert TCX to CMYK for printing on paper since these are cotton swatches that must be dyed. Would you use TCX for paper designs if there were a "Bridge" guide to show how to match these colors on a printing press? If that is of interest, please let me know on LinkedIn. The new colors we added in 2019 were intended to better align PMS and FHI color offerings, and we will continue this trend as we add more colors in the future.

Which ICC profile would print the TCX colors best?

To match the majority of them I'd use something broad gamut like XCMYK or Fogra 53. But there aren’t many shops that can print to these standards. Do you want to use TCX on paper prints? Please contact me on LinkedIn to clarify your question so that I can try to answer it better.

After a recent poor color match on a print project, I was told by a print house not to reference the uncoated bridge book when picking a CMYK process, even when printing on an uncoated stock. I've never heard anything like it before and wanted to know if you had any idea why this might be?

Is your Color Bridge guide current? Did you make the colors as CMYK builds as I showed in the session? Please contact me on LinkedIn with more details. I'd like to talk to you and the print service provider to understand better.

Can you explain further how CIE LAB interfaces with the display space and final printing?

CIELAB is the connector space between all the profiles. So, it "interfaces" with printer space in that the appearance values come from the L*a*b* space into the printer gamut where the right CMYK "recipe" gets looked up to match each color's desired appearance. It interfaces with the display profile to send appearance values into that profile to be looked up in RGB for the screen.

What is the difference between the Pantone Connect application and the Pantone Studio application?

Studio will be replaced by Connect in the future. Connect is a complete platform, which Studio was a standalone mobile app.

In regard to replacing the guide books: Does Pantone offer a trade in/"upgrade" program? Yes, but it works in the US only. The rebate form for Graphics/PMS products and FHI products is here https://www.pantone.com/services/pantone-trade-in-program

Any tips on storing them? Will it improve shelf-life of the books when stored in a dark box especially when I won't be using them very often

It is recommended to store them in a dark, dry place, like a drawer. Colors will still shift but not as quickly.

How many spot colors do printers generally allow? Or is it just more expensive?

An analog commercial printing press will be limited by how many units the press has. If it has 6 units, you can run 2 spots plus CMYK. If it has 8 you can run 4 spots plus CMYK. For a flexographic press this limit is much higher; 9 -12 color flexo presses are fairly common. Flexo can print on unusual substates like films, foils, and stickers, so these presses sometimes run nothing but spot colors for packaging. If you are printing to a digital press, then you can run as many as 28 spot colors.

My understanding is that the CMYK conversions for the Pantone Colors changed over the years. We have some logos that had been designed with the previous color conversions. Do you recommend updating the CMYK conversion to the new values?

It depends on the printing provider. If they can run to CRPC6 especially to the level of "G7 Colorspace" conformance, then you should switch. But if your print partner has not changed their press (things like changing plate or chemistry vendors, doing G7 or other press calibration, or major press maintenance such as replacing grippers) then probably your old values are still working, and you should stick to them.

Can we get the link for Pantone Connect?

Connect can be found here: https://connect.pantone.com/

For someone who is starting off in colour, what apps do you recommend for beginners?

Adobe Creative Cloud for design.

Maybe I missed something, but why wouldn’t you use the built in Pantone Color Bridge library to add the color with the proper CMYK values?

Good question. This would work except the Pantone Libraries in Creative Cloud are from 2010. Those values would work the way we used to print the Color Bridge, but that was never very well defined. Now that we print them to the CRPS6 reference with "G-7 Colorspace" conformance, you need to use the tints in the Color Bridge book the old CMUYK tints in Creative. Suite will not match the color appearance of the CP colors in the physical Color Bridge guide.

Does Pantone Library V3 include these new colors from 2012? V3 is the 2016 edition. Yes, it included the 336 new colors added on 2012 and the 84 colors added in 2014, also 112 new colors added 2016. It is missing the 294 new colors added in 2019.

Is there a way to easily download the FHI Color Book options to easily convert eye dropper swatches to Pantone TPG colors through the "Edit Color Group" icon in the swatch menu? Do we still just need to manually go through the Pantone Connect Extension to individually select?

Pantone Convert does this. There is an eyedropper where you can select the color in your design file and it will map to the closest TPG, or any other library color.

I actually couldn't find Pantone Connect on my Adobe plugins, why is that so?

You need to get it from Adobe Exchange here https://exchange.adobe.com/creativecloud.details.103029.pantone-connect.html#

Do you think the future of design points to the use of process colours exclusively?

No, I think that the future will give us large gamut printing like XCMYK and extended gamut ink sets on inkjet presses. This will make it so you can match more and more of the actual formula guide colors (not the CMYK tint versions). We’re still a few years away from wide availability of this kind of wide gamut commercial printing.

Would you recommend using Pantone Connect in D50 ??

As I said on my live answer, I would use any physical guide in D50. I don’t think putting your phone in the light booth will help much but if you try it, I'd like to hear the results.

Will using hex as a reference for colour help the design when designing physical products to be sold online?

Kind of, it they match since you could use the hex code to color a vector graphic of the product on the Web. If you need to use a photograph this might be trickier, you can color with hex values in Photoshop but the image you save will be in your working space. Perhaps you could convert to index color for better precision, but you’d have to try it to find out.

Why not just use the CMYK Pantone Guide in the first place rather than start with the spot color and then convert?

See answer above: Good question. This would work except the Pantone Libraries in Creative Cloud are from 2010. So, these values would work the way we used to print the Color Bridge. Now that we print the Color Bridge guide to the CRPS6 reference with “G-7 Colorspace" conformance, you need to use the tints in the current Color Bridge if you want them to match on press.

If you take for example, 679 C from the Color Bridge Coated guide you see the print color is different. But in the solid guide it says 679C is also producible in CMYK. Why than a ? Because I would think THE CMYK colors in the producible color range. I see a difference too under D50 light. I trust you are also viewing in a light booth. The CMYK version is more than the spot version. It’s a pretty small difference. You might want to check how old your Color Bridge is if you are seeing more than a slight difference. I measured a new Color Bridge and the spot-color printed swatch is 3.60 ∆E00 from the digital master. The CMYK Bridge patch is 3.60 ∆E00 off from the same digital master, but we need to remember that ∆E can be off by 3.0 in one direction and 3.6 in another dimension, making the difference perhaps as much as 6.60 in the really worst case. I’m curious where you see that this color should be reproducible in CMYK – are you looking in Photoshop? If you want to answer this question or need an explanation about what ∆E is, please contact me on LinkedIn.

If we have team mates on different continents, is there a recommended way to ensure we are working in the same color spaces? or is it as simple as just stating the color spaces we should all work in and everyone manual sets their spaces?

The best way to be sure is go to and configure the color settings you want. Then click save and name the resulting .CSF file for your company. Note where Photoshop saves it. On Mac this is in in application support/Users/[user name]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Color/Settings or on Windows Users\[user name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Color\Settings. Now go choose the custom setting in Adobe Bridge to synchronize all your Adobe CC applications by picking the .csf file you loaded. Finally, send the CSF to all your colleagues have them put it in the same directory on their machines. Now when they go to Adobe Bridge, they can choose the .csf to synchronize the color settings with yours on their machines.

Session 2. 18:00 GMT January 26, 2021

Why CMYK values for Pantone swatches in Illustrator don't match with the online tool at Pantone.com when they are converted? This happens to me all the time.

Because the libraries Adobe provides are from 2010. The correct CMYK values which correspond with printing the Color Bridge guide to the CRPC standard are different. If you want the colors to match when printed on press, use the values from your Color Bridge for now. We are working to get these implemented in Pantone Connect. is the rebate only for the fans? or are the tab books included also?

Fans and chip books as well as bundle products are included. See the rebate forms linked from here https://www.pantone.com/services/pantone-trade-in-program

Do the Adobe products know the correct bridge values in CMYK when converting from a Book Color?

No, because they have outdated values from the old Pantone Libraries they include. You can get Photoshop to convert to close CMYK values if you load the press profile for the way you will print, but to get it right you need to create an L*a*b* file, in order to convert using Absolute Colorimetric rendering intent. How does the transparency blend space or transparency settings impact the ?

You want these to match, so always blend in your working space. You'll get more predictable results if you keep all your files in one working space. Spot color overprints are still not always "right" in Creative Cloud in that they won't match the output of a printed PDF but blending in your working space will help.

What makes the color profiles vary across countries? What is different?

The only profiles that differ are the CMYK ones. This is because in Europe, there is an industry foundation called Fogra that has over 50 press reference conditions that can be used to make profiles. The U.S. is a bit behind in this area, there was mainly one refence dataset called TR001 for SWOP (Web publication) printing used from 1995- 2006 (by comparison, Fogra had 39 press references by 2006). In 2006, IDEAlliance in the US started teaching G-7 calibration which led to nee references such as GRACoL 2006. So, the main difference is how the press is calibrated, both the modern GRACoL2013/CRPC6 profile and the PSO Coated/Fogra51 profiles are printed the same solid CMYK and overprint targets from ISO 12647-2 but they vary in tonality and the Fogra reference has a steeper tone curve from quartertone to midtone.

Do you have a suggestion for printing and matching PMS Colors converted CMYK value as a gradient?

For CMYK conversions, I would make a swatch of the CMYK solid from a current Color Bridge guide then make gradient tints of that in CMYK space and add them as swatches.

Possible reminder to all - the paper you print on can change the 'look' of your ink colour.

Good point that I did not cover, the common profiles for GRACoL and Fogra 51 use a #1 sheet with a slight blue cast. If you print on something more like a publication stock it may be more yellow.

Is there a brand that you recommend when it comes to monitors and printers?

Naturally we recommend printers and monitors that are Pantone Validated, Pantone Calibrated, or Pantone Approved

These devices can be found here:

https://www.pantone.com/license/pantone-validated

https://www.pantone.com/services/calibrated-printers

Any advice regarding best practices for clients soft proofing PDF files on non-color managed PCs? How can I help them see what I see as close as possible?

You can’t really make this work. If you work in sRGB that is the theoretical gamut of all displays, but they would have to calibrate the point of their monitor to D50 and view any proofs or prints in D50. Hello! the trade program is available for tcx and tpx?

Yes. See https://www.pantone.com/media/downloads/trade-in/Pantone-Trade-In-Rebate- Form-Fashion-Home-Interiors.pdf

If you pick a spot color and then convert to a process when in Illustrator, does it automatically convert to the correct CMYK values?

Not very likely. If you had the GRACoL 2013 profile as your working space it might be close, but you really want the Absolute Colorimetric rendering intent for the color conversion which you would not get.

Request: I wish for the Formula Guide to list Lch values and denote whether a color can be accurately reproduced using CMYK+OGV.

Request noted, thank you. There is a Pantone Extended Gamut guide available.

In searching Creative Cloud, Pantone Connect doesn't come up. Is it called something else?

Search for Pantone Connect in the Creative Cloud Exchange Marketplace or go here https://exchange.adobe.com/creativecloud.details.103029.pantone-connect.html

How can I find a printer service that prints Pantone Spot Colors digitally or offset, do you have service directory?

We do not. Check with your local trade organization like PINC if you are in the U.S. or a national group like Idea Alliance or Fogra.

Sometimes the color from the CMYK specs in the Bridge is not matching exactly to the PMS. And, as a designer, we are tempted to do more customization/adjustments for a better match. Is that recommended or we should not do that at all?

I said in the session that I might not change these but on further consideration I think it may be fine. Just don't expect to match the spot color. The CMYK version of the color is often different since many Pantone Spot Colors are out of the commercial CMYK gamut, like PANTONE 265 C we used in our example in the Webinar.

I have European clients whose printers use the RAL color system, not Pantone. Is there a conversion chart between Pantone and RAL?

Not that I know of. If you contact me on LinkedIn, we can explore this more.

Why colors differ so much from your specs for screen and your guides? Shouldn't it match ? CMYK tints should match if you have a profiled screen, Spot colors too if they are in gamut for the display. Do you mean they don’t match the spot versions on the left side of Color Bridge pages or in the Formula Guide? Please send me an example on LinkedIn and I can look at it.

Why your CMYK guides differ so much from the same color printed on CMYK presses?

You need to have a current Color Bridge guide (purchased September 2019 or later) and print on a press that conforms to G-7 colorspace compliance for GRAoL2013 / CRPC 6 press reference.

Should I specify the spot colors AND bridge system when specifying branding standards? Which system to use for specifying colors on screen ?

There is no spot color management on screen except in Creative Cloud and in Web browsers. For branding I'd use the HTML hexadecimal value from Color Bridge for on-screen if you are displaying in a browser.

I do not see the lighting indicator stickers on the Pantone web site

The lighting indicator is in the Formula Guide and Color Bridge fanbooks on the last page. We have sold stickers in the past but they are not currently on the Web site. We’ll put them back soon.

Bridge guide useful if I normally we use the Pantone fan books for picking colors for plastics only?

If you are only doing plastics perhaps not unless you need equivalent HTML or RGB values for showing the plastics on screen.

I noticed recently that the online "color converter" (from one book to another) was taken off the website. Will that come back?

It has been removed as it was outdated. Pantone Connect can now do this.

I design for print and work in a CMYK workspace. If I receive a file from a designer that used an RGB workspace which does not translate in my color space, will their file still print accurately if built in an RGB workspace?

I would convert their file to your CMYK working space as it will preview better on screen especially if you calibrate and profile your monitor. You can build it in RGB, but I would turn on Proof Preview in Creative Cloud to get at least some idea how it will look when printed. The print will very likely not look like the RGB.

In your opinion, should we always change the default US Web Coated SWOP to GRACoL?

Yes, if you are in the US or a territory where G-7/GRACoL is used, Get the 2013 CPRC 6 profile here (download link at the bottom) http://www.color.org/registry/GRACoL2013_CRPC6.xalter We print overseas, so should we keep the default settings rather than change to GRACoL?

Find out what your printing partner can match, many overseas shops can print to CRPC6. Or get the profile for what they are printing to - it probably isn’t SWOP.

Why do AI Spot to 4C builds not match Pantone Spot to 4C builds?

See above, this is because the Pantone libraries in Creative Cloud are outdated.

When I try to add Pantone Connect to my Creative Cloud, I get this message: The installed versions of these apps are not compatible with this plugin.

Do you have Creative Cloud 2021 or the older Adobe Creative Suite? If you have Creative Cloud, try going to Creative Cloud - Apps and updating them.

How about hex ?

I’m not sure is you mean hexadecimal HTML values which are included in the Pantone Color Bridge guides or “” which was s six-color process we once used to print Guide but which was not widely adopted by the print industry.

Which settings I should use when calibrating my monitor?

D50 .

Should/shouldn't I convert colors when exporting IND to PDF, and what is "preserve numbers"?

You can convert or not coming into ID provided you have the profiles set correctly. Remember Color Management is designed to preserve color appearance and it should if you are converting with profiles. The only way to mess it up is to assign profiles to data that is already in another profile space. The "preserve numbers" is a way of keeping color values always the same and not color managing them. If you want color management to work never use this setting.

Session 3. January 28, 04:00 GMT

Can we maintain the same colour profiles in Lightroom while editing raw images? If so, how do we do it?

As I said in the session, you use the working space when rendering from Camera RAW / Digital Negative to a working space. If you are going to print you to render into sRGB or Adobe RGB then convert to your CMYK working space. Do all visual output devices have different l*a*b* value?

Yes, different visual output device will often have different L*a*b* values (different color appearances) for the same color being displayed.

How Pantone Connect is a revolutionary software or app ? What are its major features ?

Web portal tool + Mobile App + Creative Cloud extension provides the best tool set for working with Pantone Colors and Inspiration tools to capture colors in real life with Pantone Color Card or from images.

How many colour are there in the world ?

Good question. I had to look this up. I found it reported that think there are 18 decillion. That means 18 followed by 33 0's, like this: 18,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. For a rough estimate we know that the eye can see 1,000 levels of dark-light and about 100 levels each of - and yellow-blue. So that’s about 10 million colors right there.

If there's a non-calibrated monitor showing a different kind of Pantone, so what can a person do to get the desired pantone, instead of what we are seeing, and will the printing press print the wrong color?

You get the desired Pantone Color by picking it from the Physical Pantone Guide, you might have to hold it up to the uncalibrated screen if it is showing you the color you want, make sure to pick a color on the left side of the page in the Color Bridge Guide if you’ll be printing in spot color or the right side if you will be printing in CMYK.

Please explain the Pantone to CMYK processing slide. also, the G 7 calibration

Pantone looked up the CMYK values that give the closest appearance to the Pantone Spot Color and printed them in the Color Bridge guide. They were looked up in a G-7 calibrated press reference called CRPC6 and printed the same way.

What is delta E, and how it is calculated?

Good question. It is the distance between two L*a*b* colors, which tells us how much color difference a human observer sees. This works because L*a*b* is a relatively perceptually uniform space so that as colors change in L*a*b*, the human perception of color change is about the same as the degree of change in the L*a*b* color space. We’ll talk more about ∆E in a future session.

Why does the Pantone 265 CP values say 0 for yellow and black? We picked a color that can be simulated with only two process colors. This is not unusual for saturated colors. Why is it expensive to get our work printed in spot colors?

Your print partner needs to to make an extra plate and pay for and extra press unit to be set up and washed up.

Will Pantone include expanded color gamut into Color Bridge? if not why? Possibly. We are working to expand the functionality of the Extended Gamut guide.