How to Change CMYK to Pantone
CMYK is a color profile that is commonly used around the world to provide a centralized way for different companies and programs to present the same color. The profile refers to the percentage of "cyan," "magenta," "yellow" and "black" ink that must be used to create a specific shade. Many graphics programs, such as Adobe Photoshop, use this as their default color profile. If you need to change a CMYK color to a Pantone color, however, it is possible to do so.
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Instructions
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Launch your graphics program.
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Click "File" at the top of the screen, then choose "New" to create a new document or "Open" to open an existing document.
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Click the color square in the toolbar. In most graphics programs, there will be two color squares -- one for the foreground color and one for the background color.
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Select the color that you wish to convert by choosing it from the large palette in the center of the window. If you need to change the main color on the palette, select the color from the rainbow-colored bar next to the palette.
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Click the "Profile" or "Custom" button to change the location from which your color's value is derived. For example, in Photoshop you would click the "Custom" button under the "Cancel" button.
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Click the drop-down menu next to "Book" to select the Pantone book that you wish to convert to. For example, Photoshop provides a number of options, such as metallic, pastel, processed and solid.
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Select the Pantone swatch from the column on the left side of the window that best matches your desired color.
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Click the "OK" button to complete the color conversion process.
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Tips & Warnings
To switch from Pantone back to the CMYK color profile, simply click the "Picker" button on the "Custom Color" window.
Not all graphics programs include Pantone color profiles. Pantone is the name of a company, and it must provide authorization in order for its color information to be included as part of the application.
