Most people in the print industry see X-Rite as the leading supplier of color measurement instruments used to ensure accurate color across a wide range of devices and presses. It's also seen as a supplier of ancillary software and applications for handling color profiling with its color measurement systems. In addition X-Rite is known as the owner of the color specification and selection company Pantone.

Few people in the print industry know that X-Rite is the leader in the paint, textile, automotive and plastics industries for ensuring accurate color matching. Most people don’t know that X-Rite’s strategy is to be the top color company across a range of industries by supplying applications, technologies and tools that ensure consistent, accurate color across any material or media. In this way it is moving from being a color measurement company to becoming the color appearance company. In this I see X-Rite as being the world leader in color measurement, selection, transmission and appearance. Above all I see them as “The Color Company.”

I recently had the opportunity to moderate and speak at a dinner event hosted by Arena International’s PACE team on the subject of critical brand colors in packaging to a range of executives from some of the major consumer and business brands. The keynote presentation at this event was given by X-Rite/Pantone covering the developments they were taking as they turn additional focus to brand color management.