CARLSTADT, N.J., – Pantone LLC, an X-Rite company (NASDAQ: XRIT) and the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries, today announced the PANTONE Certified Printer Program.

Designers rely on Pantone for consistent color standards – from initial inspiration to final output. The PANTONE Certified Printer Program is a patent-pending, professional certification program developed to ensure accurate PANTONE Solid and Process Color matching throughout the production workflow. The program audits, inspects, analyzes and qualifies the operations of participating offset printers – from intake and ink mixing to print production and customer handling. Each phase of the process is examined and must meet Pantone's stringent quality standards.

"Designers rely on their chosen print provider to accurately reproduce their projects, regardless of the many variables that can affect color reproduction," said Giovanni Marra, director of corporate marketing at Pantone. "By selecting a PANTONE Certified Printer, designers can rest easy knowing the printer has an effective color reproduction process in place with all of the required tools to properly evaluate color and ensure the best match to PANTONE Colors."

"The Pantone Certification Program represents a unique 'all inclusive' approach which enabled us to bundle all our quality programs, including ISO and G7, into a more structured process," said Lester Samuels, managing director of New Jersey-based Pictorial Offset Corporation, one of the largest privately-owned, commercial printers in North America. "By implementing PANTONE Certification, we've been able to reduce material and labor waste, reduce rework, produce consistent color branding for our clients, increase customer satisfaction and ultimately drive our top line."

"We decided to become part of the PANTONE Certified Printer Program because we truly believe in an engineered color-consistent process," said George Amann, president of UNIMAC Graphics, a diversified graphics communication company serving clients in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. "With PANTONE Certification, we are able to improve the repeatability of our entire color process, whether utilizing PANTONE Solid Colors or traditional four-color process. Color consistency can save a job and a client, so the payback for the certification is immediate. The PANTONE Certification will also assist us in acquiring more business, as it will be a great influencer for savvy supply chain personnel."

The PANTONE Certified Printer Program focuses on measurement, control and communication, and audits each step of the process including prepress, press and ink. Through the use of instruments and ink formulation software, PANTONE Certified Printers can calculate the best possible match to a client's chosen substrate and set realistic expectations by providing a report that indicates how closely a designer can expect to match any given color. Those printing to the GRACoL standard can use PANTONE Color Numbers straight from PANTONE Guides; others can calculate the best four-color build for their press conditions by using PANTONE COLOR MANAGER Software. For more in-depth information about the certification process, please visit www.pantone.com/certifiedprinter.

Pricing and Availability
Printers can become certified as part of the PANTONE Certified Printer Program for U.S. $7,850. This covers the first year of certification, a two-day audit and a one-year PANTONE License. Certification for additional printing plants is $4,100. Recertification is available for U.S. $6,050 per year. Recertification of additional plant sites is U.S. $2,300 per year. There may be additional costs for products, software and equipment calibration necessary to pass audit requirements.