Phototype Integrates PantoneLIVE™ with Print Quality Management System

X-Rite Incorporated and its subsidiary Pantone LLC, have announced a strategic technology partnership with Phototype, a leading provider of packaging graphics and brand management solutions to the consumer packaged goods industry. Under the terms of the agreement, Phototype customers, including brand owners, printers and converters, have access to PantoneLIVE, a cloud-based ecosystem that makes it easy for brand owners, printers and converters to define, develop and share precise spectral definitions for brand color palettes based on specific substrates, print processes, inks and application methods. By integrating its proprietary Print Quality Management System (PQM) with PantoneLIVE, Phototype adds access to PantoneLIVE libraries from within PQM to verify color accuracy during design and production processes.

“We are very excited about the integration of PQM with PantoneLIVE. It takes our already robust and highly successful solution to the next level” said David Olberding, co-CEO of Phototype. “PQM has been one of our most powerful and well received service offerings – providing our clients with significant data about and visibility into their supply chains by sampling press runs at regular intervals to determine how a job is performing. This data is then collected and paired with business intelligence tools to give our clients real-time, continuous information.

Now, with our PantoneLIVE integration, our clients will have access to the entire PantoneLIVE library of colors. This will enable even more reliable specification, measurement, management and reporting of color data throughout the packaging life cycle.”

Since its launch in March of 2012, PantoneLIVE has been adopted by a growing number of brand owners around the globe who want to ensure that the brand colors they specify are accurately represented on the shelf. In addition, printers and converters who are always seeking to drive cost out of production have

found value in being part of the PantoneLIVE ecosystem. PantoneLIVE provides a means to digitally communicate color and color expectations early in the process and across an entire supply chain. By ensuring accurate, reliable color from project inception throughout the brand life cycle based on specific printing technology, inks and substrates used or planned, PantoneLIVE has successfully demonstrated that it:

· Helps manage client color expectations using realistic PantoneLIVE master and dependent standards

· Yields fewer claims of poor color matching with the use of a common color language based on spectral data

· Relies on the credibility of the PANTONE brand for assurance of accurate color results

· Yields significant waste reduction and cost savings benefits that deliver a rapid ROI.

“This strategic partnership represents the first full-scale deployment of PantoneLIVE by a premedia supplier that includes coordination among brand customers and print suppliers,” said Sonia Megert, Vice President of X-Rite’s Pantone Digital Business. “Phototype’s adoption of PantoneLIVE validates the benefit this innovative service brings to the packaging supply chain, including brand owners, designers, premedia professionals and packaging converters. It also demonstrates the value of the open PantoneLIVE ecosystem, which can be integrated with solutions such as Phototype’s PQM, even when X-Rite and Pantone offer similar solutions. We believe it is important to choose the right solution mix for each client, regardless of origin.”

For more information about X-Rite solutions for the packaging industry, please visit www.xrite.com and www.pantone.com/LIVE. For more information about Phototype, visit www.phototype.com.