PDF User Manual

PANTONE Color Cue Top View

To turn On the PANTONE Color Cue, press and hold the 

Power 

ON/OFF button.

If there are no characters on the display, install or

replace the battery.

To select a Color

Place the PANTONE Color Cue down on a sample and press the clear 

View

and Measure button

, which is also a switch.

Quick St

art Guide

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Power

Menu

Next

Display

View

Light

button

View and

Measure

button

PANTONE Color Cue Bottom View

Sample

Port

PANTONE 185 C

PANTONE Wm Red

75.00%

PANTONE RubRed

25.00%

CMYK

0 91 76 0

CMYKOG

0 100 0 0 76 0

sRGB100

90 5 18

sRGB255

230 13 46

HTML

E60D2E

Press the 

View and Measure

button

and a PANTONE

Number for that specific color

will appear in the display.

The 

Next

key may be used to step the

display through additional information.

The items available for display are

determined by each deck type and

selected by 

Menu

operations.

After the last item, the PANTONE

Number will appear. If you go past the

item you wish to see, just keep going

until it reappears.

Menu Operations 

The Menu button is used to select menu options. On the first press, the

display will show 

*Measure

and the currently selected deck. Pressing

Menu again will step the display.  

“ * ” marks the selected menu item.

Library Selection

Pressing the 

View and Measure button

changes or starts the selected

menu item. The following sequence selects the deck type.

When the desired library is selected, press the 

Next

button and it will

return to the top of the menu. Press the 

View and Measure button

on

top of a new sample to get a PANTONE Number for that specific color

using the new selection,  i.e., C, M and U for coated, matte and uncoated,

respectively.

If the sample is small 

and alignment is difficult,

look through the measure 

window to align the 

sample. The View Light

Button may be used 

to provide additional 

(green) light

*Measure

PANTONE coated

*PANTONE coated

*Color Lookup

*Color Lookup

Display Data

*Calibrate

Special Options

*Special Options

Measure

*PANTONE coated

Color Lookup

*PANTONE matte

Color Lookup

*PANTONE uncoated

Color Lookup

Lab

50.23 76.22 42.05

PANTONE 185 C

*Display Data

Calibrate

*Measure

PANTONE coated

Euro CMYK

0 95 64 0

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Warnings

Unknown Color

If there is no color within a reasonable range of the measurement, then

Unknown Color will be displayed. This may occur when no sample is

presented to the sample port.

Warning > 5% from base

If calibration adjusts white by more than 5 percent, this message will be

displayed. For a new clean instrument, this is not likely to occur. If this

message occurs, repeat the calibration procedure, being sure that the

targets are clean and placed flat to the sample port.

No Formula Data for Entry

If no Formula Data is available for the selected color, this message will

appear when Formula data should be displayed.

No Data for Entry

If no data table entry is available for a selected color, then this message

will display in place of the data.

Low Battery

If the battery voltage drops below a preset limit during a measurement,

this message will appear. The battery should be replaced as soon 

as possible.

Display Items

The Display Data menu item starts a sub-menu of items, each of which may

be toggled on or off by pressing the 

View and Measure button

. Items that

are 

On

may be displayed with the 

Next

button after a measurement. Items

that are 

Off

will be hidden. The menu of items available for display may be

different for each deck.

PANTONE Color Cue Care

Keep the Sample Port as clean as possible. There is a recessed window in

the sample port. It is good if it this window is not visible, because that means

that it is clean. Dirt on the

View and Measure button

will not cause

measurement problems, while dirt in the sample port will. 

If the PANTONE Color Cue will not be used for a long time, the battery

should be removed.

Extended exposure to temperatures below freezing or above boiling can

damage the unit. Operation is tested from 65

0 

F to 105

0

F. 

You should not expect reasonable color selection above 110

0 

F or below 60

0 

F.

If the sample port is clean and the PANTONE Color Cue reports colors that

are too dark, it may need to be calibrated.  This should not be done often. In

the intended operating environment, calibration should be at most weekly.

The normal requirement time to recalibrate is expected to be monthly or

quarterly.

Calibration:

1) Remove the battery compartment cover. You will see white and black 

targets on the inside of the cover. These should be free of dirt,

fingerprints and scratches.

2) Press the 

Menu

key four times or until you see *Calibrate on the top

line of the display.

3) Press the 

View and Measure button

and you should see the

message 

Measure White Calib. Target

in the display.

4) Present the White Target to the sample port and press the 

View and

Measure button

.  You should see the display change to 

Measure Black

Calib. Target.

5) Press the 

View and Measure button.

Important

The PANTONE Color Cue is designed to be a color identification 
tool. It is programmed with the master color data for three PANTONE 
formula guides (coated, uncoated, matte).

Please note that measurement of a specific PANTONE Color from a 
PANTONE Publication with the PANTONE Color Cue may not 
produce an exact match as colors change over time due to colorant 
fading, aging, exposure to light, temperature and handling.

Note also that the results of the PANTONE Color Cue may not match 
the corresponding PANTONE Color and that some variation may 
occur.  Variables that may affect the result provided by the PANTONE 
Color Cue include:

• The PANTONE Color Cue was improperly calibrated.
• Obstructions inside the PANTONE Color Cue measuring window.
• Component failure inside the PANTONE Color Cue.
• Incorrect measurement of the color, for example:

-  The unit was not perfectly flat on the sample measured.
-  The measured sample has a high degree of surface texture.
-  The measured sample was dirty from handling.
-  The measured sample did not fill the measurement area.
-  The measured sample contains metallic, fluorescent and/or 

pearlescent colorants.

-  The measured sample was multi-colored, e.g., a stripe or plaid.
-  The measured sample looks different when viewing at different 

angles.

All data variables encoded in the PANTONE Color Cue are based on 
specific printing or display conditions and are to be used as 
guidelines only. You should always visually refer to current PANTONE 
Color publications for accurate color identification. Pantone, 
Inc. is not liable and assumes no responsibility for inaccurate color
identification by the PANTONE Color Cue.

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OFFICE LOCATIONS

North America
Pantone, Inc.
World Headquarters
590 Commerce Boulevard
Carlstadt, New Jersey
07072-3098 U.S.A.
Tel: 201-935-5500
Fax: 201-896-0242

Europe, Middle East and Africa
Pantone U.K., Inc.
8 Stade Street, Hythe
Kent CT21 6BD, England
Tel: (44) 1303 269666
Fax: (44) 1303 264464

D/A/CH and Eastern Europe 
Representative Office
Roonstrasse 23a
D-76137 Karlsruhe, Germany
Tel: (49) 721 82037 37
Fax: (49) 721 82037 38

Asia Pacific
Pantone Asia, Inc.
10/F Communication Building
55 Hennessy Road
Wanchai, Hong Kong
S.A.R., China
Tel: (852) 2724 8822 
Fax: (852) 2724 8800

It is best to hold the 

battery door against

the sample port to

feel the appropriate

flat contact.

After the black target is measured, the nearest

PANTONE Number (Black) should appear in

the display.

PANTONE® and other Pantone, Inc. trademarks are the property of Pantone, Inc.
All rights reserved. © Pantone, Inc., 2002

For addtional information, call us at 888-PANTONE or 
go to the Pantone Web site at www.pantone.com.

*FormulaGuide On

*FormulaGuide Of

*CMYK Of

*CMYK On

®

Pantone, Inc. is an ISO 9002 registered company. Printed in U.S.A. by Pantone, Inc.

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