Designed for graphic design, packaging, and commercial printing. The color is printed using ink on glossy, coated paper . The surface reflects light, making colors appear more vibrant, saturated, and crisp.
Both contain the same 2,100+ color palette, but because different substrates absorb and reflect light differently, the same color number can look noticeably different on fabric versus paper.
In the world of design, color is the very essence of a brand. Yet, it’s also a primary source of frustration when that carefully chosen shade of blue doesn’t match the final woven label, or the crisp paper packaging appears slightly off from the garment it holds. This discrepancy lies at the heart of a question many designers face: how do you convert a Pantone TCX (Textile Cotton eXtended) color for textiles into its corresponding Pantone C (Solid Coated) color for graphics?
The key takeaway is that neither TCX nor TPX was designed to directly match the print colors of the Graphics system. A TCX swatch is the final target for a textile dyer, and it should never be used as a formula for a print job. tcx to pantone c
Pantone C belongs to the , which is primarily used for graphic design, digital printing, packaging, and commercial printing. The "C" stands for Coated paper . These colors represent ink printed onto a smooth, glossy, clay-coated paper substrate. The glossy coating reflects more light, making colors look highly saturated, bright, and vibrant. Why Converting TCX to Coated C is Challenging
(Delta E) value to give you the mathematically closest Pantone C match. Common Conversion Approximations
You cannot use a mathematical formula to convert TCX to C. Pantone does not provide a direct cross-reference chart because the physical limits of ink on paper cannot replicate every nuance of dye on cotton. Both contain the same 2,100+ color palette, but
Digital screens can deceive your eyes due to calibration differences. The gold standard for production is always a physical comparison.
These colors are dyed into 100% cotton . They are designed for textiles and soft home goods.
Warn clients early in the design phase that packaging (Paper C) and the product itself (Textile TCX) will have slight visual variances due to physics. This discrepancy lies at the heart of a
Verify the digital recommendation using physical TCX and Coated swatch books.
: You can find the RGB or HEX values for a TCX color on Pantone’s website and then search for the nearest Pantone C equivalent using those digital values. Note that this is the least accurate method due to screen calibration issues. Common "Closest" Pairings
Measure the physical TCX cotton sample using a spectrophotometer (such as an X-Rite or Datacolor device). Capture the color data in (
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