Editing Hexachrome

{{Short description|Six-color printing process designed by Pantone Inc}}
'''Hexachrome''' is a discontinued six-color printing process designed by [[Pantone]]. In addition to custom [[CMYK]] inks, Hexachrome uses orange and green inks to expand the color gamut for better color reproduction. It is therefore also known as a CMYKOG process.

Hexachrome was discontinued by Pantone in 2008 when [[Adobe Inc.|Adobe Systems]] stopped supporting the HexWare [[Plug-in (computing)|plugin]] software. While the details of Hexachrome were not secret, its use was limited by trademark and patent to those obtaining a license from Pantone. The inventor of Hexachrome is Richard Herbert, who is also the president of Pantone Inc.<ref name=Story>{{cite web|last=Anchell|first=Steve|title=The Pantone Story|url=http://www2.rangefindermag.com/magazine/May06/showpage.taf?page=84.tml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100127061109/http://www2.rangefindermag.com/magazine/May06/showpage.taf?page=84.tml|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 January 2010|publisher=Rangefinder Magazine|access-date=1 March 2012}}</ref>

==Software==
To use the Hexachrome process in a digital printing process, Pantone produced a [[Plug-in (computing)|plugin]] for [[Adobe Photoshop]] that allowed the designer to work in an [[RGB]] [[color space]] more typical of computer work.<ref name="Hexachrome Printing">{{cite web|last=Reid|first=Dan|title=Hexachrome Printing|url=http://www.digitaloutput.net/content/ContentCT.asp?P=290|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808231910/http://www.digitaloutput.net/content/ContentCT.asp?P=290|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 August 2007|publisher=Digital Output|access-date=2 March 2012}}</ref> The plugin was called HexWare, which contained a set of Adobe plugins used by printers and designers who used the Hexachrome system.<ref name="Hexachrome Printing" /> Older versions of [[QuarkXPress]] and [[Adobe InDesign]] also came with the Hexachrome system already installed and enabled.<ref name="Hexachrome Printing" />

==Purpose==
The main purpose of Hexachrome was to create a printing ink system that could depict brighter and clearer pictures by being able to produce more accurate colors.<ref name="6 colors">{{cite web|url=https://www.ebsco.com/products/research-databases/business-source-complete|last=Reid|first=Dan|title=6 colors hits the spot|publisher=Business Source Complete (AN=18772022 not publicly available)}}</ref>  Using this system instead of the CMYK ink system also allowed for printing more accurate skin tones and pastels.<ref name=Pantone>{{cite web|title=An extreme color gamut can help|url=http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/Pantone.aspx?pg=3&ca=24&cca=6|access-date=1 March 2012}}</ref> The Hexachrome system let users print images from computer screens that were not able to be accurately duplicated before.<ref name=Pantone /> 
As well as producing more accurate color photo reproduction than previous systems, Hexachrome also increased efficiency as it was able to match many more Pantone [[spot color]]s.<ref name="6 colors" /> Designers would specify Pantone spot colors when designing logos, but many of the Pantone colors could not be produced using the CMYK color system, requiring additional passes on the press for each Pantone color, increasing printing costs. By using the Hexachrome system, a wider range of custom colors could be printed on the same pass as the color photo images.<ref name="6 colors" />

==Users==
Hexachrome was used by software companies including [[Aldus Corporation]], [[Adobe Systems]], and [[Quark (company)|Quark]] and printer manufacturers including [[Hewlett-Packard|HP]], [[Epson]], and [[Xerox]].<ref name=Story />

==See also==
* [[CcMmYK color model]]

==References==
<references />
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite web|title=Pantone Expands the Color Range With Hexachrome System|publisher=Business Source Complete (AN=9897108 not publicly available)|url=https://www.ebsco.com/products/research-databases/business-source-complete}}
*{{cite web|title=Hexachrome on web offset line.|publisher=Pantone Inc.|url=https://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/Pantone.aspx?pg=20133&blnTimedOut=1}}
*{{cite web|title=Richard Herbert.|publisher=Electronic Publishing (AN=15409111, not publicly available)|url=https://www.ebsco.com/products/research-databases/business-source-complete}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
*{{US patent|5734800}}
*[http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/pantone.aspx?pg=20151&ca=10 Pantone Hexachrome patent announcement news release, May 26 1998]

{{color space}}

[[Category:Printing terminology]]