Photo shop Users are starting to get choked up as Adobe’s controversial decision to cancel Pantone Color books from creative cloud Tools.
Back in December 2021, the creative apps company revealed its plan to remove Pantone color libraries from products. Users will need to purchase an additional license, Pantone Connect, to use it in their work – effectively putting colors behind a paywall.
August saw the beginning of a phased culling stripped of the included Pantone Color books InDesignAnd the Cameraman And photoshop. Now, this process appears to be somewhat complete. and designer and video editor Ian Anderson, revealed on twitter (Opens in a new tab) How does this step affect the creative workflow?
Payment barriers and hackers
“Fun times for #Adobe designers,” the tweet began. “Today, if you open a PSD (even if it’s 20 years old) with an obscure PANTONE color, it will remove the color and make it black. Pantone wants to get $21 per month to access it, while Solid Coated defaults to the paywall in early November.”
Thread saw users suggest favorite Photoshop alternatives And their favorite Digital art and drawing software. Others have provided solutions to enable the color scheme in the app. Much seemed baffling due to the apparent copyrights to the colors (although technically it’s the name Pantone’s color and matching system licensed here). However, most criticized Adobe and Pantone for not reaching an agreement.
Regardless of the additional costs, one of the designers’ biggest concerns is to continue to deliver consistency and accuracy. While Adobe’s photo editor And the DTPsoftware Third party color books are allowed, they risk not matching the similarly widely used Pantone libraries. As such, concerns about growing complaints and assets that do not conform to brand guidelines loom over the creative industry.
Even more worrying, Anderson’s tweet shows, is that this update is retroactive. Only Creative Cloud All Apps subscribers will continue to use Pantone Color books.
Adobe has not disclosed the reason for the change. Their website simply states, “The Pantone license has been modified with Adobe. Due to this change, customers will need to purchase Pantone Connect licenses to access Pantone colors in Adobe Creative Cloud products.”
The company also confirmed that after November 2022, only Pantone + CMYK Coated, Pantone + CMYK Uncoated, and Pantone + Metallic Coated books will still be available.