Adobe, now you have to pay to use Pantone colors on its software

However, Semple wants to understand if it is possible to avoid the use of Pantone colors altogether. On 28 October he released Freetone, a collection of 1,280 colors that mimic those of Pantone and can be installed in Adobe software as a plugin. Semple, in his online shop, is careful not to say that these are exact replacements of the Pantone colors, but only that they are alternatives “extremely Pantonian“hopefully”indistinguishable“from the real ones. In the four days following its release, Freetone has been downloaded more than 22,000 times, proving, Semple says, how much users feel cheated by the blocks imposed by Adobe.

Sins to share

However, it is not clear who is responsible for the current situation: “The problem is that not enough pressure has been put on Pantone to find an agreement “, Heimann argues. Adobe’s Erin Di Leva did not answer questions for Wired UK on the reasons that led the company to introduce the block in these ways: “We operate in a world where the products and services we rely on cannot be used independently – underlines Perzanowski -. They are tied to companies like Adobe, Apple, and Tesla, who can restrict their use through a combination of code, license restrictions, and legal threats“.

However, in addition to increasing the pressure on Pantone, the decision also affects the use and capabilities of users: “The situation makes everything more complicated for graphic designers – Heimann says, it further complicates the transition to other companies and adds other barriers in the design workHeimann points out that the issue undermines the purpose for which Pantone was born, which is to allow graphic designers to not having to be physically present at the print shop to verify that the final result matched their project.

For the designer Adobe also has to take its share of the responsibility: “Adobe could easily add a button that converts colors – explains -. There is nothing to stop him. The fact that it does not, to me, is an indicator that Adobe is trying to provoke users and set them against Pantone, in order to strike a better deal.“. According to Heimann it is wrong to drag users into the dispute:”It is not fair that, if Adobe and Pantone disagree, it is me and my work that are the ones who are paying for it“.

This article originally appeared on Wired UK.