Editorial Standards
How we research, write, and verify the content on PantoneTools.
Sources we cite
- CIE (Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage) standards
- ISO printing and color management standards (ISO 12647, ISO 3664)
- W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1)
- W3C CSS Color Module specifications for named colors and modern color syntax
- ICC profile and output-condition documentation from print vendors or standards bodies
- Adobe published color management documentation
- Peer-reviewed color science journals
Launch trust rules
PantoneTools is useful only if the site is more careful than a generic color blog. Before launch, claims about ΔE2000, ICC profiles, FOGRA, GRACoL, APCA, WCAG, OKLCH, gamut clipping, Pantone production usage, and RAL workflows must point back to the methodology page, a named standard, a source registry entry, or a documented tool calculation.
- Approximate values must be labeled as approximate wherever they can influence production decisions.
- Color-distance claims must name the actual formula used; ΔE2000 cannot describe Euclidean RGB or Lab distance.
- Programmatic color pages must show source, license, confidence, and last-reviewed data.
- Locale fallbacks must not be presented to crawlers as fully translated pages.
- Pages with weak verification must remain pre-production or be rewritten before they are promoted as authoritative.
What we won't publish
- Color psychology claims unsupported by replicable research
- "This color converts to exactly that color" — when no exact mapping exists, we say so
- Affiliate-driven recommendations dressed as educational content
Review process
Every guide is reviewed for technical accuracy before publication. Updates and corrections are dated visibly. Significant factual changes are noted with an updated date and revision note.
Review ownership
Each article has one accountable review owner. Color science and conversion articles are reviewed against the methodology page; print workflow articles are reviewed against substrate, proofing, and press handoff realities; accessibility articles are reviewed against WCAG success criteria and practical design-system usage.
Pre-production author and reviewer profiles are used to identify editorial responsibility areas. Before public launch, any person-level credentials shown on author pages must be externally verifiable, or the byline system must be converted to clearly labeled editorial-team attribution.
Programmatic page safeguards
Color collection pages are generated at scale, so the quality bar has to live in the template and in the data importer. A collection row is not publishable unless it has a registered source, license context, review date, derived color-space values, accessibility ratios, cross-system relationships, print notes, and workflow tags. Thin pages are not acceptable just because the data exists.
Internal links must connect each row to its parent collection, nearest Pantone references, nearest RAL references, same-collection neighbors, and workflow pages where relevant. That linking model is part of the editorial standard, not optional SEO decoration.
AI-assisted writing policy
Drafting tools may be used for outlining, consistency checks, and editing support, but production claims cannot rely on generated text alone. Any statement about CIE formulas, ICC profiles, WCAG thresholds, print tolerances, or Pantone production usage must be checked against a named source, a documented calculation, or a practitioner review note.
Correction and revision rules
- Minor copy edits do not change the article date.
- Workflow, threshold, or standards updates change the visible updated date.
- Corrections that affect production decisions are recorded in the PRD or release log.
- Pages that cannot be verified remain pre-production and should not be positioned as authoritative.
Reporting an error
If you spot a factual issue, use any official contact channel we publish on the site. We review substantiated reports and publish corrections when verified.