And the Color of the Year is ... White?
Pantone has released the 2026 Color of the Year and it’s … white.
OK, not just white, but something Pantone’s press release describes as “a billowy white imbued with a feeling of serenity,” or in other words: Cloud Dancer.
The release goes on to build it up even more: “An ethereal white hue, PANTONE 11-4201 Cloud Dancer serves as a symbol of calming influence in a frenetic society rediscovering the value of measured consideration and quiet reflection.”
Though the in-plant community’s excitement over Cloud Dancer may be more subdued, it’s not a simple color to reproduce, according to PRINTING United Alliance color experts Ray Weiss and Joe Marin
“Near-whites like Cloud Dancer can be surprisingly difficult to reproduce accurately, mostly because there’s so little room for error,” they explain. “You’re working in a narrow tonal range where the slightest shift — warmer or cooler, brighter or duller — is noticeable.”
But at least one person thinks Cloud Dancer is not hard to reproduce at all; he sees it in his sock drawer all the time.
“You know how white socks get that light gray tint because of all the use?” notes Jeremy Picker, creative director and founder of AMB3R Creative.
Read his and other more supportive perspectives in this Apparelist article.
Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited 200 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.
