Korean Cosmetic Color Spec Sheet: How Indie Founders Write Pantone, LAB, and Hex Values for Korean ODMs (2026)

By the ALTA MEET editorial team | K-beauty ODM consulting

A founder picks a brand color in Figma. The Hex value is `#7E5A3F`, a warm camel tone that looks correct on her MacBook and on her phone. She sends the brief to a Korean ODM with the line "tube should be this color" and a screenshot. Six weeks later the first sample arrives. It is the wrong color. Not catastrophically wrong, but wrong enough that her launch photography has to be re-shot, the press kit has to be re-rendered, and her co-founder is asking whether they should accept the batch.

This is one of the most common preventable failures in an indie K-beauty packaging cycle. The failure is not a manufacturing defect. The failure is in the color spec itself. A Hex value is not a manufacturing instruction. A screenshot is not a manufacturing instruction. The Korean ODM ink department needs four things to hit a target reliably: a reference color in a system that survives translation, a substrate, a measurement method, and an acceptance tolerance. None of those four things live inside a Hex code.

This guide walks through what an indie founder should actually write on the color spec sheet that goes to a Korean ODM in 2026. It covers the four color systems the ODM ink department speaks (RGB, CMYK, Pantone, LAB), the perceptual difference metric (Delta-E) that determines whether a sample passes or fails, the substrate problem that makes the same Pantone code look different on glass versus PCR-PE, the template a founder should write into the brief, and the common mistakes that cost founders an extra strike-off cycle and two weeks of lead time.

Why Color Specification Is the Highest-Impact Slot in the Brief

Color is one of the few packaging attributes that founders care about emotionally. It is also one of the few where the Korean ODM cannot guess. Mold shapes can be referenced against existing stock tooling. Dropper formats have standard options. Decoration techniques (silk screen, hot stamp, sleeve label) are bounded. But the color of a printed tube, a sleeved bottle, or an injection-molded cap is bespoke per project, and the ODM does not have a brand book in their head.

The asymmetry here is sharp. A color spec that is precise costs the founder twenty minutes to write. A color spec that is imprecise costs an extra strike-off cycle, which means an additional 200 to 500 dollars in sampling fees and five to ten days of lead time, multiplied by every substrate in the SKU.

In practice, most indie founder color failures fall into three buckets. The first bucket is system mismatch, where a founder sends a Hex code and the ODM does not know how to translate it to ink. The second bucket is substrate ignorance, where the founder writes a single Pantone code without specifying which substrate it applies to, and the same Pantone looks different on PCR plastic versus aluminum. The third bucket is acceptance method ambiguity, where there is no agreed-upon tolerance, so "matches" becomes a subjective argument between the founder and the Korean QC team.

All three buckets are preventable with a four-line spec sheet.

The Four Color Systems an Indie Founder Must Understand

A Korean ODM ink department reads four different color systems at different stages of the workflow. Founders who only know one of these systems (usually Hex) tend to lose this conversation. Founders who know all four can write a spec sheet that produces predictable physical output.

RGB is the color system of screens. Three values from 0 to 255 for red, green, blue. RGB is additive, meaning it represents how light combines on a backlit display. It is what Figma, Canva, and Photoshop work in by default. It is irrelevant for printed manufacturing because the manufacturing process does not emit light, it reflects light from inks deposited on a substrate. RGB is a useful reference at the design stage and a useless instruction at the manufacturing stage.

CMYK is the color system of process printing. Four values from 0 to 100 for cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (black). CMYK is subtractive, meaning it represents how inks combine when printed on paper or labels. Korean ODMs use CMYK for printed cartons and printed labels where halftone process printing is the decoration method. CMYK has a smaller color gamut than RGB, which is why some neon and saturated colors that look fine on a screen cannot be reproduced in process printing.

Pantone PMS is the spot color system. Each Pantone code refers to a specific pre-mixed ink, not a recipe of process inks. Pantone is what Korean ODMs use when they want a consistent specific color, especially for silk screen printing directly on glass, plastic, or aluminum primary packaging. The Pantone Matching System defines roughly 2,390 spot colors on coated and uncoated paper stocks in the current Formula Guide.[1] Pantone codes look like "7458 C" or "356 U" where the letter indicates the paper stock the chip is printed on.

LAB is the perceptual color space. Three values: L for lightness (0 to 100), a for the red-green axis, b for the blue-yellow axis. LAB was defined by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) and is specified in ISO 11664-4.[2] Unlike RGB or CMYK, LAB is device-independent and approximately perceptually uniform, meaning that equal numerical differences in LAB correspond to roughly equal perceived color differences. LAB is what Korean ODM color labs use when they measure a strike-off with a spectrophotometer, and it is the system that Delta-E tolerance specs are written against.

Hex is a six-character shorthand for RGB. `#7E5A3F` is the same as RGB(126, 90, 63). Hex is the lingua franca of web design and brand books. It is the worst possible system to send to a Korean ODM because it carries no substrate, no lighting, no measurement standard, and no tolerance.

The right way to think about these systems is hierarchical. Design happens in RGB and Hex. Process printing on cartons happens in CMYK. Spot printing on primary packaging happens in Pantone. Measurement and quality acceptance happen in LAB. A complete spec sheet touches at least Pantone and LAB. Hex appears only as an internal cross-reference.

Pantone Solid Coated Versus Solid Uncoated: Which Chip to Pick

The first decision an indie founder makes inside the Pantone system is whether to specify the Coated or Uncoated chip. The same Pantone family number will appear in both books, but the printed appearance differs.

The Coated chip is printed on a glossy paper stock. The glossy surface prevents the ink from absorbing into the paper, so the color appears more saturated and slightly darker. The Uncoated chip is printed on a matte paper stock. The paper absorbs the ink, so the color diffuses and appears slightly lighter and less saturated.[1]

The choice is not arbitrary. The rule of thumb a Korean ODM ink department applies is to match the chip to the finish of the substrate.

A glossy printed carton with UV varnish should reference a Coated Pantone (suffix C).

A matte printed carton, an uncoated label, or a soft-touch sleeve should reference an Uncoated Pantone (suffix U).

A silk-screened glass dropper bottle with a glossy ink lay-down behaves more like a Coated reference. A matte silk-screen ink on a tactile-coated tube behaves more like an Uncoated reference. The Korean ODM ink department can give a substrate-specific recommendation if asked, but the founder should state the intended chip explicitly in the brief.

A common indie mistake is specifying "Pantone 7458" without the C or U suffix. The ODM defaults to whichever chip is most common in their reference library, which is usually Coated, and the founder ends up with a color that does not match her intent. The correct line on the spec sheet is "Pantone 7458 C" or "Pantone 7458 U" with the suffix explicit.

A second common mistake is specifying a Pantone code for a substrate where Pantone reproduction is impractical. Aluminum tubes with offset litho printing can hit Pantone targets within a tolerance band. Direct silk-screen on certain PCR plastics can deviate by several Delta-E units even on a good day. Pantone is a reference target, not a guarantee. The strike-off process exists because the reference and the substrate do not always agree.

Hex Codes: Why "Match This Hex" Is Insufficient

Many indie founders bring a Hex code to the first ODM conversation and expect it to function as a manufacturing instruction. It cannot, for three reasons.

First, Hex carries no substrate. The same Hex value is going to render differently on a glossy printed carton, a matte tube, an aluminum cap, and a glass bottle. The founder's screen is showing one rendering. The manufactured artifact will show another.

Second, Hex carries no lighting. The screen the Hex was selected on is calibrated to a specific white point (often D65 daylight at 6500 K, but many laptop screens drift). The store shelf the product will be evaluated on may be lit with warm 3000 K incandescent, cool 4000 K LED, or daylight-matching 5000 to 6500 K fluorescent. Color appearance under different lighting is a separate problem (metamerism) that Hex does not address.

Third, Hex carries no tolerance. If the ODM produces a sample whose Hex equivalent is `#7B5A3D` instead of `#7E5A3F`, has the spec been met? Hex does not answer this question. LAB and Delta-E do.

This does not mean Hex is useless. Hex is the right way for a founder to communicate intent during the design stage and the right way to cross-reference a brand book against renderings. The mistake is sending Hex to manufacturing without converting it into a Pantone reference plus a LAB target plus a Delta-E tolerance plus a substrate.

The conversion path is straightforward. Adobe Illustrator and Figma both have Pantone color libraries (subscription required for current Adobe Pantone support, but the Pantone Connect plugin exposes the catalog). The founder picks the closest Pantone chip to her Hex target, then ideally physically checks the chip in a Pantone Formula Guide under daylight (the on-screen chip preview is not a substitute for the physical book). The closest Pantone chip becomes the spec reference. The Hex remains in the brand book as the digital reference but disappears from the manufacturing spec.

LAB and Delta-E: The Acceptance Tolerance Spec

LAB is the system the Korean ODM color lab measures with. Delta-E is the metric for how far apart two LAB values are. Delta-E is the spec language that turns "matches the Pantone" from a subjective judgment into a measurable acceptance test.

There are several Delta-E formulas. The current standard for perceptual difference measurement is CIEDE2000, codified in ISO/CIE 11664-6.[3] CIEDE2000 corrects known irregularities in older Delta-E formulas (Delta-E 1976, Delta-E CMC) and produces values that align more closely with how the human eye actually perceives color differences.

The perceptual thresholds matter for spec writing.

A Delta-E 2000 value below 1.0 is generally imperceptible to a trained observer under standardized viewing conditions.[4]

A Delta-E 2000 value between 1.0 and 2.0 is perceptible to a trained eye on close inspection but generally considered acceptable for production tolerances in branded packaging.

A Delta-E 2000 value between 2.0 and 3.5 is perceptible to a non-expert observer and is the conservative working tolerance in industrial color matching for many printing applications.[4]

A Delta-E 2000 value above 5.0 is obvious to anyone, including consumers picking the product off a shelf, and would normally trigger a reject.

The right tolerance to write into a Korean ODM brief depends on the substrate and the visibility of the color. For a brand-defining primary color on a silk-screened glass bottle, a working spec of Delta-E 2000 less than or equal to 2.0 against an agreed strike-off is appropriate and achievable for most Pantone targets on most substrates. For secondary colors or interior surfaces, Delta-E less than or equal to 3.0 is reasonable. For high-PCR plastic substrates where the resin itself has a yellow or gray tint, even Delta-E 3.5 may be the realistic ceiling without compensating masterbatch work, and the founder should be told this before signing the spec.

The spec sheet line looks like this: "Brand color target: Pantone 7458 C. Measurement system: CIE LAB under D65 illuminant. Acceptance tolerance: Delta-E 2000 less than or equal to 2.0 against approved third strike-off."

The Substrate Problem: Why the Same Pantone Looks Different on PCR-PE Versus Glass

Pantone is the reference. The substrate is the canvas. The interaction between the two is what the strike-off process is designed to expose.

Glass is the most cooperative substrate. Glass is transparent and inert, so silk-screened inks sit on top of the glass and behave close to the Pantone reference. Glass primary packaging hits Pantone targets within Delta-E 1.5 to 2.0 routinely on a competent ODM line.

Aluminum tubes are next most cooperative. Offset litho printing on aluminum produces saturated colors but the metallic substrate slightly shifts cool colors. Korean tube manufacturers compensate with a base white layer before color application.

PETG is acceptable. PETG is the standard for dropper bottles and many serum bottles in indie K-beauty. Transparent PETG accepts silk-screen and pad-printing well. Frosted PETG diffuses ink and shifts colors lighter.

PCR-PET (recycled PET) introduces drift. PCR content above 30 percent commonly introduces a slight yellow or gray tint to the base resin, depending on the recycled stream the resin came from.[5] Light colors and pastels are most affected. Bright whites and clear transparents become significantly harder to achieve above 40 percent PCR content.[5] For a founder spec'ing "ivory" or "pale peach" on a PCR-PET bottle, the realistic Delta-E ceiling is wider than glass.

PCR-PE and PCR-PP behave similarly to PCR-PET but with more variance because PE and PP recycling streams are less homogeneous than PET streams. PCR-PE squeeze tubes and PCR-PP caps in 100 percent post-consumer content can show batch-to-batch color variance even without changing the color spec, which means the founder should expect to accept some drift across production lots.

Aluminum caps and metal-shelled droppers introduce their own metamerism issues because metallic substrates reflect light differently at different angles.

The spec line that addresses this looks like: "Substrate: PETG 30ml dropper bottle (primary), PCR-PP 24/410 collar cap (secondary). Pantone 7458 C applies to bottle. Pantone 7458 C applies to cap with acceptance tolerance widened to Delta-E 2000 less than or equal to 2.5 due to PCR resin base tint."

Lighting Standard: Why D65 Matters

The same physical sample looks different under different light sources because each light source has a different spectral power distribution and color rendering index. A sample that looks like a perfect match under warehouse fluorescents may look noticeably off under daylight at the store shelf.

The standard for color matching in cosmetics and most industrial applications is D65, which represents average daylight at noon with a correlated color temperature near 6500 K.[6] D65 is codified in CIE standard illuminant specifications and is used in standardized viewing booths and spectrophotometer measurements globally. ISO 3668 specifies the parameters for visual comparison of paint colors and references D65 viewing conditions.[7]

Korean ODM color labs typically have a multi-source viewing booth with D65, D50 (for graphic arts), TL84 (European retail), and incandescent A. The founder spec should anchor the acceptance test to D65 and optionally cross-check under a secondary illuminant if metamerism risk is high.

The spec line reads: "Viewing standard: D65 daylight booth at 1500 lux illuminance. Secondary check under TL84 to rule out metamerism."

This sentence on the brief is worth two strike-off cycles avoided when the first sample arrives and the founder evaluates it under her kitchen LED instead of a calibrated booth.

The Indie Founder Color Spec Template

Pulling the above together, here is the template an indie K-beauty founder should write into the brief that goes to the Korean ODM.

For each unique color the brand uses, on each unique substrate, write:

Reference color: Pantone [code] [C or U suffix]

Internal digital reference: Hex [#code]

Substrate: [PETG / glass / aluminum / PCR-PE / PCR-PP / etc.] [bottle / tube / cap / sleeve / carton]

Decoration method: [silk screen / pad print / offset litho / sleeve label / hot stamp]

Measurement system: CIE LAB under D65 illuminant at 1500 lux

Acceptance tolerance: Delta-E 2000 less than or equal to [2.0 / 2.5 / 3.0 depending on substrate]

Strike-off cycles agreed: up to [3] before re-spec required

Acceptance method: visual approval against approved strike-off under D65 plus spectrophotometer measurement on three points per sample

A real spec sheet line for a representative product looks like:

Brand color "Atlas Bronze": Pantone 7515 C. Internal Hex #7E5A3F. Substrate: PETG 30ml dropper bottle, silk screen one color. Measurement: CIE LAB under D65 at 1500 lux. Acceptance: Delta-E 2000 ≤ 2.0 against approved third strike-off. Up to three strike-off cycles included; further cycles billed at standard rate.

Notice what the spec does not contain. It does not contain "looks like this screenshot." It does not contain "ivory but warmer." It does not contain "we want it to feel like Aesop." Those are mood board notes for the design stage. The manufacturing spec is a measurement contract.

I'm Liz, I run altameet from Manhattan, NYC. The single thing that separates the founders who hit their launch dates from the founders who slip by six weeks is not the size of the buy or the choice of manufacturer. It's whether the color spec on the brief is measurable. If you want a free 15-minute gut-check on whether your current spec is measurable, I'll give you fifteen minutes.

Common Indie Founder Mistakes That Cost a Strike-Off Cycle

Spec'ing Hex only. Hex without Pantone forces the ODM ink team to interpret. The interpretation usually drifts. Founders end up paying for a strike-off cycle whose job is to recover information that should have been in the spec.

Accepting the first strike-off without Delta-E measurement. Korean ODMs will send a first strike-off and ask "is this OK?" Founders eyeball the sample under their bedroom light and say yes. Six months later the launch photography reveals the color is off-brand. The fix is to require a spectrophotometer reading on the strike-off and compare it against the LAB target. This is a standard service the ODM color lab provides; the founder needs to ask for it.

Ignoring lighting. Evaluating samples under non-standard light is the single most common cause of post-acceptance regret. The founder approves under warm kitchen LED, then the influencer shoots under cool daylight, and the color reads completely differently in the launch content. Either request photos of the sample under D65 in the ODM viewing booth or invest 200 to 400 dollars in a tabletop D65 viewing box on the founder's side.

Spec'ing the same Pantone for every substrate. The same Pantone behaves differently on PCR-PE versus aluminum versus glass. A founder who writes "Pantone 7458 C across the line" without substrate-specific tolerances will get inconsistent matches across the family. The fix is one spec line per substrate, even if the reference Pantone is the same.

Spec'ing a too-tight Delta-E on a high-PCR substrate. A founder who insists on Delta-E ≤ 1.5 on a 70 percent PCR-PE squeeze tube is asking for an impossible spec. The realistic ceiling is wider. Either the founder accepts a wider tolerance or switches to virgin or low-PCR PE for that component. Forcing an unrealistic spec produces an endless strike-off loop.

Not budgeting strike-off cycles into the timeline. Most Korean ODM packaging quotes include two to three strike-off cycles in the base fee. Each additional cycle commonly adds 200 to 500 dollars plus five to ten days of lead time per substrate.[8] A founder with three substrates and two extra cycles each is looking at an extra 1,200 to 3,000 dollars and two to four weeks of slip. Plan the strike-off budget upfront.

Skipping the under-D65 photo step. The founder should request a high-resolution photo of the approved strike-off positioned next to the Pantone chip, both under D65 in the ODM viewing booth. This becomes the visual reference for production acceptance later and removes ambiguity when a production lot arrives and the QC team is debating whether it matches.

Strike-Off Costs and Timeline: What to Budget

Typical Korean ODM color strike-off economics in 2026 for indie cosmetic packaging:

First strike-off (substrate + Pantone reference): commonly included in the packaging quote base fee.

Second strike-off (after first-round feedback): commonly included in the base fee, or charged at a nominal 100 to 200 dollars depending on substrate complexity.

Third strike-off (after second-round feedback): often the last "free" cycle, then transitions to billed work.

Fourth and subsequent strike-offs: 200 to 500 dollars per substrate per cycle, plus five to ten days lead time per cycle.

Per substrate. A founder with four substrates (bottle, dropper, cap, sleeve) on a single product can rack up four times the cycle count, and the strike-off cost line item can become a meaningful chunk of the sampling budget. The strike-off cost is functionally a tax on imprecise spec sheets. The way to keep it low is to write a measurable spec the first time.

Lead time impact compounds. Korean ODM packaging projects commonly run 35 to 45 days from approved sample to delivery, with 8 to 16 weeks end-to-end including initial inquiry and shipping.[9] Each extra strike-off cycle pushes the production go-decision later in the calendar. Founders who target a Q4 launch with packaging cycles starting in September are betting on a clean strike-off process. A four-cycle process pushes the production date out and may force air freight instead of sea freight, which adds 4 to 8 dollars per unit on a 30ml SKU. The downstream cost of imprecise color spec is meaningfully larger than the up-front cost of writing one.

Color Spec Across a Family of SKUs: Brand Consistency Beyond One Product

Most indie K-beauty brands launch with two to five SKUs and add SKUs over time. The color spec problem is harder at the family level than at the single SKU level because every new SKU is an opportunity for drift.

The brand book should anchor the canonical Pantone references with explicit substrate notes. Not just "brand bronze is Pantone 7515 C" but "brand bronze on PETG primary is Pantone 7515 C with Delta-E ≤ 2.0; brand bronze on PCR-PE secondary is Pantone 7515 C with Delta-E ≤ 2.5; brand bronze on printed carton is Pantone 7515 C with Delta-E ≤ 2.5 under CMYK process or spot ink at supplier discretion."

When a new SKU is briefed, the new substrate gets a substrate-specific line. The ODM gets a consistent measurement system and a consistent reference Pantone, but a substrate-aware tolerance.

A second consistency lever is the master strike-off library. The approved strike-offs from past projects become the production reference for repeat orders. The founder should ask the ODM to retain physical strike-offs on file for at least 24 months and require new production lots to be compared against the master strike-off, not against the original Pantone chip. Pantone chips themselves fade over time, especially under fluorescent storage, and the chip in the founder's office may not match the chip in the Korean ODM's office. The strike-off is the production-grade reference.

Key Takeaways

The Korean ODM ink department speaks four color systems. Founders who only speak Hex lose the negotiation.

Pantone is the reference. LAB is the measurement system. Delta-E is the tolerance. A complete spec uses all three.

Pantone Solid Coated (C) for glossy finishes. Pantone Solid Uncoated (U) for matte. The suffix matters.

D65 daylight is the standard viewing condition for cosmetic color matching. Evaluate samples under D65 or accept that you will not see what your customer sees.

Each substrate gets its own spec line. The same Pantone reads differently on glass, PETG, aluminum, and PCR plastics.

Delta-E 2000 ≤ 2.0 is achievable on most Pantone targets on glass and PETG. PCR plastics may require ≤ 2.5 or ≤ 3.0.

Strike-off cycles beyond the included two or three commonly cost 200 to 500 dollars and five to ten days per substrate. Plan the budget upfront.

Approved strike-offs are the production reference, not the Pantone chip. Ask the ODM to retain them for 24 months.

FAQ

Do I need to send my Korean ODM the Pantone Formula Guide, or do they have one?

Reputable Korean cosmetic packaging ODMs maintain current Pantone Formula Guides and Plus Series references in their color labs. You should not need to ship one over. You should ask the ODM, during sourcing, to confirm which Pantone library version they reference (current edition vs. older), and whether the color lab is ISO 17025 accredited or equivalent. If they cannot answer or cannot produce a spectrophotometer reading, that is a sourcing signal worth weighing.

Can I just send the brand book PDF and let the ODM figure out the colors?

You can, but the result will be drift. The brand book PDF often contains Hex codes, screen renderings, and mood photography. None of those are manufacturing instructions. The Pantone code you (or your designer) pick to translate the Hex to a printable reference should be in the brief explicitly.

My Pantone Connect plugin in Figma suggests Pantone X for my Hex. Should I trust it?

The plugin is a starting point. It gives you a credible Pantone candidate. You should then verify the suggestion against a physical Pantone chip in a current Formula Guide under daylight. The on-screen Pantone preview is calibrated to your monitor, not to the printed chip. We have seen the plugin suggestion drift one or two chips off the optimal selection compared to the physical reference, especially in the neutrals and earth tones.

What is the difference between Pantone Plus Series and Pantone Solid?

Pantone Solid is the broad name for spot color references. Pantone Plus Series is a recent edition family that includes Solid Coated, Solid Uncoated, Pastels, Metallics, and other extended palettes. For most indie K-beauty primary packaging, Solid Coated and Solid Uncoated are the references the ODM ink department uses.

What is metamerism and do I need to worry about it?

Metamerism is the phenomenon where two colors that match under one light source do not match under another. It occurs when the spectral composition of the inks or substrates is different even if the apparent color is the same. For indie K-beauty packaging, metamerism risk is highest when you specify a complex earth tone (where the ink recipe may have multiple components) and your customer evaluation environment is meaningfully different from D65. Cross-checking the strike-off under a secondary illuminant (TL84 or A) at the ODM viewing booth catches most metamerism risk before approval.

Should I ship a physical reference object to the Korean ODM?

For first-time brand projects, yes, if you can. A physical reference (a Pantone chip from a current Formula Guide, a competitor sample, or a fabric swatch) gives the ODM ink lab a fixed point to anchor against. If you cannot ship a physical reference, the Pantone code in the brief plus a high-resolution photo under D65 is the next-best option. Photos under unknown lighting are not useful.

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What if my brand color does not have a clean Pantone match?

Some brand colors are between Pantone chips. The strike-off process is designed to bridge that gap. You can spec "Pantone 7515 C as starting reference, adjust ΔL by +1.5 to lighten" and the ODM color lab can mix a custom ink that lands between chips. This is a custom mix, not a stock Pantone, and you should expect a custom-mix surcharge of 100 to 300 dollars per substrate and one extra strike-off cycle to dial it in.

Working with ALTA MEET

If you are an indie K-beauty founder writing your first packaging brief for a Korean ODM and you are not sure whether your color spec is measurable, this is one of the cheapest places to get help. A measurable spec written once saves a strike-off cycle, which saves a week of lead time and a few hundred dollars per substrate, multiplied across every component of your line.

ALTA MEET is a New York-based cross-border partner that helps indie founders write briefs Korean ODMs can actually execute against. We have walked founders through the spec sheets that get approved on the second strike-off instead of the fifth.

Book a free 15-minute gut-check with Liz to walk through your current spec and identify what is missing before it goes to the ODM.

Reviewed for accuracy by ALTA MEET's formulation consulting team.

Sources

[1] Pantone, "Formula Guide Coated and Uncoated," current edition, https://www.pantone.com/

[2] ISO 11664-4:2008 / ISO/CIE 11664-4:2019, "Colorimetry, Part 4: CIE 1976 Lab* colour space," https://www.iso.org/standard/74166.html

[3] ISO/CIE 11664-6:2014, "Colorimetry, Part 6: CIEDE2000 colour-difference formula," https://www.iso.org/standard/63731.html

[4] Datacolor / Techkon, "Delta E: Demystifying the CIE ΔE 2000 Formula," https://techkon.datacolor.com/demystifying-the-cie-delta-e-2000-formula/

[5] Container and Packaging, "PCR Cosmetic Bottles and Packaging," https://www.containerandpackaging.com/resources/PCR-Cosmetic-bottles-and-packaging

[6] Konica Minolta Sensing, "Understanding Standard Illuminants in Color Measurement," https://sensing.konicaminolta.us/us/blog/understanding-standard-illuminants-in-color-measurement/

[7] ISO 3668, "Paints and varnishes: Visual comparison of the colour of paints," https://www.iso.org/standard/72324.html

[8] K-Beauty Packaging, "Sourcing Packaging from Korea," https://www.kbeautypackaging.com/guides/sourcing-packaging-from-korea

[9] Style Story, "Guide to Manufacturing Skincare and Makeup in Korea," https://stylestory.com.au/blogs/style-story/your-guide-to-manufacturing-skincare-and-makeup-in-korea