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Cost of ownership - the Spot Matching System

In this section we are going to talk about the COST of using the Spot Matching System for professional purposes, to give brands/companies and Designers an idea and compare it to the actual current and future cost of using other colour matching systems, that they have gotten used to using in the past decades.

Each Designer knows approx. how much time he or she spends - looking for colours for each new media, going to press checks and discounts given when mistakes are made and the customer is not happy with the result. In addition there is the cost of buying new, printed colour guides, preferably each year so you can actually see or show what the ACTUAL colour should look like in print.

The Spot Matching System is set up from the get go to avoid most of this cost.

Each individual SMS colour has it's own unique LAB value and it should always remain the same LAB value regardless of media that you want.
They are available in their original format (sRGB) for web and they can easily be converted for TV and process (CMYK or CMYKOGV) printing to all major international standards and specifations used around the world by offset and digital printshops.

The only thing a Designer has to worry about is whether the colour is correctly reproduced in print or for textile - or whatever. By following instructions on how to convert SMS colours to the final destination icc profile, he or she should never have to worry about whether he or she (or the agency) has to suffer financially if the colour is incorrectly reproduced.

To check the output - i.e. printed colours, it is best to measure the SMS colours in the layout with a spectral measurement device - which we can offer our customers for as little as EUR 599 if needed (see www.spot-nordic.com/qc).

The target LAB value of any SMS colour can simply be checked in Photoshop - and additionally both the SMS Standard v6 and the SMS MAX v6 libraries are now built into the ColorMeter Exact app, so you don't even need to open Photoshop anymore.

The INPUT (i.e. what is sent to the Printer or Manufacturer) should always be perfect, - as long as authentic SMS colours, provided by Spot-Nordic, are used and if the user converts his or her SMS sRGB colours to the correct CMYK gamut using the simple step-by-step instructions provided for non-subscribers by Spot-Nordic.

Designers and anyone tasked with using SMS colours professionally furthermore have the option of doing our SMS READY Expert training - see www.spotmatchingsystem.com/experts.

So there is never any doubt what the SMS colour should look like - and what it's LAB value should be.

We consider this the main advantage of the Spot Matching System.

SMS users also have direct access to order SMS services for a fee, by contacting support@spotmatchingsystem.com.

Services are only available to registered users/brands (see brand license here below). To our knowledge, competing colour matching systems in the market do not offer such personalized colour services to most users.

We are going to set up a few examples for Designers in different categories and we will compare the estimated costs and benefits of subscribing customers to SMS v.s. not subscribing customers and simply buying what you need from Spot-Nordic.

In all cases it is necessary for SMS users to calibrate their displays and keep them correct. Screen calibrators are available from various vendors at prices as low as 3-400 Euros. The reason this is especially important in the case of SMS colours is that they are visually correct on most digital displays that are able to display sRGB colours - that covers most digital displays in the world.

The Home & Office colour palettes (released in 2025) actually only require displays capable of displaying approx. 60% of the sRGB colourspace - which is equal to approx. 45% of the NTSC colourspace. This colourspace is quite common on regular PC laptop displays.

There are 6 different SMS colour palettes available as of version 7 (released, October 2025):

a) The SMS ECO version - a total of 2.607 colours. This colour palette was especially made for environmentally concious companies and institutions focused on minimizing their environmental footprint by using for instance recycled, uncoated paper for printing of their promotional material, while showing their true colours with the choice of their brand colours.

Apart from the environmental aspect (see www.spotmatchingsystem.com/environment), the ECO colours are the SMS colours that can be correctly reproduced for the biggest range of media, so there is almost no limit to where they can be correctly reproduced.

Colours available for web (at least 60% sRGB/45% NTSC), Television and CMYK printing on coated and uncoated paper from standard newspaper printing to printing on bright white (premium), coated paper to ISO 12647 standards.

b) The SMS Standard version - a total of 2.607 colours. Natural colours - the original SMS colour palette, presented in 2018.

Colours available for web (100% sRGB at least), Television and CMYK printing on white (premium), coated and uncoated paper to ISO 12647 standards.

c) The SMS Standard version, Home & Office - a total of 2.607 colours. A variation of our Natural colours. Presented for the first time in 2025.

Colours available for web (at least 60% sRGB/45% NTSC), Television and CMYK printing on white (premium), coated and uncoated paper to ISO 12647 standards. Suited for brand owners that need as many people as possible to view their brand colours correctly on their displays.

d) The SMS MAX version - a total of 2.607 colours. Very vibrant colours in the SMS arsenal. Well suited for packaging brands that want to stand out.

Brands or companies/institutions that use the Standard version for general purposes can on special occasions of course choose to "boost" their SMS colours by replacing the Standard or ECO colours with MAX colours.

Colours available for web (100% sRGB at least), Television and CMYK printing on white, coated paper.

e) The SMS MAX version, Home & Office - a total of 2.607 colours. A variation of the vibrant MAX colours in the SMS arsenal.
Well suited for packaging brands that want to stand out and at the same time need as many people as possible to be able view their brand colours correctly on their displays.

Brands or companies/institutions that use the Standard version for general purposes can on special occasions of course choose to "boost" their SMS colours by replacing the Standard or ECO colours with MAX colours.

Colours available for web (at least 60% sRGB/45% NTSC), Television and CMYK printing on white, coated paper.

f) The SMS SuperMAX version - a total of 2.607 colours. Our latest version, the super vibrant SuperMAX colours.
Well suited for packaging brands that want to stand out.

Brands or companies/institutions that use the Standard version for general purposes can on special occasions of course choose to "boost" their SMS colours by replacing the Standard or ECO colours with MAX colours.

Colours available for web (100% sRGB at least), Television and XCMYK or CMYKOGV - i.e. Extended Gamut printing on white, coated paper.

The colours of the different SMS colour palettes are not the same, since these colour palettes are intended for different end uses. It is recommended not to mix them up within the same design to avoid problems, unless they are only meant for digital displays - web design, UI/game design etc.

It is easy for web designers to pick up the HEX code for each colour for web design in for instance Photoshop to apply them in any app that supports HEX codes to define colour.

1. Web Designers, Game Designers, UI Designers, digital artists - anyone that only works in the RGB colourspace.

The only item this category of Designers need to invest in are the P20 sRGB colour palettes of the Spot Matching System of choice.

If another colour space or format (PNG, TIFF etc.) is required, please mention this when you order.

Contact support@spotmatchingsystem.com to order.

Total investment: EUR 140 per colour palette - or optionally EUR 595 for all 6 colour palettes (Agency Certification included)

2. Video Graphics, Cinema Graphics - REC. 0709/REC 2020 colour space

The only item this category of Designers need to invest in are the P20 sRGB or optionally REC. 709 colour palettes of the Spot Matching System - in PDF format - or another format if needed (PNG, TIFF etc.).

If another colour space or format (PNG, TIFF etc.) is required, please mention this when you order.

Contact support@spotmatchingsystem.com to order.

Total investment: EUR 140 per colour palette - or optionally EUR 595 for all 6 colour palettes (Agency Certification included)

3. Brands/Companies

There is no special cost for brand or companies that wish to switch to using SMS colours, except the work required by their designers to replace the old colours with the new SMS colours.

Most design agencies should by now have the Spot Matching System and know how to use it correctly for web, Television graphics and CMYK printing.

Brands/companies do however have the option of buying their own SMS SWITCH, where we convert the existing sRGB (web) colours of the company or brand to the closest SMS colours in the chosen SMS colour space (ECO, Standard Home & Office, Standard, MAX Home & Office, MAX or SuperMAX) but they can also leave this to their design agency or even use this opportunity to pick out new and fresh brand colours for the brand or company in question.

Check out our catalog listing most SMS products and services and direct access to order online or contact support@spotmatchingsystem.com to order.

Total investment: EUR 180 (for SMS SWITCH) - or just leave it to your designer/agency.

To familiarize yourself with how to use SMS colours in Design, please refer to our training and webinar section.

To view our complete range of products and services - including our all-included SMS subscription option for brands/companies, design agencies and print shops, refer to our SMS catalog.

Contact support@spotmatchingsystem.com if you have any questions. We are here to help.

If you are a Designer in another category than the ones we listed here above, don't hesitate to contact us anyway. We are adding new categories to our system as we speak and you may just be able to help us out and give us the next great idea. 

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We welcome you to visit the SMS shop to subscribe to SMS or buy SMS products.

Start by creating your account whether you prefer to subscribe or not. 

Contact support@spotmatchingsystem.com for ordering services or SMS products.