Pantone Red Colors
278 colors in the red family
Pantone Red spans the full warm spectrum - from vivid warm reds like Pantone 485 C to deep crimson tones such as Pantone 200 C and muted brick shades like Pantone 7624 C. Our catalog includes 278 red-family colors, each with a unique code, HEX value, and CMYK print equivalent.
| Total colors | 278 |
|---|---|
| Hue range | 0° to 359° |
| Lightness range | 19% to 91% |
| Saturation range | 10% to 100% |
| Light / Medium / Dark | 82 / 153 / 43 |
Featured Pantone Red colors
Twelve well-known red codes with full values, shades, harmonies and contrast checks on each color page.
Pantone Red shades by lightness
Red-family colors break naturally into three lightness bands. Light reds - pale corals, salmon pinks, and dusty roses - sit above 65 percent lightness and often read as pink or peach on screen. Medium reds - the canonical pure reds, fire-engine tones, and vermillion oranges - sit between 35 and 65 percent lightness and cover most of the recognizable "red" codes. Dark reds - maroons, burgundies, oxblood, and wine tones - sit below 35 percent lightness and read as deep, serious, or luxurious.
How to match Pantone Red in design
Matching Pantone red in design comes down to three things: knowing which red family you are in, choosing the right delivery medium, and setting expectations about screen-versus-print. First, decide warm versus cool: a warm orange-red like Pantone 485 C conveys energy and appetite (it is heavily used in food branding), while a cool crimson like Pantone 200 C conveys sophistication and gravitas. Mixing both in one design usually reads as accidental - pick one side of the family and commit. Second, choose the medium: if the design will appear primarily on screen, use the HEX or RGB values and verify against the browser rendering. If the design will appear primarily in print, use the CMYK build for process printing or reserve a Pantone spot ink for color-critical applications like logos. Third, set expectations: a red that looks right on screen will almost always print duller, so preview with an ICC profile - never trust an uncalibrated screen for red accuracy.
Common mistakes with Pantone Red
Using a warm red and a cool red together and expecting them to feel like a set - warm/cool red pairs almost always look accidental unless the palette is deliberately contrasting.
Trusting CMYK values without a proof - red is the most paper-sensitive family; the same CMYK numbers print differently on coated, uncoated, and matte stock.
Assuming Pantone 485 C is "Coca-Cola red" - the true brand red is proprietary, and 485 is a rough published approximation.
Forgetting accessibility - many Pantone reds fail WCAG AA contrast against white text, so verify the contrast ratio before using red as a background for copy.
Mixing coated and uncoated references - Pantone 485 C and Pantone 485 U are two different colors (same code, different ink/paper behavior), and picking the wrong one changes the printed output.
All 278 Pantone Red colors
Every color in this family, from pale tints to deep shades. Open any color for HEX, RGB, CMYK, shades, harmonies and contrast checks.
Questions about Pantone Red
What is the most popular Pantone red?
Pantone 485 C is the most widely specified Pantone red in brand and print work, largely because it sits close to the classic fire-engine red used by Coca-Cola and many consumer brands. Pantone 186 C is also extremely common, particularly in sports and automotive contexts. Neither is official for those brands - the true colors are proprietary - but 485 and 186 are the closest published references most designers reach for.
What is the Pantone code for pure red?
There is no single "pure red" in the Pantone system because Pantone codes are ink mixes, not color-space coordinates. The closest visual approximations to pure #FF0000 are Pantone 2347 C and Pantone Red 032 C. If you need an exact match to digital red in print, spot inks are usually a closer fit than CMYK process, which shifts red toward orange or pink depending on the paper.
What is the difference between Pantone 485 C and 485 U?
C stands for Coated paper, U for Uncoated. Same ink code, but the paper finish changes how the ink reflects light. Pantone 485 C prints on coated stock and reads slightly more saturated; 485 U prints on uncoated and reads lighter, warmer, and slightly more muted. Always specify the paper stock before you hand off a Pantone number - a C code printed on uncoated stock is technically a different color.
How many Pantone reds are there?
The Pantone Matching System contains more than 200 red-family colors across its Solid Coated and Solid Uncoated libraries. Our catalog shows 278 of them, filterable by lightness band. The exact count depends on where you draw the boundary with pinks, corals, and near-orange tones.
What is the closest Pantone to Ferrari red?
Pantone 186 C is the most commonly cited approximation to Ferrari's Rosso Corsa, though the true brand color is not exactly any single Pantone code. Some sources cite Pantone 1797 C or Pantone Red 032 C as closer to specific Ferrari models. Any Pantone reference is a starting point - for critical brand work, use the manufacturer official color specification rather than a Pantone approximation.