If you’ve ever picked a color on your computer and thought, “Yep, that’s exactly what I want,” there’s one small catch: screens and ink are not speaking the same language.

Your phone, laptop, and monitor create color with light. Screen printing uses actual ink mixed by hand or machine. That’s where Pantone comes in. Pantone gives printers a physical color standard to match, instead of trusting whatever your screen happens to be showing.

And screens can be liars.

Brightness, display settings, Night Shift, screen quality, and even the room you’re sitting in can change how a color looks. The same red can look completely different on two different phones.

Pantone mixing helps us get as close as possible to a consistent, repeatable print color. Even then, the garment color, fabric, ink type, and number of ink layers can slightly affect the final result.

Basically, trust the Pantone number more than the glowing rectangle in your hand. Your phone has enough responsibilities already.