If there's a single item that you can count on finding within reach of any graphic designer, it's one of the many color matching guides that Pantone has been providing well before the digital era. PANTONE FORMULA GUIDES provide a consistent method for selecting, matching and specifying the 1,114 solid PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM colors on coated, uncoated and matte stocks. The most recent edition has added an RGB icon that indicates colors achievable on-screen, with colors bearing both this and CMYK icons being likely candidates for cross-media designs. Other enhancements include a larger format with more color area, improved readability of color data and better accessibility to all colors.

Having acquired these guides, designers typically use them for years, a practice that Pantone hopes to change. In fact, the company suggests that the guides be replaced every year, due to shifts in the colors caused by light exposure and the yellowing of the paper stock. To encourage replacement, Pantone has launched a contest that asks customers to video the destruction of their old guides and post them on YouTube. This entitles participants to receive a 35% discount on the purchase of a new set of PANTONE FORMULA GUIDES and the chance to win a variety of prizes based on the creativity and uniqueness of the idea, and the quality of execution.

Entries will be accepted on the Pantone site until November 30, 2007.