The 50th anniversary edition Pantone Plus series guides and books feature metallic covers and a 50th anniversary logo, while the Pantone Formula Guide and Colour Bridge special editions come in a 50th anniversary gift box.

Meanwhile, the 336 new colours that were added to the Pantone Plus series in April 2012 as a supplement have now been included in the back of the guides.

Value bundles, including the Pantone Essentials and Portable Studio Guide, have a redesigned flip-top carry case that can store up to nine Pantone guides, while the Pantone Reference Library has been redesigned to "elegantly display" the entire Plus series library.

Pantone European sales director Paul Graham said that the 50th anniversary edition was the first time that all of the guide covers had been printed in metallics and added that the colour specialist was planning to release "one or two things in terms of providing resources to designers" later in the year.

The Pantone Plus series currently features some 1,677 colours, Pantone's Colour Manager software, a Lighting Indicator page that provides a visual indication of whether the guide is being viewed under the correct light conditions, and a ColourChecker photography target.