The deal, effective as of 1 May, means the Crawley, West Sussex-based consumables supplier can now offer the full range of Pantone products and services for print and packaging to its customer base.

Pantone provides a "universal language of colour" that enables colour-critical decisions through every stage of the workflow for brands and manufacturers, helping them to achieve colour consistency across various materials and finishes for graphics, fashion and product design.

IPT has been serving the offset printing sector for more than 10 years, supplying branded products from Van Son, Kinyo, KSL and Sun Chemical among others. It called the addition of Pantone into its range “a logical step forward”.

Clive Harper, managing director of the six-staff company, said: “We supply commercial offset consumables including inks and chemicals to B1, B2 and B3 printers, but as much as we can we try to supply branded products, because you’ve then got the values and the integrity.

“Pantone is about as strong a brand as you can get so it’s a good fit for us, and for our customers it just makes it easier.”

Pantone European sales director Michael Smyth added: “We are pleased to be working with IPT, we see IPT as a strong partner who have the technical knowledge and industry experience to support and promote our products in a proactive and technical manner.”