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Pantone Jobs in Colorado (NOW HIRING)

Work frequently with and have a good eye for Isacord & Madeira thread & Pantone Ink systems * Perform sew outs in a timely fashion for prospective clients Perform Heat Transfer Application on Apparel ...

Pantone information

See Colorado salary details

$8

$24

$58

How much do pantone jobs pay per hour?

As of Aug 17, 2026, the average hourly pay for pantone in Colorado is $24.80, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $14.26 and $28.96 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a Pantone?

A Pantone job typically involves working with color standards, design, and color management in industries like fashion, printing, and product design. Employees may develop color palettes, ensure color consistency across materials, or collaborate with manufacturers to match Pantone color specifications. Roles can vary from color specialists to marketing and technical support positions, helping brands maintain color accuracy across different media.

How does a Pantone Color Specialist typically collaborate with design and production teams in a creative environment?

A Pantone Color Specialist regularly works alongside design, marketing, and production teams to ensure color consistency and accuracy throughout the creative process. This collaboration often involves providing guidance on color selection, troubleshooting color matching issues, and communicating technical color specifications to vendors and printers. Specialists also help educate team members about color trends and best practices, fostering a shared understanding of brand standards and quality control. Effective communication and attention to detail are key, as even minor discrepancies can impact the final product’s appearance and brand integrity.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Color Specialist (Pantone Specialist), and why are they important?

To thrive as a Color Specialist, you need expertise in color theory, color matching, and a background in design or a related field, often supported by a degree in graphic design or fine arts. Familiarity with Pantone Matching System (PMS), digital color calibration tools, and industry-standard design software like Adobe Creative Suite is essential. Strong attention to detail, creativity, and effective communication skills help you interpret client needs and collaborate across teams. These skills ensure accurate color reproduction, brand consistency, and high-quality visual outcomes in various products and media.

What is the difference between Pantone vs Graphic Designer?

AspectPantoneGraphic Designer
CredentialsColor certification, Pantone licensingDesign degree, portfolio
Work EnvironmentColor matching, printing, brandingCreative projects, digital and print media
Industry UsageColor standardization, brandingVisual communication, advertising

While Pantone specializes in color matching and standardization, a Graphic Designer creates visual content using various tools and techniques. Pantone provides the color standards that graphic designers often utilize in their projects, making their roles interconnected but distinct.

Infographic showing various Pantone job openings in Colorado as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 100% Full Time. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution, with an average salary of $51,577 per year, or $24.8 per hour.

Textile & Apparel Production Artist w/a sense of Humor

Shinesty

Boulder, CO • On-site

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, PTO

Posted 10 days ago


Job description

About Shinesty

Shinesty is a fast-growing apparel brand known for bold prints, irreverent humor, and products that don’t take themselves too seriously. Our creative team develops everything from iconic underwear prints to unexpected collaborations, and we pride ourselves on building products that are both clever and dangerously comfortable. Our mothers don’t always approve of what we do, but the millions of people we’ve entertained over the years do.

About the Role

Shinesty is looking for a detail-obsessed Textile & Apparel Production Artist to take artwork files and transform them into precise, mill-ready production assets.

In this role, you’ll be the critical bridge between creative design and manufacturing. You will build seamless pattern repeats, index color palettes, assign accurate color standards, and build clean, organized production CADs on our standard templates. Beyond file creation, you’ll own the color-approval loop—reviewing physical lab dips, print strike-offs, and knit swatches to ensure what comes off the factory line matches our exact design intent.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities1. Production Art Setup & Technical CADs
  • Seamless Repeats: Clean up and tile complex artwork to create 100% seamless vertical and horizontal repeats for all-over prints, swim, and knitwear.
  • Color Reduction & Indexing: Reduce artwork palettes down to flat, indexed color counts (typically up to 10 colors) without losing design integrity, eliminating gradients or anti-aliasing.
  • Color Assignment: Match and assign accurate Pantone colors and yarn color references from mill yarn cards depending on the product category.
  • Template & Swatch Asset Building: Build clean, production-ready vector Illustrator PDFs on Shinesty templates. Ensure color swatches are correctly named/organized in the Swatches panel, labeled on the layout, and easy for vendors to pull directly from the CAD.
  • Technical Dimensioning: Apply precise repeat measurements and correct Style/Header Numbers (SHN) to all artwork callouts.
2. Print & Color Quality Assurance (Approvals)
  • Lab Dip & Strike-Off Review: Inspect incoming physical print strike-offs, fabric swatches, and lab dips against Pantone standards and original source files under standardized light sources.
  • Sock/Knit Swatch Review: Compare knit strike-offs against assigned yarn cards for color accuracy, scale, and pattern clarity.
  • Technical Editing: Perform fast, precision edits in Illustrator/Photoshop to correct line breaks, scale issues, mis-registrations, or color shifts identified during the approval process.
  • Vendor Feedback Loops: Partner with internal Product Developers to send clear, actionable vendor feedback and artwork corrections to overseas manufacturing partners.
  • Urgent Package Handling & Vendor Response Time: Monitor incoming shipments from mills and factories closely, and be available to receive, log, and act on urgent strike-offs, lab dips, and swatch packages on short notice. Respond quickly to vendor emails and messages to keep the approval loop moving and avoid production and calendar delays.
What We’re Looking For
  • Location Requirement: Must be based in (or willing to relocate to) the Denver, CO metro area and able to work in our Denver office 3 days per week.
  • Software Proficiency: Advanced, expert-level mastery of Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop (specifically swatch panel organization, color indexing, vector manipulation, and layered file setups).
  • Textile & Pattern Expertise: Direct experience creating seamless repeating patterns, technical artwork setups, and mill-ready tech packs for apparel or textiles.
  • Color Eye: A trained, sharp eye for color evaluation, subtle tonal differences, and matching physical textiles to digital standards.
  • Detail-Oriented: An obsessively technical mindset—you notice the single misaligned pixel or missing color code before anyone else does.
  • Team-Oriented & Driven: A collaborative, hungry team player who takes ownership of the artwork-to-approval process and pushes projects forward without waiting to be asked.
  • Availability & Responsiveness: Must be able to flex in-office days when urgent shipments are inbound or vendor turnaround windows are tight — the standard 3 days/week in-office is a baseline, not a cap, and may increase during high package volume or time-sensitive approval cycles.
Preferred Qualifications
  • Experience working directly with overseas factories and mills (apparel, swim, or sock/hosiery experience is a major plus).
  • Knowledge of textile printing methods (sublimation, wet print, screen print) and knit construction capabilities.

Benefits

  • Mixed WFH - 3 days/week in office
  • Access to any AI platform that will make you better at your job
  • Medical, dental, vision insurance
  • Dog-friendly office
  • Flexible PTO, no need to accrue time take as much as you’d like
  • Sweet Shinesty Discount