Hexachrome is a discontinued six-color printing process designed by Pantone. In addition to custom CMYK inks, Hexachrome uses orange and green inks to expand the color gamut for better color reproduction. It is therefore also known as a CMYKOG process.
Hexachrome was discontinued by Pantone in 2008 when Adobe Systems stopped supporting the HexWare plugin software. While the details of Hexachrome were not secret, its use was limited by trademark and patent to those obtaining a license from Pantone. The inventor of Hexachrome is Richard Herbert, who is also the president of Pantone Inc.
Software
To use the Hexachrome process in a digital printing process, Pantone produced a plugin for Adobe Photoshop that allowed the designer to work in an RGB color space more typical of computer work. The plugin was called HexWare, which contained a set of Adobe plugins used by printers and designers who used the Hexachrome system. Using this system instead of the CMYK ink system also allowed for printing more accurate skin tones and pastels. The Hexachrome system let users print images from computer screens that were not able to be accurately duplicated before.