As of today (January 8, 2019), it appears that the Pantone Color Manager software costs $99. Seriously? Just to add new colors to Illustrator? Am I missing something?

Lol.

Get a better business agreement and stop offloading work onto your customers. We pay you too much to have to jump through hoops for basic functionality.

Agree! We pay Adobe too much; we shouldn't have to worry about this kind of thing.

Perfect! It worked out. I just had to download again the new version of Pantone Color Manager and tala.... Thanks!

This is the response I got from Pantone's Customer Service:

Once you have obtained Pantone Color Manager, please note that it does not 'automatically' update the libraries in Adobe programs; rather, it provides you with access to the libraries for export into your applications. The steps to do this are fully documented within the online help system installed with the software, and accessible from the Help menu. Here's a brief description:

1. If your target applications are open, close them. (Adobe)

2. Launch PANTONE Color Manager

3. Go to View/Fandeck and select the desired library to export.

4. Go to File/Export/select your application/choose L*a*b* for print output or sRGB for Web design *

5. The library is exported and is now accessible from within your target application.

* PANTONE +COLOR BRIDGE libraries should be exported in CMYK space.

So, I have now installed Color Manager and registered my product. And yet I still cannot export the new colors to Illustrator CC. It sais: software not installed.
When I save it, Illustrator doen't recognize the file. What more can I do?

Agreed, this arrangement makes no allowances for the many many businesses that rely on PMS colors to operate and have designers coming in who have no access to colors they need. I can open up my PANTONE guide and see the colors I need but have no way to reach them, no idea when the business got the PANTONE guide (IE no way to register it) and a boss who is least concerned with getting a new chip guide every dang year. Selfish of PANTONE and sloppy on Adobe's part. How can you call yourself the industry standard and care so little for how your customers can use your programs.

Yes! Pantone+ needs to be added. I have clients with these colors and I have to use the CMYK breakdown to achieve these colors. The color bridge for these colors also needs to be added please and thank you.

This is disgusting behaviour. ADOBE AND PANTONE, STUFF YOUR STUPID BUSINESS AGREEMENT.
The only reason you both exist is because of us designers and printers. Its time that you both agreed to a better solution for this, before you lose us all to new, easier, cheaper or free methods of colour management.
Ive been using Adobe products and Pantone products fro years, and your services are getting worse every update!

Please can someone give me step by step instructions on how to load the new pantone colours. I have literally been trying for years and fail each time.
Why on earth does pantone and adobe make this so difficult. I spent a fortune on these books and cannot use the colours?

As a paying customer Adobe shoul update the new Pantone library without purchasing it from pantone!

Agreed! We are paying top dollar to use outdated colour books

Ditto!! Please update Adobe! The current color books are the same that were in CS4.

I did purchase the Pantone Color Manager at one point, and it a) was not updated, and b) never worked correctly. I have a year's worth of emails with their "customer service" and was told they didn't know why I was having issues. They would reset my password and it would work twice, then not at all. It went on for one entire year like that. Hasn't anyone else noticed that all the colors in the newer books are not present in their software?

I'm not 100% positive, but i think you can get the full new library if either you buy the software from pantone as "pantone color manager". Or you buy a physical pantone book and get the software for free with it when you register the book.

Adobe Pantone libraries are not being updated as new colors are added to books. I understand this may be an issue on Pantone's behalf, but it's very disappointing that Adobe software hasn't kept those libraries up to date.

Currently, to find the RGB or CMYK values, one needs to visit the Pantone website/Find a Pantone Color page, then create a color swatch from scratch. Will this get updated sometime soon? Or have the days of full Pantone libraries gone the route of the dinosaur?

How about updating the Pantone+ library so it actually includes all the colors available. There are 112 new colors that we cant use.

Pantone Color Libraries that are available in Illustrator (and InDesign, and Photoshop) are provide by Pantone under a business agreement with Adobe. Not all color libraries are covered under this agreement and both have their independent update cycles.

But you can update the color libraries through PANTONE PLUS Digital Libraries Installer. You can find more details about it here: https://www.pantone.com/how-to-get-pantone-color-manager

Thanks!

- Neeraj