Have you ever wondered what Pantone colours are and why people ask for them?
In a world full of colours, there is a need for consistency to help keep marketing materials in alignment. Corporate brands rely heavily on Pantones to ensure their colours are consistent across the board. Pantone has the ability to do that for them.
Pantone is the same world-wide and is pigment versus a mixed colour like we see in traditional CMYK printing. Being a pigment, it stays consistent and richer in colour. It also allows for metallics and fluorescent colours. There is a special subset of Pantone colours that can be mostly reproduced by CMYK but they are never an exact match and do not have the same vibrancy.
Even if you do not need a Pantone colour for your print materials (many people do not) it is useful to have your closest matches for the times you need to match something outside of marketing materials. One good example is cut vinyl for use on your windows, doors and walls.
I hope you found this information useful and now know what the sign maker is talking about next time she asks for your Pantone match.