diff --git a/R/column_spec.R b/R/column_spec.R
index 647f689..a924439 100644
--- a/R/column_spec.R
+++ b/R/column_spec.R
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@
   }
 
   if (!is.null(color)) {
-    color <- sprintf("\\\\color{%s}", color)
+    color <- paste0("\\\\color", latex_color(color))
   }
 
   if (!is.null(background)) {