Full color and spot color are terms used in the printing industry to describe different methods of reproducing colors in printed materials.
What color is full color ?
Full Color (Process Color or CMYK): Full color printing, often referred to as process color or CMYK printing, uses a combination of four ink colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (black) to create a wide range of colors. These inks are layered and mixed together in various proportions to produce the desired colors. Full color printing is commonly used for producing photographs, colorful illustrations, and materials with a wide spectrum of colors. It is the standard method for most color printing projects.
The necessity of spot color printing
At present, CMYK four color ink is widely used in color printing. However, in order to achieve special effects in packaging printing, spot color printing technology is often used.
1) Print some colors beyond the CMYK four color ink gamut on printed materials. Compared with the visible light color gamut, the color gamut of CMYK four color printing ink is significantly insufficient. The effects designed on computers often cannot be reflected in printed materials, so it is necessary to use spot color ink to print the color tone specified by the customer, which is widely used in packaging printing.
2) Make up for the shortcomings of printing technology. Due to issues such as errors in various processes, equipment maintenance, working environment, human negligence, and mechanical wear during the entire printing process, it is difficult to achieve a uniform effect in printing. At this point, we can use full page spot colors (i.e. spot color fields) instead of dot printing, and in plain packaging, we can easily obtain uniform large area color blocks. In addition, sometimes in order to clearly represent fine graphics and text, such as mixed color graphics and text with thin strokes or prominent lines, spot color processing is often used to make fine lines appear more ideal.
3) Solve several defects in CMYK four color printing. The density of four color printing ink is only about 1.6, which cannot reach the density of photos (2.0), reverse plates (2.8), etc. In addition, the highlighted printed points are incomplete or missing; Furthermore, due to insufficient chromaticity and high turbidity of the ink, it is not possible to present thick and bright colors, making some intermediate or multi-colors appear very dirty; There are also special colors such as fluorescent and metallic colors. This cannot be represented by CMYK. In order to compensate for these shortcomings of CMYK four color printing process, spot color printing process must be adopted.
What does full color mean in the printing?
CMYK printing is a four color printing technique that combines four colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key. It is one of the most commonly used printing methods in the printing industry and is suitable for most printed works, such as books, posters, flyers, and magazines.
Before using CMYK printing, it is necessary to prepare some necessary tools and materials, such as computers, printing machines, CMYK color models, and color management software. The following are the usage methods for CMYK printing:
1. Accurate color recognition: In CMYK printing, each color has a corresponding code, such as Cyan as C, Magenta as M, Yellow as Y, and Key as K. These codes can be identified and matched through color management software or color libraries on printing machines.
2. Color calibration: During CMYK printing, color calibration must be carried out to ensure the accuracy of the printed color. Color calibration can be performed through color management software or the automatic calibration function on the printing machine.
3. Design file: Before CMYK printing, the design file needs to be converted to CMYK color mode. This can be achieved through Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, or other graphic design software.
4. Check output format: Before outputting printed files, it is necessary to check if the file format is correct. Common file formats include PDF, EPS, and TIFF.
5. Printing settings: Before CMYK printing, printing settings need to be made, such as paper size, printing quality, printing machine speed, and ink cartridge color.
6. Printing testing: Before conducting large-scale printing, small-scale printing testing is required to ensure the quality and accuracy of printed materials.
Overall, CMYK printing is a simple but efficient printing method that can produce high-quality printed matter in a short period of time. Through the above usage methods and techniques, you can easily use CMYK printing technology to create various printed materials.
What is the purpose of spot color?
In addition to the common four color printing, there are also six, eight, and even more color printing. Due to control issues such as overprinting and ink balance, four-color printing is not easy to achieve the desired effect. Therefore, sometimes some spot color printing is required. Spot color packaging printing can print colors that cannot be easily printed using the usual four color process. Spot color printing can not only solve the color issue of products, but also meet the quality requirements of innovative design. The balance of ink and water in printing is easy to grasp.
What is spot color?
Spot Color (Pantone or PMS): Spot color printing involves using specific pre-mixed ink colors to achieve precise and consistent colors. These inks are often referred to as Pantone or PMS (Pantone Matching System) colors. Each spot color is a unique ink, and they are applied individually to the printing press. Spot colors are used when exact color matching is crucial, such as in corporate branding, logos, and designs that require specific and consistent colors across different print materials. Spot color printing is also used for projects with limited color requirements, such as one- or two-color designs.
Spot color characteristics：
1) Accuracy. Each spot color has its own fixed color scheme, which can ensure the accuracy of colors in printing, thus greatly solving the problem of color transmission accuracy.
2) Opaque. Spot color ink is a masking ink that is opaque and can be masked.
3)wide range of colors. The color range of the spot color library is very wide, exceeding the performance gamut of RGB, let alone the CMYK color space. Therefore, a large number of colors cannot be reproduced using CMYK four color printing ink.
The necessity of spot color printing
At present, CMYK four color ink is widely used in color printing. However, in order to achieve special effects in packaging printing, spot color printing technology is often used.
1) Print some colors beyond the CMYK four color ink gamut on printed materials. Compared with the visible light color gamut, the color gamut of CMYK four color printing ink is significantly insufficient. The effects designed on computers often cannot be reflected in printed materials, so it is necessary to use spot color ink to print the color tone specified by the customer, which is widely used in packaging printing.
2) Make up for the shortcomings of printing technology. Due to issues such as errors in various processes, equipment maintenance, working environment, human negligence, and mechanical wear during the entire printing process, it is difficult to achieve a uniform effect in printing. At this point, we can use full page spot colors (i.e. spot color fields) instead of dot printing, and in plain packaging, we can easily obtain uniform large area color blocks. In addition, sometimes in order to clearly represent fine graphics and text, such as mixed color graphics and text with thin strokes or prominent lines, spot color processing is often used to make fine lines appear more ideal.
3) Solve several defects in CMYK four color printing. The density of four color printing ink is only about 1.6, which cannot reach the density of photos (2.0), reverse plates (2.8), etc. In addition, the highlighted printed points are incomplete or missing; Furthermore, due to insufficient chromaticity and high turbidity of the ink, it is not possible to present thick and bright colors, making some intermediate or multi-colors appear very dirty; There are also special colors such as fluorescent and metallic colors. This cannot be represented by CMYK. In order to compensate for these shortcomings of CMYK four color printing process, spot color printing process must be adopted.
Preparation of Spot Color Ink
More and more products are printed with spot color ink, and the quality of the mix of spot color ink determines the quality of the final product. The blending of spot color ink is achieved by mixing one or more types of ink together through computer or manual methods, and adding certain auxiliary materials to meet printing needs and color requirements. The preparation of ink mainly includes two aspects. On the one hand, it refers to the adjustment of ink printing suitability, including the adjustment of ink viscosity, adhesion, fluidity, and dryness. On the other hand, it refers to the color matching of ink. The color adjustment of the ink must be carried out under the standard light source D65 (if it is daytime, it can be done in the sunny north window). At present, the blending of spot color inks, especially those with high requirements, is mostly carried out in ink factories.
The preparation of spot color ink is based on the principles of primary color samples and subtractive method. Mixing colors is a process of color reduction. The more colors added, the darker they appear. So it’s best to use three primary colors or basic colors when matching colors. When the color scheme meets the requirements, the types of ink used should be as few as possible. That is, if a mixture of two colors can be used, the third color of ink should not be used, because according to the principle of subtraction, the more colors used in color matching, the more black components, and the lower the saturation and brightness of the mixed color.
When mixing ink, analyze the color sample first. When analyzing color samples, it is important to make sure as much as possible whether the original manuscript is mainly spot printed or field printed. If dot printing is the main method, it is necessary to focus on the consistency of the background color when adjusting the ink; If on-site printing is the main method, ink can be mixed with a consistent skin color; If both are present, then when adjusting ink, it is important to consider both spot color and skin tone.
In summary, full color printing relies on a combination of CMYK inks to create a wide range of colors, while spot color printing uses pre-defined ink colors to achieve precise and consistent colors, often for branding and specialized printing needs. The choice between full color and spot color printing depends on the specific requirements of the project and the desired color accuracy.