Color Problems
Color is influenced by so many variables. All colors are perceived relative to the colors they are near. The type and reflectivity of the paper can drastically change the way a color appears. Even the lighting under which it is viewed can cause a color to seem incorrect.
Here are a few things to remember:
- A spot color is a named color. Please make sure your desktop application truly supports spot color (Adobe Illustrator and Macromedia FreeHand do). Clearly specify the spot colors you will be using and where they occur in your design. Use only Pantone Matching System (PMS) colors.
- All spot colors are not reproducible in process (CMYK) color. If you change a spot color to process or your application substitutes process for spot colors, you may be disappointed. Pantone has a list of spot colors that will print properly in process color.
- Keep the number of colors to a minimum. Most offset and screen printing processes can accommodate up to six colors. Always strive to use the fewest colors possible. Each color equals a plate and less plates means less printing cost. Often a spot color may be reproducible as a process color. This may be useful when you are already including process color images in your artwork and converting the spot color to process will eliminate a printing plate. On the other hand, if you have only two colors in your job, try to use spot color to avoid the four plates required for process color. It is absolutely necessary to use spot color when you need an exact color match. Your treasured corporate colors can be guaranteed only if you print them in spot color.
- Never use process color for body text. It should always print in a spot color or black. It is impossible to get proper registration for more than one plate when printing small text. Body text printed with process color will be fuzzy at best and illegible at worst.
- Color separations made with a line screen or screen angle that is incorrect for the output device will directly affect process color reproduction. For instance, incorrect process color screen angles may produce interference (moiré) patterns, banding or posterizing.
- CD-ROM labels must have less than seven colors. It’s pretty easy to hit this limit when you have a process color image, a spot color logo and the background floods white. By the way, you should specify a white background if you want the CD produced that way. Our CD suppliers don’t do this by default. Colors look better on white than the bare reflective silver of a raw CD-ROM.
- Color proofing is expensive (about $100.00 per Matchprint). You might want to consider this if your color needs are very specific. Dupont Cromalins or 3M Matchprints are the most commonly available proof types. Trapping, banding and moiré patterns show up only on film proofs. Remember that film and electronic proofs are not made with the inks that will be used on the press. Process color fidelity will be fairly good. Spot colors may not be completely accurate. If you approve a proof, the printer will try to match it as closely as possible.
- Of course the only good way to determine what colors will really look like is to get a press-proof. You will definitely get what you want, but there will be a turnaround time and monetary premium.