Process printing creates colors by combining four process colors of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Four plates are needed, one for each color. Spot colors (sometimes called PMS colors) are each a single ink formulation. Because a single plate is needed for the spot color and tints of that color, it is usually more economical to print a spot color job (If adding black, printing requires 2 plates, one for black and one for the spot color). With careful combinations of solid color, tints, black, and even paper color, a design can be quite colorful without having full-color photos and the expense of 4-color process printing.
Designing with Spot Colors
- Reverse text out of spot colors. Use solid colors or a dark tint to provide the best contrast.
- Overprint black text on screens of the chosen spot colors. For best contrast use light tints.
- Create duotones with spot colors.
- Use spot colors consistently. Try using spot colors for all page numbers, pull-quotes, or end signs.
- Instead of a black or gray drop shadows, use a tint of the chosen spot colors.
- Combine two or more spot colors along with tints of those colors for even more color possibilities.
- Take advantage of the unique possibilities available with spot colors by choosing a metallic ink or other special type of ink.
- Add more colors by choosing a paper other than white. But, remember that the color of the paper will affect the appearance of the printed ink colors.
- Generally speaking, if using more than four spot colors, it may be more economical to use process or 4-color CMYK printing. Talk to your printer if your job will require many colors to find the best approach.
PANTONE® Colors
The PANTONE Matching System (PMS) is the dominant spot color printing system in the United States. Pantone, Inc. sells color guides (known as swatch books) and chips for both their spot colors and for process color printing. For accurate color selection, it is best to choose color based on these swatches (or the swatch books for other color systems if used).
Examples
The illustrations at the top of the sidebar (click the image to see all 3 images) each use black plus one spot color:
- Ship - Pantone 3278 at 100%, 50%, 30%
- Airplane - Pantone 814 at 100%, 30%, 20%
- Musical - Pantone 300 at 100%, 70%, 30%, 15%
All illustrations use: Compacta BT, Compacta Lt BT, Compact Bd BT, Arial, and DF Diversities LET
Color can make a good design even better. When you want to punch up a design without breaking the bank, pick a pretty color and just add black.
Basic Desktop Publishing > The Desktop Document > Design Phase > Color selection
