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Does Microsoft Word Support CMYK Images?

From Elisabetta Bruno, for About.com

Question: Does Microsoft Word Support CMYK Images?
Microsoft Word is a popular software program, especially in businesses, for creating letterhead, reports, newsletters, and other typical print materials. The problem with using Word for documents with color occurs when the user wants offset printing for their document.
Answer: The answer to the Word and CMYK images comes from the Desktop Publishing Forums, where Eggles says: "Definitely NOT." She then adds:
"One of my biggest problems is people giving us stuff they want offset printed, and it's in Word e.g. self-published books, menus, concert programs, sports club fixtures etc. If they are having a lot printed (over say 500), this means the document has to be laid out in a proper program you can get seps [colour separations] from."

In other words, the lack of CMYK images support in Word is one of the reasons why you shouldn't use it to create documents for printing on an offset press.

If you need to know which programs you should use to create documents for offset printing, find out the best desktop publishing software for your needs. Even Microsoft recommends using Publisher over Word for material to be commercially printed.

Jacci Howard Bear
Guide since 1997

Jacci Howard Bear
Desktop Publishing Guide

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