FOUR COLOR PRINTING TIPS
Understanding Pantone (spot colors) vs CMYK
The simplest explanation is that Pantone is a popular spot color system and CMYK is a process printing system. Pantone spot colors are solid inks assigned numbers that look almost the same no matter who prints them, which is why spot color is especially important for corporate identities and branded images. CMYK colors, on the other hand, are created (processed) on the press using a mix between Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and black inks. Since there are variations between presses, press operators and other factors, CMYK colors are not guaranteed to be perfectly reproduced between printers or even print jobs
Prevent Blues From Printing Purple
When using a blue in your design, always make sure to leave at least a 30% difference between your Cyan and Magenta values. 100% C 100% M 0% Y 0% K will come out purple even though it will look blue on screen.
Blue is close to purple in the CMYK spectrum. Remember, use a low amount of magenta whenever using high amounts of cyan to avoid purple. For example, use C-100 M-70 Y-0 k-0 |
Black vs. Rich Black
Rich black is an ink mixture of solid black (100% K) with additional Cyan, Magenta and Yellow ink values. This results in a darker tone than black ink alone. If you print black alone as 100% K, the resulting black may not be as dark as you might like.
To create Rich Black make your color values: 60% C, 40% M, 40% Y, 100% K |
Overprint And It's Potential ProblemsPrimarily used to intentionally overlap inks for a number of reasons, overprint can cause unexpected results. We suggest that you turn all overprint objects off before submitting your files.
In the pictures below the logo was set to overprint. The colors from logo are mixing with the colors from the background. Unexpected results may occur if you have accidentally set certain objects to overprint. Always check logos and other artwork before submitting. Also, turn on "Overprint Preview" to see problems on screen. |
Borders - PLEASE Don't use them.Don't draw borders at the edge of your printed pieces, especially business cards. If the border is too close to the cutline, it may be cut off-center slightly.
The plant cuts through many sheets at a time, so please avoid borders. We can't be responsible if they don't come out even. |
Thanks to 4Over, Inc. for the above information and graphics.