{"id":17144,"date":"2019-05-08T10:00:37","date_gmt":"2019-05-08T08:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diedruckerei.de\/magazin\/?p=17144"},"modified":"2025-05-19T09:55:53","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T07:55:53","slug":"spot-colours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onlineprinters.ie\/magazine\/spot-colours\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything you need to know about spot colours"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spot colours can add something special to your print project and they may even help reduce print costs in some cases. Below you will find an overview of the key facts on spot colours.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Want to print metallic or neon colours? No problem \u2013 colours that cannot be mixed using the four process colours cyan, magenta, yellow and key can be implemented using the so-called\u00a0spot colours or solid colours. But first things first.<\/span><\/p>\n

Process colours and colour mixing<\/span><\/h2>\n

Standard four colour print uses the four inks cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y) and black\/key (K),hence the name CMYK. These four print inks are also called process colours. CMYK printing uses layered dots of ink to simulate a full spectrum of colours. To produce green, for instance, specific percentages of yellow and cyan are printed over one another.<\/span><\/p>\n

Spot colours<\/span><\/h2>\n

Spot colours or solid colours in contrast are premixed inks. In order to print green, all you need is therefore a can of premixed green spot ink.<\/span><\/p>\n

Spot colours have some advantages over process inks. They allow printing colours that are impossible to produce by mixing the process colours. This includes, for example, metallic and neon colours but also gold and silver, opaque white and certain greens and blues. Depending on the shade, spot colours may also appear brighter. In so far, they are indispensable to complement the colour spectrum that can be implemented with process inks. But they cannot completely substitute process colours.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A lot of printing presses have a fifth printing unit for spot colours in addition to the four CMYK units.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Colour fidelity<\/span><\/h3>\n

Colour fidelity is another reason to use spot colours. If you have ever painted with water colours, you will know that it can be quite challenging to mix blue and yellow to exactly the same shade of green every time. We face the same challenge when printing with process colours. Companies that use a specific colour as part of their corporate design printed on all their business correspondence may be disappointed to see slight colour deviations depending on the printing process and press even though the colour composition is the same each time. Such colour variations can be avoided by using ready-mixed spot colours.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reducing the number of print passes<\/span><\/h3>\n

As explained above at the example of green, the use of spot colours can reduce the number of passes through the printing press which can ultimately be cheaper than CMYK in some cases. A flyer designed in green and black needs three passes when printed with process colours \u2013 cyan, yellow and black. But if the same product is printed with spot colours, only green and black are necessary and thus only two passes. However, the costs saved are frequently offset by the higher price of spot colours compared to CMYK inks.<\/span><\/p>\n