Printing technicians around the world use the term spot color to mean any color generated by a non-process color ink; such as metallic, fluorescent, spot varnish, or custom hand-mixed inks. In printing, a spot color is typically any color created by an ink (non-process color) that is printed using a "single run". For alternative meanings see metal (disambiguation). ... Fluorescence induced by exposure to ultraviolet light in vials containing various sized cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots. ... An ink is a liquid containing various pigments and/or dyes used for coloring a surface to render an image or text. ...

The wide-spread offset printing technique of printing "full color" is composed of four process color inks: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (black) commonly referred to as CMYK. Process inks are not "spot" colors. More advanced processes involve the use of six "hi-fi" colors (hexachromatic process), which add Orange and Green to the process (termed CMYKOG). The two additional colors are added to compensate for the inefficient reproduction of faint tints using CMYK colors only. Offset lithography printing process Offset printing is a widely used printing technique where the inked image is transferred (or offset) from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. ... Cyan (from Greek κυανοs, meaning blue) may be used as the name of any of a number of a range of colors in the blue/green part of the spectrum. ... Magenta is a color made up of equal parts of red and blue light. ... A yellow Tulip. ... This article is about the color. ... Cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (black) CMYK (or sometimes YMCK) is a subtractive color model used in color printing. ... The orange, a fruit from which the modern name of the orange colour comes. ... For other uses, see Green (disambiguation). ... In color theory, a tint is the mixture of a color with white, and a shade is the mixture of a color with black. ...

When making a multi-color print with a spot color process, every spot color needs its own lithographic film. All the areas of the same spot color are printed using the same film, hence, using the same lithographic plate. The dot gain, hence the screen angle and line frequency, of a spot color vary according to its intended purpose. Spot lamination and UV coatings are sometimes referred to as 'spot colors', as they share the characteristics of requiring a separate lithographic film and print run. Lithography is a method for printing on a smooth surface, as well as a method of manufacturing semiconductor and MEMS devices. ... A phenomenon in printing and graphic arts whereby printed dots are perceived and actually printed bigger as intended. ... In offset printing, the screen angle is the angle at which the halftones of a separated color is output to a lithographic film, hence, printed on final product media. ... A laminate is a material constructed by uniting two or more layers of material together. ...

Computer methods

There are various methods to incorporate rather sophisticated patterns of spot colors in the final prepress artwork. Software applications such as Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW, QuarkXPress and Scribus may generate spot colors as additional channels. Adobe Photoshop can also be used to generate soft edges (widely known as feathered edges) of spot colors. The dissolve effect provided by Adobe Photoshop layer patterns can be generated for any spot color. Prepress. ... Adobe InDesign is a desktop publishing (DTP) application produced by Adobe Systems. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... QuarkXPress is a page layout application for Mac OS X and Windows, produced by Quark, Inc. ... Scribus is a free, open source desktop publishing (DTP) application. ... “Photoshop” redirects here. ...

Optimizing usage

Generally the cost and potential for problems for a print job increase as you add more spot colors, due to the increased cost and complexity of added process inks and films, and requiring more runs per finished print. However, spot colors can be a very powerful weapon in security printing, like money, passports, bonds, and other similar prints that should be hard to forge. Money printing for example, uses secret formulae of spot colors, some of which can be seen by the naked eye, and some cannot be seen unless by using special lights, or by applying certain chemicals. For other uses, see Money (disambiguation). ... For Microsoft Corporation’s “universal login” service, formerly known as Microsoft Passport Network, see Windows Live ID. For other types of travel document, see Travel document. ...

Digitization

Spot colors are now a great business for a company like Pantone. The modern trend in spot color matching systems is the digitization of spot colors. This idea came from the fact that a spot color print won't be a match to the monitor's colors, due to the inherent differences in printed (ink) colors and monitor (light) colors. To achieve a rather good result of simulating the RGB colors into CMYK colors in offset prints, a proper monitor calibration should be done to realize a good balance between reproduction of gray color on paper and on screen.

Classification

Spot color classification has led to hundreds of discrete colors being given unique names. There are several industry standards in the classification of spot color systems, such as:

• Pantone, the dominant spot color printing system in the United States and Europe.
• Toyo, a common spot color system in Japan.
• DIC, another common Japanese spot color system.
• ANPA, a palette of 300 colors specified by the American Newspaper Publishers Association for spot color usage in newspapers.

Because each color system creates their own colors from scratch, spot colors from one system may be impossible to find within the library of another. For the record label, see Pantone Music. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... The Newspaper Association of America is a United States trade association that represents the countrys largest daily newspapers and provides services including market research, technology education and support, minority hiring and representing publishers in Washington, D.C. as lobbyists. ... The Newspaper Association of America is a United States trade association that represents the countrys largest daily newspapers and provides services including market research, technology education and support, minority hiring and representing publishers in Washington, D.C. as lobbyists. ...

See also

• CMYK color space
• color
• color printing
• four-color printing
• printing
• Process color
• Spreading and choking

Cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (black) CMYK (or sometimes YMCK) is a subtractive color model used in color printing. ... Color is an important part of the visual arts. ... Color printing is the reproduction of an image or text in color (as opposed to simpler black and white or monochrome printing). ... Four-color printing creates an image using the subtractive colors cyan, yellow, magenta, and black. ... For other uses, see Print. ... Process color is both a method of printing, and a method of specifying a color. ... Spreading and choking is a prepress technique, more often referred to as trapping. ...

External links

• Monitor Calibration (Written by: Mohamed Al-Dabbagh)
• Pantone spot color vs. process colors