Four Color Printing: Understanding the Principles of Colors and Printing

Four color printing is a key ingredient to the processes of printing today. Commercial printing companies have continued to maximize the use of colors, not only through technology but through expertise as well.

The makers of printing machines also continue to seek revolutionary ways to make prints richer and more colorful than they already are. In the progression of things, full color prints can only get better.

It does not take a scientist to figure out how you can order and have your designs processed and printed online in full color. However, understanding whether or not you truly have a high-quality full color print job in your hands is another matter. Sometimes, judging a full color print can be something more than meets the eyes.

While it may seem very simple to look at prints and compare them, there are certain concepts that you need to know. These ideas would prove to be helpful in your designs, printing projects, selection of a color printing company and scrutiny of the prints you have.

The Real Hues of Four Color Printing
There is more to four color printing than what most people know. You can use these pieces of information to shed light on four color printing and arm yourself with better information on making choices for your designs, printing companies and the like.

CMYK
Four color printing pertains to the four colors of inks used in printing. Known as CMYK or cyan, magenta, yellow and black, these four colors can create a multitude number of hues. A combination of these colors occupies a wide gamut of the color spectrum, thereby creating more than the said four colors.

It will recreate colors by mixing the different intensity levels of these inks on paper. It is quite similar to the process of mixing pigments. Imagine having a tube of yellow and blue, when you mix in different parts of yellow with blue, you will always get a different hue.

Light
Light works two ways for your prints. First, light brings out the vividness of your colors on your prints. A great paper stock or card stock is ideally bright white so that it can attract light that will bring out colors of your prints.

Second, light is important to printers as daylight and artificial light can affect prints. Light source is important because color matching and comparing can be affected. Imagine is the light that came streaming in is a bit reddish or yellow, ultimately, it can affect the kind of colored prints produced. So unless you’re with a full color printing expert, you can breathe easy and let this one factor go.

Paper Smoothness
If you want pure and vibrant colors, a paper with a smooth surface will give you this. This is because the flat and even surface of the paper will easily attract and reflect light.

Textured paper or those that have rough fibers tend to refract light. This means that light bounces off in all directions, making the colors seem diluted and flat. Color accuracy is then hard to maintain or achieve.

Color Accuracy
Color accuracy can only be achieved to a certain level. There is not 100% guarantee that what you see onscreen is exactly what or how you will see on your prints. The monitors are the paper are both different media. It is with the expertise and calibration of press machines will your printer bring out the best colors for your prints.

Use these ideas to assess which four color printing company will work best for you and your printing projects. Solicit some sample books from online printers to help you decide and truly see for yourself how each one can bring about a quality four color printing.