PageStream - Documents:Color Reproduction

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Color Reproduction

PageStream can print documents in color on color printers, and can separate color documents for printing on commercial printing presses. Separating a document means that a printing plate for each ink is created. The printed page is created by printing each ink on the paper with its printing plate.

Spot color and process color printing are the two methods of printing colors on a printing press. Spot colors are printed with premixed or custom mixed inks. They are normally used only for a small number of colors, because each color requires a separate printing plate and increases the expense.

Process colors are printed using four inks: cyan, magenta, yellow and black. Other colors are simulated by printing dots of different colors close together. The human eye perceives these combinations of dots as one color.

PageStream allows you to specify spot and process colors. You can combine them in one document if you wish. Spot colors are often used in process color documents for special colors that you want to reproduce exactly. For example, if you use a spot color in a document with process colors, you will create five plates for each page: cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and the spot color.

Spot vs Process Colors

If you are printing directly to a color printer to create your final copy, you can use either spot or process colors; the distinction is only important if you are creating color separations for printing on a commercial press.

Spot colors should be used when you need three or less colors. Spot colors are generally cheaper than process colors unless you have too many of them. You can also use spot colors when you need to exactly reproduce a color. For example, a client may specify certain specific colors for their logo that must be precisely matched. Spot colors are necessary when you need to print metallic, fluorescent or other special inks.

Process colors should be used when you're using more than four colors in a layout and when you want to reproduce color photographs in color. You may want to use process and spot colors together when you need to match a color precisely or use a special ink in a process color job.

Knocking Out and Overprinting Colors

When objects of different colors overlap, PageStream normally does not print the portion of the bottom object which is overlapped by the top object. This is referred to as a knockout because the top color knocks out the bottom color.

If the bottom color is not knocked out, the top ink will overprint the bottom ink, creating a third color. This is referred to as an overprint and is generally only used when you want to avoid trapping problems, and when the top color is black or a similar dark color that is printed over a light color. For example, if the top object is black text and the bottom object is a bitmapped picture, it is likely that unsightly white gaps would appear around the letters due to plate shifting, so it would be better to overprint the black text over the background colors.

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