Full Color Printing: Making Sense Of Colors And Full Use Of It

Seeing your work printed can be a very fulfilling experience. You can expect your full color printing company to be able to provide you with beautiful photo quality prints with vibrant colors. Sometimes, they are even better than what you expected them to be.nnCause of Disparity in Colors n n• Disparity of color is a fact of life. Regardless of how calibrated your computer monitor may be, the prints will appear different to the minutest degree for a million reasons.nn• Ink and light behaves differently. Your computer monitor emits light to create colored images, while prints layer different colors. Computer monitors too have different profiles, such that the image that may appear on your screen is different from that of your printer.nn• Nevertheless, printing companies have calibrated computer systems where the image is processed as it actually is. Color is not distorted so your colors maintain the same from pre-press to the actual printing machine. nn• When the printing company sends you a digital proof, it is merely a final chance for you to correct misspelled items or missing elements. It is your responsibility to make sure verything is correct. For a more what you see is what you get validation, opt for a hard copy proof.nn• Hardcopy proof can be requested from the printing company with an additional charge. You can discern just how the colors would look on the final print with a hard copy proof. nnInks and Pigments nn• When it comes to how colors behave, there are two kinds of color systems: the additive, and the subtractive. Light emitted by the computer monitor, TV screens, the sun, use the additive color system. It starts with the premise that the object is black, and adding light creates color.nn• Inks and pigments behave differently. Inks are made from semi-transparent material. When it is printed on white paper, the pigments absorb some of the light, while others continue to be reflected. (Just think about how your sun glasses changes the colors of everything you see.) Because the pigments change colors by reducing white light, this process is called the subtractive system. nn• In full color printing, three primary colors (Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow) and black (K) are added to create the prints we see. When the prints are layered together, it creates what looks like solid colors. CMYK is by default the printing system used in most full color printing processes. nnFinishnn• Other than these ink pigments, the material on which an image to be printed on; and what it will be coated with also affects the over all print. Because the inks are semi-transparent, the color of the material or the paper plays a significant part in holding up the consistency of colors. Apart from that, the surface of the paper whether it has texture or it is smooth and shiny also affects the vibrancy of the image.nn• UV coated material has a very shiny gloss. The capacity of the paper to reflect color is heightened; therefore the image looks more vibrant. Matte finishes on the other hand gives your paper some texture wherein light does not bounce back in straight lines, therefore, you have prints that have a dull yet defined and natural look. Instead of only seeking to replicate into paper what you see on your computer screen, work with the strength of full color printing as your medium of choice. Let your prints explore with colors. Use the different variations too, inks, paper materials, and coating to your advantage. Know your printing specifications, and enhance your work.