Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
although if a problem develops at print time, finger-pointing is bound
to happen.
Operating a press is an expensive process. So is making many con-
tract proofs. Most printers will do their best to produce optimal quality.
However, they have lost control over the entire process since desktop
imaging began. As such, anyone outside their company who came in
contact with the color files is fair game should issues arise. Protect your-
self with good paperwork, excellent quality files, a cross-rendered proof,
and the knowledge of the print process to know if a finger is fairly being
pointed in your direction.
Spot, Process, and Pantone Colors
It's worth discussing spot, process, and
Pantone
colors and their use. Spot,
process, and Pantone colors are often used as a solid color on a page, not
within an image that has a specific color appearance. A logo may use a
number of process or spot colors. The first concept to understand is that
the formula to produce this color is based on specific inks used on press,
so if you happen to use an ink-jet printer, matching spot or process colors
is going to be a challenge.
Spot colors are produced using ready-made inks to produce a specific
color. A spot color is much like going to a paint store and purchasing a
can of paint in a particular color. Process colors are made by mixing the
existing CMYK inks in a specific recipe to produce a specific color. A
process color is like going to the paint store and having them mix the
color you want from individual paints. For the types of work discussed
thus far, using a four-color printing process, you'll usually be dealing with
process colors; colors made with a certain mix of CMYK inks. Pantone is
a brand name for an ink-matching system widely in the printing, graphic
arts, and the imaging industry. For many years, Pantone produced what
they call the
Pantone Matching System
, also known as
PMS
. PMS include a
number of guidebooks with the formulas for producing specific spot
colors on different stocks such as coated, uncoated, and matte surfaces.
A user picks a color from a guidebook they hope to reproduce and the
topic provides the ink formulas.
PMS is designed to specify spot colors but not process colors. Pantone,
therefore, has what they call the Pantone solid to process guide, which
can compare a solid PMS color and produce the closest CMYK match.
Many software products, including Photoshop, provide this in a digital
form. Figure 7-8 shows the Photoshop color picker after a user picks
Custom (called
Color Libraries
in Photoshop CS2) and then one of the
many preset libraries in the color picker pop-up menu.
Photoshop supports other matching systems besides Pantone. The
reason it's a good idea to have spot, process, and Pantone colors on your
radar is that sometimes a client will ask you to produce such a color on
a device that doesn't use process inks. There are ways to get around this
