4-color printing is the most commonly used printing technique for customizing various color boxes, gift boxes, paper bags, picture books, etc. CMYK4 source color can print all colorful effects. It can achieve many effects that cannot be printed with spot colors, and the 4-color printing method is cheaper than spot color printing. Of course, 4C printing also has its shortcomings compared to spot color printing. But 4C printing is still mainstream, and participation in 4C printing is essential to achieve good printing results. The following are various application scenarios and related precautions for 4C printing summarized by ITIS printing and packaging factory.
Under what circumstances should four-color printing be used
When printing photos or color images, four-color printing is mainly based on the application of CMYK color mode. This mode can overlay multiple colors to restore the authenticity of the photo, while spot color printing cannot print very complex images. Therefore, we often see that some materials, such as aluminum cans, cannot use overly complex colors in their designs!
The plate making and printing costs of four-color printing are relatively low, making it an economical printing choice, especially suitable for large-scale production. Due to its cost-effectiveness and mature technology, four-color printing is widely used in packaging printing, brochures and other common printed materials by factories!
Application scope
Four color printing technology, also known as CMYK printing, is one of the most common printing methods and is widely used in offset printing. When printing some packaging, brochures, posters, flyers or any other marketing materials, it is likely to be printed using four-color printing technology.
Four color printing technology is one of the most mature and widely used technologies in modern printing technology, involving various fields of the printing market.
Four color printing technology is an indispensable part of modern printing technology, with a wide range of applications that can provide high-quality, efficient, and low-cost printing services for various industries and enterprises!
Under what circumstances should four-color printing be used
Mainly because these four colors can mix almost all colors, providing a wide range of color choices. Four color printing is based on CMYB (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) four color adjustment, which can present about 16 million colors and meet most printing needs
The main reasons for using spot colors include providing richer and more unique color options, better simulating color effects that traditional four-color printing cannot achieve, and improving the quality of printed products.
Color effects that four-color printing cannot achieve: Spot color printing can simulate some color effects that traditional four-color printing cannot achieve, such as gold, silver, etc. This is particularly important in packaging printing.
Provide richer and more unique color options: Spot color printing allows the use of specific inks to print specific colors at once, which are not synthesized through C, M, Y, K colors, but are specifically printed with a specific ink. This provides designers with a wider range of color options to meet their pursuit of uniqueness and personalization.
Improving the quality of printed materials: Using spot color ink can expand the range of color reproduction, solve the problem of inaccurate color registration, and some colors cannot be obtained through four-color printing. This helps to improve the quality of printed materials, making brochures or other printed works more attractive!
Ensure that the design adopts CMYK color mode, which is the standard color mode for four-color printing. Although the RGB color mode is suitable for screen display, it may cause color deviation during printing.
Pay attention to color management of images, especially the color mode of images. Images in RGB mode need to be converted to CMYK mode before output. If you choose not to convert to CMYK and use RGB mode, you can still print them. However, the printed products may have significant color differences.
Check the use of national colors in the design of four-color printing to ensure that black is not mixed with other three colors, but directly uses monochrome black. How to use four-color black printing, especially for small text, may result in inaccurate positioning.
What should four-color printing designers pay attention to
The main reasons for the uncontrollability of four-color printing colors include the purity of printing ink, color deviation caused by color repair, color distortion caused by color separation, color deviation in the original manuscript itself, color deviation during the scanner process, and the influence of temperature, humidity, and other surrounding environments on the drying and wetting speed of ink during the printing process.
The main reasons for the significant color difference in colors printed by different manufacturers include differences in paper, ink, climate temperature, printing technology, and other aspects. For example, differences in paper manufacturers: Different paper suppliers may lead to differences in the quality, texture, and color of the paper, which directly affects the final color performance of printed materials.
The purity issue of printing ink: Standard packaging printing usually uses C, M, Y, K color printing ink to replicate colors. Due to the purity issue of printing oil, color deviation may also occur during packaging printing.
The reasons why four-color printing is not recommended for bottles mainly include considerations of color selection, cost, applicability, and effect. Due to its inherent material, four-color printing cannot be printed on bottles, so we often see many bottles using labeling because four-color printing cannot be directly printed on the bottles!
When choosing a printing method, factors such as the material, shape, size, and desired printing effect of the bottle need to be considered. Different printing methods have their own advantages, disadvantages, and applicable scenarios, so it is necessary to choose according to actual needs. Especially for some bottles with unique shapes, the printing range is often very small. Designers must pay attention here
Color selection: Four color printing uses four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black for printing, which can mix almost all colors and provide rich color options. However, for bottle printing, if the design requires the use of purple, dark blue, orange, and brown colors, these colors are prone to deviation, resulting in poor design effects!
Many packaging often require the combination of four-color and spot color to further enhance the visual impact of packaging design. Spot color printing uses specially formulated ink to accurately replicate a certain color, ensuring that the color presentation is both bright and full. It is commonly used in high-end product packaging and labeling occasions to give packaging a more vivid and eye-catching visual effect!
Combining four-color printing with spot color printing can take advantage of the cost advantages of four-color printing and the color stability and accuracy of spot color printing to meet different design needs. For example, a brochure may contain a large amount of four-color printed content, such as text and images, while important elements such as logos are printed in spot colors to ensure color accuracy and durability.
Spot color printing can also solve color problems that are difficult to control in four-color printing, such as ensuring consistency on various printed products through spot color printing for enterprise standard colors.
Spot color printing produces colors that are more vibrant and bright than four-color printing, and do not affect color perception. However, the cost is relatively high, especially when using a large quantity of spot colors.
The color stability of four-color printing is poor, with color deviation and instability, especially when the angle of the dot is affected, which inevitably produces patterns and leads to uneven color distribution
The above is ITIS company's summary and induction of 4C printing, hoping to help designers understand and apply 4C color difference. Of course, our business, engineering, production and other related personnel are very professional in the above content. We are always able to provide customers with docking services to reduce their time and production costs while achieving the best results.
