Accurate target - exact color

When placing an order at a printing house, each of us draws in in your head an ideal picture of what the finished edition will look like. However, sometimes the end result can be completely different than expected. This is especially true for color solutions. How can you make sure that the color you choose for a logo or image will be exactly what you imagined?

Subjective perception

To prevent disappointment, you should first understand why The color in the edition may differ significantly from your wishes. First of all, we can talk about subjective reasons. After all, it’s no secret that each person perceives one or another shade individually. And everyone’s associations are different. For some, red is the color of a tomato, for others - strawberries, for others - fire. Therefore, when describing an order to a designer, it is worthwhile to be more specific. Ideally, choose from a special directory (the so-called Panton fan), where each color is assigned a color specification.

Technical reasons

The second reason for color “problems” is directly related to the equipment that is used in the design and printing process. First of all, it is worth considering that the color reproduction of different computer monitors differs significantly. What you see at home looks completely different from the designer. The lighting in the room also affects - say, warm or cold, natural or artificial. The printing result will be significantly closer to what you see from the designer in the printing house, since, as a rule, there is more professional equipment and special lighting.

You also need to understand that monitors, as well as printers, scanners, Cameras use the additive (English add - add) RGB (red, green, blue) model when transmitting color. The choice of these colors is determined by the physiology of perception of the human eye. The additive model is so called because each shade is formed by a combination of primary colors. The description of color is based on the monitor's ability to emit light, and the color black (the absence of light) is taken as the basis.

In printing, other colors are considered primary. Printing machines (both digital and offset) use a combination of CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black). This is a subtractive model, which means that when forming a shade, the amount of light reflected from a particular surface (say, paper or other media) is taken into account. Here the color white is taken as the basis. RGB has a large color gamut. During pre-press preparation, the color scheme is converted from RGB to CMYK, which leads to slightly different shades.

Color in printing

The very method of obtaining an image in printing also leads to color inaccuracies. In offset printing, any job is divided into four primary colors (CMYK), each with its own printing form. The image from each form is transferred to the same sheet, and as a result of mixing on paper, a full-color image is obtained. Also, more advanced machines have more than four printing sections, which makes it possible to use additional inks that expand the color gamut and increase color accuracy, including the use of a specific Pantone color (in simple words, this is a system of additional colors and shades, the digital specification of which is prescribed in special international directories).

The correct print (completely corresponding to the original file) depends on the quality of inks, paper type, equipment settings and a number of other production factors.

It is almost impossible to initially provide for absolutely all the variables, so test prints are created (as close as possible to those that will be received in the printing press), which are approved with the customer and which serve as a standard. Do not ignore signing the so-called proof, otherwise there will simply be nothing to argue about when accepting the order.

The task of the printing house employee is to ensure that the production prints do not differ from the standard. During the printing process, special equipment (stand-alone or integrated into the printing machine) scans certain areas of the print, the colors are converted into digital data that can be compared with the data obtained from the standard. However, many printing houses ignore such equipment and make comparisons solely by eye. And as already mentioned, each person’s perception is quite subjective. Therefore, if the exact color is really important to you, ask for a tour and see exactly how the printing quality is controlled.

Thus, the exact color on the print run depends both on the customer and on the correct work printing houses. In both cases, it is important not to trust subjective assessments, but to use various tools to translate color into the language of digital specifications.