Author Topic: 4 color process  (Read 2268 times)

Offline travis.hoyme

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4 color process
« on: July 10, 2014, 03:21:21 PM »
What do you do if you have a photo with lettering on the front of a shirt and lettering on the back that needs to match the lettering on the front?  Would I need to do spot colors for the lettering and just print the photo in 4 color process?


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Offline Colin

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Re: 4 color process
« Reply #1 on: July 10, 2014, 03:45:30 PM »
What color is the lettering?
Been in the industry since 1996.  5+ years with QCM Inks.  Been a part of shops of all sizes and abilities both as a printer and as an Artist/separator.  I am now the Ink and Chemical Product Manager at Ryonet.

Offline travis.hoyme

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Re: 4 color process
« Reply #2 on: July 10, 2014, 03:57:31 PM »
Red and black


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Offline balloonguy

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Re: 4 color process
« Reply #3 on: July 10, 2014, 04:38:45 PM »
I would use spot colors for the lettering. I think it is easier to get a consistent print without burning 4 screens for the back.
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Offline Sbrem

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Re: 4 color process
« Reply #4 on: July 10, 2014, 04:49:24 PM »
black is black of course, but if you need to have the red match, I would use a 5th screen for spot red on the front (just the text) along with the CMYK, and then the front and back would match...

Steve
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Offline travis.hoyme

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Re: 4 color process
« Reply #5 on: July 10, 2014, 06:03:29 PM »
The back is red, black, and purple.  This design is for a school, and it needs to be a bright red.  I haven't done any process printing yet, but when I  blend the yellow and magenta to make red I'm just afraid it won't be bright enough.  Either way if I add a spot to the front it would be 5 screens and if I make the back cmyk it would be 4.  Wouldn't I be better to do front and back cmyk?


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Offline Sbrem

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Re: 4 color process
« Reply #6 on: July 11, 2014, 08:20:08 AM »
Instead of using magenta and yellow to make the red on the front, select the red text, and make it a separate channel in Photoshop, so you can output as a separate film, for just the red text. You would need to perhaps knock that out of the CMYK channels. This way, you can get the bright red you want as a separate color, which of course you would also use on the back so that they match dead on. CMYK does not make every color you can see, sometimes you need to print a 5th or 6th color if necessary. If one of the colors was supposed to be a metallic gold, or a fluorescent color, which CMYK cannot make, you would need to do the same thing. I hope this helps...

Steve
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Offline Grumpy Ole Artist

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Re: 4 color process
« Reply #7 on: July 11, 2014, 09:22:37 AM »
If one has the print heads available, one should ALWAYS use "touch plates" (additional screens) for "reference colors"...by the time you get the "golden arches/pepsi red & blue" (insert corporate color/logo here) looking right, it screws up the rest of the design's color balance...dedicated screens for those elements, pms matched inks, and voila, perfect match, and that then, frees your adjustments up to match those oh so fun tertiaries!
Humor is the unexpected juxtaposition of incongruities.

Offline Sbrem

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Re: 4 color process
« Reply #8 on: July 11, 2014, 04:23:34 PM »
Touchplates, that's the term I was trying to remember from the old day; thanks Grumpy...

Steve
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Offline travis.hoyme

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Re: 4 color process
« Reply #9 on: July 11, 2014, 11:14:13 PM »
Thanks guys for the info!


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