Spot color

In print design, there are various methods to incorporate rather sophisticated patterns of spot colors in the final prepress artwork. Software applications such as Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW, QuarkXPress and Scribus may generate spot colors as additional channels. Adobe Photoshop can also be used to generate soft edges (widely known as feathered edges) of spot colors. The dissolve effect provided by Adobe Photoshop layer patterns can be generated for any spot color. == Optimizing usage ==

Generally the cost and potential for problems for a print job increase as one adds more spot colors, due to the increased cost and complexity of added process inks and films, and requiring more runs per finished print. However, because of the complicated process, spot colors are effective at preventing forgeries of money, passports, bonds and other important documents. Money printing for example, uses secret formulae of spot colors, some of which can be seen by the naked eye and some that can only be seen by using special lights or applying certain chemicals. Spot colors are frequently specified for brand identity (such as logos and marketing collateral) because the standardized inks can be matched consistently across different presses, print runs, and suppliers. == Classification ==

Spot color classification has led to thousands of discrete colors being given unique names or numbers. There are several industry standards in the classification of spot color systems, such as: • Pantone, the dominant spot color printing system in the United States and Europe. • Toyo, a common spot color system in Japan. • DIC Color System Guide, another spot color system common in Japan – it is based on Munsell color theory. • ANPA, a palette of 300 colors specified by the American Newspaper Publishers Association for spot color usage in newspapers. • GCMI, a standard for color used in package printing developed by the Glass Packaging Institute (formerly known as the Glass Container Manufacturers Institute, hence the abbreviation). • HKS is a color system which contains 120 spot colors and 3,250 tones for coated and uncoated paper. HKS is an abbreviation of three German color manufacturers: Hostmann-Steinberg Druckfarben, Kast + Ehinger Druckfarben and H. Schmincke & Co. • RAL is a color matching system used in Europe. The so-called RAL CLASSIC system is mainly used for varnish and powder coating. Because each color system creates their own colors from scratch, spot colors from one system may be impossible to find within the library of another. ==References==