Offset or digitalprinting is based on the use of four CMYK colors(Cyan– Magenta– Yellow– Black), which enable all types of media (cards, brochures, rigid supports, etc.) to be printed in full color.
By mixing these four primary colors, we create all the colors we know, by subtractive synthesis.
This process consists in combining the absorption of colors (CMYK) to obtain all the nuances of a range.
The term subtractive is used when an object (or sheet of paper) absorbs part of the incident light.
When printingprinting your communication mediathe offset or digitalwill position a number of small dots of a single color, using screens, next to each other.
In this way, colors are not mixed, but placed side by side at different frequencies so that our brain can perceive a final color.
For example, to make a gray color, the print will be a succession of black dots and white spaces, more or less numerous.
Some offset presses can do more than just four colors, offering up to eight in order to extend the color gamut and improve brightness and sharpness. This is known as hexachromy.
Direct tones
For certain materials, it may be possible to use specific colors that cannot be produced using the four-color process, in this case calledspot color printing.
Pantone®-typecolors, made from a mixture of several pigments, are used.
This makes it possible to obtain colors such as fluorescent, gold or silver, etc.
It’s important to know thatdirect tone printing is considerably more expensive thanfour-color process printing.
CMYK vs. RGB
When creating your graphic files, we often talk about two modes: CMYK and RGB.
As explained above, four-color process printing is based on four colors, whereas RGB mode is based on three colors(Red– Green– Blue).
Color reproduction on our screens is done in RGB, hence the problems of different hues when printing files that we perceive differently on screen.
Added to this are other constraints that will “distort” the rendering of your colors in relation to the screen. The type of paper(coated paper, offset paper, creative paper, recycled paper), offset printing or digital printing and the type of inks. It will therefore be technically impossible to reproduce identically what we perceive on screen, and conversely, impossible to reproduce on screen what we perceive on paper.
L’imprimerie Welye Parisis at your disposal to advise you on your choice of paper, your choice of finishes and the production of your files. Don’t hesitate to contact our graphics workshop or a sales representative directly by phone or email.
