TIPS The following are a few tips on the differences and uses of color as well as some other useful tips. SPOT COLOR Spot color refers to Pantone colors, or PMS (Pantone Matching System). In most applications you can go into the color applications window and check to make sure the word SPOT is checked.

These colors are separated out onto different pieces of film, or plates, for each color specified. If you were to pick PMS 185 and Black you would have to pieces of film or plates. You can pick as many spot colors as needed but keep in mind that each color will be a separate piece of film and thus increase the price of printing your piece.

FOUR COLOR PROCESS- CMYK - Cyan Magenta Yellow Black
CMYK color, or Four color process, is used when you need to print more than 3 colors or photos/images. Four color process printing is a build of different percentages of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black inks. Alternating screen angles and screen density creates the different spectrums of color. For each page you create in Four Color Process, there will be 4 pieces of film/plates. You can also use, scanned images, photos, and clip art in CMYK format. Keep in mind if you add a spot color to this you would have an additional piece of film/plate for what we call a fifth color or more. You can also convert spot colors to process colors by selecting CMYK after you have selected, for instance, PMS 185, and convert it to Process. (Your numbers would be: C=0% M=91% Y=76% K=0% )

It is important to know that converted colors from PMS (spot) to CMYK will not always match the desired Pantone Spot Color.

RGB - Red Green Blue
RGB is mainly used in scanning images, websites and some output devices. Jobs are not printed in RGB format for the most part, so RGB would either need to be converted to CMYK for Four Color Process, Spot Pantone color, or Grayscale. If files are created in screen/slide presentation programs such as Microsoft Powerpoint, you would have two output options. 1 convert to grayscale and have a black and white final product or 2. output to a Color Laser Copier (CLC) which would convert the RGB to CMYK and you would have full color lasers of your product, or 3. create a pdf and convert to CMYK, spot color or greyscale.

Varnish
There are several kinds of printed varnishes, (dull, glossy, matte, etc...) for each varnish used there would be an added plate just as if it were a spot color. You can either have pieces flood varnished, which means the entire piece is covered in varnish or spot varnished which as the name states would just have a varnish in certain spots. If you were to use two varnishes lets say a matte varnish for the whole piece and a spot glossy varnish for photos that would be two pieces of film (like an additional 2 spot colors added to the job)

There are many Color Models not mentioned above such as Hexachrome, Pastels, Metallics, Trumatch, and others which are very rarely used, and you should check with your printer if you plan on using these.

Scanning Tips
For optimum results during film/plate output, we have the following recommendations to assist you during the creation process.

For black and white line-art Images:

Scan in using "Bitmap" mode
Scan at 1500 d.p.i. (dots per inch)

Save in the TIFF format (do not save as PICT)

For gray-scale (half-tone) images:
(If you have an image that is 4"x 5", and you want the final size to be 8" x 10", scan in at twice the final resolution which would be 600 lpi/ppi than scale image to final size 8" x 10" and the resolution will drop back down to 300 lpi/ppi. A 4" x 5" original with final desired size being 12" x 14", you would scan at three times the resolution which would be 900 lpi/ppi and so on.)

Scan in using "Gray-scale" mode

Scan at a minimum of 300 l.p.i./p.p.i. (lines per inch/pixels per inch)

Scan at the size that will be used in your Page Layout Program

Save in the TIFF or EPS format
For full-color (process-color) Images:
(If you have an image that is 4" x 5", and you want the final size to be 8" x 10", scan in at twice the final resolution which would be 600 lpi/ppi than scale image to final size 8" x 10" and the resolution will drop back down to 300 lpi/ppi. A 4" x 5" original with final desired size being 12" x 14", you would scan at three times the resolution which would be 900 lpi/ppi and so on.)
Scan in “RGB” mode

Scan at a minimum of 300 l.p.i./p.p.i. (lines per inch/pixels per inch)

Scan at the size that will be used in your Page Layout Program

Convert to “CMYK” mode (Depending on the output device, some color printers convert RGB better then any application can)

Save in the TIFF format, OR choose EPS format and create DCS (digital color separations)
For all types of scans:

Scan at the size that will be used in the page layout program or if you want the image larger scan at the percentage you want to increase the image size to by 300 dpi.