How to separate single-color printing from four-color printing?
In the field of printing, publications can be divided into monochrome printing and color printing. Monochrome printing is limited to one single color, while color printing can reproduce full-color images. Most color printing uses separated color plates to represent various hues, which are generally composed of red (M), yellow (Y), blue (C), and black (K) four-color halftone plates. The hue of the separated color draft can be directly labeled with the CMYK dot percentage according to the principle of separation. When special colors are required, custom colors outside of these four must be used, requiring a dedicated color plate. The color identification for a dedicated color plate can specify a certain hue from the color spectrum, which can then be specifically adjusted.
### Printing Color Notation:
The ink printing colors generally have two methods:
1. Using four-color inks for printing colors, mixing dots and overlapping prints.
2. Mixing printing inks to create a custom color, i.e., using dedicated color printing, represented by solid colors or halftones. The color designation and platemaking methods for these two methods differ in print design.
#### 1. Grayscale in Monochrome Printing:
In monochrome printing, the deepest solid color is 100%; white is 0%. Different shades of gray are created using different halftone percentages, i.e., controlled by percentage. For readability, reverse white text is usually applied on deep gray tones between 50% and 100%, while black text is used between 50% and 0%. However, adjustments should be made depending on the specific single color.
#### 2. Four-Color Notation in Color Printing:
Color printing produces a variety of colors using red, yellow, blue, and black inks. It can use separated color plates to print according to the desired colors. In design, the expected colors of text or graphics can be referenced by checking the CMYK values of each color in the color chart. However, certain special colors such as gold, silver, and fluorescent colors cannot be formed by overlapping four-color inks and must be printed with dedicated color inks on a dedicated color plate.
