Spot Color
Flat color, also referred to as match color or spot color, is any color the designer chooses and asks the printer to match. Flat color is used for the color reproduction of any black and white copy, line or continuous tone.
Flat-color printing is designated by the number of colors used: one-color, two-color, three-color, four-color (1/C, 2/C, 3/C, 4/C), etc. Because each color requires a separate printing plate and a separate run on the press, the more colors used, the more expensive the job; Most flat-color jobs use from one to four colors, with two colors being by far the most common.
ONE-COLOR A one-color job means just that: it is printed in one color, whether red, blue, green, or black (in the printing industry black counts as a color).
It is possible to achieve a wide variety of effects working with only one color. For example, type can be printed solid (100% value), screened (producing tints of from 5% to 95%), surprinted (printed solid over a tint) or reversed (dropped out of a solid-color background).
When screening or reversing type, make sure the type you use is large or bold enough not to be adversely affected by these techniques. For example, if the type is too small or the serifs too fine, screening may result in broken type, and reversing the type may cause it to fill in.
Color is also a consideration: make sure the color you choose is dark enough so that the type is legible and comfortable to read. The same consideration should be given to the reproduction of halftones: the color should be dark enough so that the halftone will not appear washed out.
SPECIFYING FLAT COLOR There are two ways to specify flat color: by asking the printer to mix a color that is part of a color-matching system or by asking him to match a color that is not part of a system (such as a piece of colored paper or a part of a painting). The first method is the most practical because it provides the printer with ink mixing instructions for every color; the second method is more hit-or-miss, very much like mixing housepaints. There are many color-matching systems in use today, the most widely used by the designer being the Pantone Matching System.
Pantone Matching System. This system is based on 10 Pantone Colors (8 basic colors, plus black and transparent white) which mixed in varying amounts produce a total of 500 different colors. These colors are numbered and arranged in a "swatchbook" available from art supply stores in a designer's edition as well as in a printer's edition that includes ink-mixing instructions.
To specify a color, the designer looks through the swatchbook, chooses the color he wants, and indicates its number on his mechanical. It is also a good idea to attach a sample of the color, at least 1/2" x 1/2", to avoid any possibility of error. The Pantone Color Specifier contains sheets of numbered tear-out samples for this purpose.
Swatchbooks are usually divided into two sections, one showing the colors printed on a coated stock, the other showing them on an uncoated stock. It is important to see both, because the paper's finish will have a definite effect on how the color will look when printed: if the paper is coated, the colors will appear brilliant; if the paper is uncoated, the colors will appear soft or flat.
The color of the paper will also affect the appearance of any color that is printed on it. In standard Pantone swatchbooks the colors are printed on white stock, but there are swatchbooks available, mostly through paper companies, that show standard-color inks printed on a variety of colored papers.
Pantone swatchbooks are also available that show colors printed on newsprint and kraft paper, as well as how the colors look when printed by every major printing process. If a job is to be printed by an unusual process or on an unusual surface (acetate, foil, metal, etc.), the designer should contact the printer for more information.
Although there are other color-matching systems, Pantone offers the designer the widest range of worldwide services. In addition to Pantone Color inks, Pantone Colors are available in a number of related products- self adhesive overlays, colored papers, and color markers-to help the designer control the color throughout a job.