Spot Colour Printing Explained

A spot colour is a solid, pre-mixed ink that’s created using a specific formula from a base set of colours. This ensures consistency in colour reproduction across different print runs and materials.

Spot colour printing involves printing each individual colour in a single pass, using a dedicated screen plate or pad. This differs from CMYK process printing, where cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks are layered in four passes to produce a broad spectrum of colours.

Spot colour inks are also used in litho printing for jobs that require high precision and consistency.

The key difference is how the colours are applied and interact:

• Spot colours are opaque and pre-mixed, making them ideal for solid, consistent colour reproduction.

• CMYK colours are transparent and build up the final colour through layering, which is better suited to complex designs, gradients, and full-colour images.

Because spot inks do not blend, gradients and overlapping colours are not supported when using spot colour artwork.

Spot colours are standardised through systems like the Pantone Matching System (PMS), widely used across Europe and the USA. This ensures accurate colour matching across locations and materials—what you see in a Pantone swatch book is what you’ll see in print.

Spot colours are ideal for designs that require exact colour matching—especially logos or brand colours where consistency is key. Only certain products require Spot colour printing. Check the technical specification before you design your artwork for print. 

For most printed products such as business cards, flyers, leaflets, signage, and posters, we recommend using CMYK colour mode, as this is more suitable for full-colour and detailed designs.

Spot colours offer several benefits:

• Precise colour matching

• Consistent output across multiple print jobs

• A professional finish on solid colour areas

They’re especially useful for jobs that require strong brand alignment or special production techniques like varnishing or metallic inks.

Spot colours can be found in some interesting places! We use a Spot Varnish to create the glossy finish on our Spot UV Business Cards. You can see a pattern on bank notes when you place them under a UV light, these counterfeiting procedures use spot colours too.