Spot Colour Printing Explained

 

A spot colour is simply a solid colour. The spot colour ink is pre-mixed using a set of base colours to ensure consistency in colour reproduction.

Spot colour printing is where individual colours are printed using a screen plate or pad in a single pass. This is different to process printing, where CMYK inks are layered on four passes, one per colour, to create a vast spectrum of colour.

Although we use spot colour inks for our screen printing only, they can be used in litho printing.

The main difference is in their use in the printing process. As mentioned, spot colours are pre-mixed inks that are applied in a single pass whereas CMYK inks are layered on four passes to mix the correct colour. This is due to CMYK inks being transparent so they interact with each other. Spot colour inks, however, are opaque and won't interact and we therefore can't accept gradients or overlapping colours in T-shirt artwork files.

Spot colours are used almost universally. The Pantone Matching System spot colours we use to screen print our t-shirt range are used across Europe and the USA. This means whether a t-shirt is printed in Europe or USA, the output will contain the same colour. Also, when you are dealing with clients, you are both talking from the same colour system. If you have a Pantone book, you can show them an accurate representation of the colour before going to print too!

We accept spot colours for our screen printed t-shirts only. You should continue to use CMYK colours for all other printed items, such as business cards, flyers, leaflets, signs and posters. We are likely to accept spot colours for new additions to our Clothing and Textiles range as we grow this product range.

Spot colours are typically used in screen printing. They provide an exact match and are therefore a great choice when you want perfect colour reproduction across different materials and substrates.

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.

Setting up your artwork files for spot colours is easier than you might think. Keep your colour setting as CMYK and use the swatches available in the colour library within the colour palette. These are Pantone colours. Please note, we use Pantone coated colours.

 

The screenshots below show how you can access Pantone colours in Adobe Illustrator and InDesign.

Screen printed T-shirts are the first of our new Clothing and Textiles range. Click the button below to browse the range now.