The Money of Color
October, 2005
Our world is made up of millions of colors. Our eyes can see a huge range of subtlety that allows for a rich experience. That experience translates into various emotions and moods that we then associate with those colors. These are not new ideas, it is something that everyone grows up with, and so each person is affected by what they see.
Knowing that people are affected by what they see, businesses have exploited that fact when trying to spread their message. Putting a person in the proper mood adds impact to the story. But there have been many hurdles. The greatest of which, until recently, has been cost. Color printing is complex and expensive. The prevalence of the internet adds another wrinkle. All of a sudden color is free because everyone viewing the internet has their own monitor.
So how do you get the most bang for the buck, and avoid any number of "gotchas" that may pop up? Let's tackle the issues one at a time, starting with a few details about color itself.
One of the biggest issues in this age of the internet is that color on your monitor is entirely different from color on your printed page. The monitor produces color by mixing light, while pages are printed with mixed ink. The monitor uses red, green, and blue light to create the palette of the millions of colors we can see on our screen. This palette is not as large as our eye is capable of seeing, but is good none the less.
Printed color is produced by the mixing of colored inks. When a printer talks about 4 color process, that refers to the mixing of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink to create the range of colors we see in a photograph. These colors create a much smaller palette than what is possible on the monitor, and that is where the problem arises. Due to these differences, a printer cannot reproduce what you see on your screen. If you have ever tried to print graphics you got from the internet, you can see this difference immediately.
The other issue I mentioned is the cost of color printing. There are many ways to use color in printed communications that can reduce the cost. The ultimate goal is to create an emotional response that drives your prospect to take action. So maybe you don't need to print full color. Printing two colors can add great impact to a piece without being much more expensive than one color black and white printing.
Printing with less than the four process colors usually involves using special inks within a system called the Pantone Matching System. These inks are numbered, and allow for precise matching of specific colors, such as corporate colors in a logo. If the corporate color is Pantone 185, which is a nice red, then printing ads or sales collateral with black and the Pantone 185 will add much greater tonal detail to your images than if they were printed with black alone. Images will look richer, and therefor have more impact.
Printing with color is a complex process. Working with a designer who understands the process, and can offer options will save you money. Files need to be prepared properly, and sent to the printer ready to be printed. The more work the printer has to do when files are received, the more the job will cost. Smudged Graphics has worked with clients on a variety of print jobs, with all kinds of specifications. We have a good relationship with our printer, which allows us to get the best service and the best quality. Give us a call, or send an email, to add impact to your next printed project at an attractive price.