Color Printing

When you’re finished designing your marketing collateral and you need to get it printed, your commercial printer would most likely ask you if you want full color printing or not. And you should definitely say color printing. Then your commercial printer would again ask you a series of questions regarding full color printing. So now you’re getting a headache.

Let’s define color printing, shall we.

Color printing is a method used by commercial printers to reproduce an image or words in color. Obviously, it’s different from the process of printing your graphic and text in just black and white or even monochromatic printing.

There are two methods used in full color printing: there’s the four-color process and then there’s the six-color process. Both processes use CMYK as the primary ink colors. CMYK is the abbreviation for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. The only difference between the two is that the six-color process added orange and green for a more vibrant and wider color range.

Then there’s ‘spot color’. Spot color is so named because commercial printers usually print these colors alone and without having to mix inks to produce the hues needed. Spot color has unlimited color inks available that’s why it is commonly used by most color printers for variety.

Color printing utilizes a series of processes until you get quality results from your color reproduction. There’s still a lot of stuff you need to know when reproducing a color image. But that’s another story.

You now have the perfect product. What now? How do you let your prospective customers know about it?

As the product’s engineer and technical staff, you might not have the qualities needed to fully introduce your product to your market. Marketing campaigns are for a totally different breed of professionals. Your marketing team would need people who have the capability to understand promotions and advertising, and at the same time the business side of your project.

When you do need to promote, the only way to do it is to hire a professional staff to do the job for you. But be sure to get someone that has the same vision as yours – someone who believes in your product the way you do. Because when you believe in something, it is easier to market your belief, hence, the easier to promote your product.

The next step would be to choose with your marketing staff your marketing collateral. Whether you do full color printing or on black-and-white, whether color postcards or business brochures, your decision would depend on your needs and requirements. Talk with your marketing professional so you’ll be sure to have the marketing campaign that is right for you.