From the course: Learning Print Production
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What's a spot color?
- [Instructor] Let's explore a special kind of ink called a spot color ink. Spot color inks are used when you need special colors that go beyond the CMYK color gamut. Why do you spot colors? Well, CMYK has a limited color gamut and there are some colors that it just can't reproduce faithfully. When it's important that you render a color perfectly, for example, brand colors used in logos and identity pieces, spot colors may be the answer. If you want to use metallic inks, of course, they have to be spot colors. You can't use combinations of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, and make anything that looks metallic. Fluorescent colors which are very vibrant have to be accomplished using spot colors. And then spot colors are used in cases where there are special requirements for ink behaviors such as on passports or currency or bonds. There are new spot color systems. Here are some of the most commonly used. The Pantone…
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