In multi-color printing, a color that is added in an individually specifiable region of a printed sheet, used to highlight individual page elements, such as logos, headlines, line art, etc., distinguished from process color in that spot color can be added simply by imaging a second negative and making a second plate, without requiring the complexities of color separations. Spot color commonly uses different types of ink, and spot colors are not commonly overprinted to generate additional colors. (Being opaque, unlike transparent process inks, they do not overprint very well.) Spot color inks, when not consisting of primary colors, are usually mixed prior to printing, and are specified by the use of color matching systems, such as the PANTONE Matching System (PMS). See also Process Color. Spot color is sometimes called a tint.
|