Color SeparationIntroductionYou may have an opportunity to create artwork intended for color printingusing the traditional offset lithographic process. The three types of colorseparation processes are process color, spot color, and fake color. Theformat of the master artwork determines the type of separation process youuse.Process colorWhen you create the master artwork in a continuous tone medium, such as awatercolor or a photograph, the color separation process is left to the cameraoperator. This is process color. Very close reproductions result from usingcolor in the artwork similar to the color available to press inks.How processcolor worksThe printer makes four separate negatives and four separate press plates foreach piece of continuous tone color artwork. Since colors photograph asblack or shades of grey, the printer uses regular black-and-white film. Agrey scale, photographed along side the artwork will assist the photographerin comparing densities and contrast for each negative. The negatives musthave the same contrast and density or the resultant print will be out ofbalance. Shooting through a halftone filter and a series of color filtersseparates the colors of the original copy and breaks the image into a dotpattern. The printer changes the angle of the halftone screen for eachnegative to cause the dot pattern to overlap or print side by side in the finalprint. A blue filter records yellow, a red filter records cyan (blue), a greenfilter records magenta (red), and no filter or a combination of the three filtersrecords the black in the original. Conventionally develop the film. Handcorrect any negative aberrations. Expose and develop the press plates. Pulla proof from the press plate in the appropriate color. This is known as aprogressive proof. The colors of the original artwork reproduce when theplates are run on the press in the proper colors of ink. Overprintingproduces the color sensations of secondary and tertiary colors. Overlappingthree or more colors produce black.Continued on next page1-56
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