In the large format printing business we are always concerned about color. Not just the color itself but being able to capture the nuances of shade and contrast. It’s what sets us apart from the desktop color printer that sits in most offices. Most of you are familiar with Pantone colors which represents the industry standard.
Typically we print the selected pantone colors by matching them based on specific values used by our printer and using the CMYK process. Our printer uses a combination of four inks: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (CMYK) to produce other colors. The pigment ink process with its premixed base colors is matched to the printers’ specifications so that the color remains consistent regardless of the print method. CMYK does have some limitations, especially with some grays, reds and oranges where some banding or striping may occur. We perform testing where appropriate and use a color calibration tool called i1 when necessary. It allows the designer to get an accurate view on his/her monitor of what the print will look like.
Another color model RGB, which stands for Red, Green, Blue is used in electronic display technologies such as monitors, televisions, scanners and cameras.