Spot Colors Vs PMS - What's that?

What Is Spot or PMS Color?
f a designer needs to match a particular color (a logo color perhaps) in a printed piece or has a limited budget, then spot color is something to consider. Spot colors can also be used alongside process (CMYK) colors for greater flexibility.

To ensure that a printer uses exactly the color that a designer intends, color systems were developed. The most common of the spot color standards is the Pantone Matching System or, PMS as it is more commonly known. All of the modern image-editing, vector-drawing and page-layout programs come with a full library of thousands of Pantone colors as part of the program.

In addition, designers will want to have a set of swatch books that show printed examples of the colors and their codes. Swatches are a more reliable method of matching or choosing colors than doing so on-screen. This is because monitors are illuminated by light behind them which makes colors seem brighter on-screen than they are when printed on paper. Also, colors on a monitor are created with red, green and blue light <"RGB Info"> rather than mixed ink pigments.

Though some may view spot color printing as being much more limited than CMYK printing, there are many interesting possibilities.

Two or more spot colors can be mixed to create interesting colors and effects.


Spot colors can be combined to create duotones, tritones and quadtones that can be very effective and can add some visual interest to otherwise grayscale images.
Unfortunately, it's difficult to proof spot color jobs. Most proofing systems use CMYK-based technology. Some laminated proofs, which work by attaching colored sheets of clear acetate, have some spot colors available but these are often expensive.

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I'd never found sucha great explenation. Enjoy it!


What's the Difference Between Engraving and Thermography?
ngraving and thermography are actually quite different from one another but these two printing methods are frequently confused. The printing results can be somewhat similar and can commonly be found on wedding invitations, business cards and the occasional letterhead.

Engraving is a kind of gravure printing wherein paper is pushed against a recessed plate. In engraving, the paper is usually slightly moist. The pressure of another cylinder forces the ink from the recessed area onto the paper. The pressure of the press raises the imprinted area slightly which gives the piece what we recognized as an engraved appearance.

Thermography, also known as the "poor man's engraving" method, is somewhat similar to engraving in result but not process. It's cheaper and easier to produce than traditional engraving which may account in part for it's popularity. Thermography is created by adding a powder to the ink being printed on a paper's surface. The printed piece is then passed under heat and literally cooked together. When heated (it's thermography after all), the ink and powder blend and rise to give a raised effect. Frequently thermography appears even more engraved than some engraved printing.

Soccer World Cup 2006

I wish I could be there in Germany, taking pictures and being able to create great large format pieces, or just images on my computer.

This is the situation: I love all of this wild colors that many teams use in their clothes. I can close my eyes and imagine an nice scene where those beautiful colors will almost show as one of those gorgeous pieces produced by pop artists.

Just a few minutes ago, strolling in South Beach, FL, I saw some of the most impresive pieces I'd ever seen.

If you're a soccer fan, support your favorite team.
But make sure to watch the USA team. They promise A LOT!

See you

You should try my new Bodum coffee maker

coffee benefits
My new coffee maker is absolutely gorgeous!
Keeps my coffee fresh as no other maker due to the precise temperature control.

information for graphic tablets

bluelectronics
Hey, I found this great site that has great information about graphic tablets
There seems to be a great deal of knowledge!
by

Using a Graphic Tablet�

Mark V Press�
Great printing company where most of the tips come from.

Here's one of the tips that will really make your life easier when working on Photoshop, when retouching a picture or when sketching a story board for the next presentation.

I use the Genius PenSketch 9x12 inches.
Is perfect for the job. MUCH MUCH less expensive than Wacom (aha!!) and works as well (or better, one of my guys say!).

I'll cover more on that.

See you

Printing for Direct Mail Marketing

Printing and designing for Direct Mail Marketing requires you to know how to combine many disciplines.

Your message must be powerful, the graphics outstanding and the printing 1st class.

With those ingredients, you're ready to go!
Good luck!

Printing and Graphic Design Tips

Printing and Graphic Design Tips

For those of you designing and going to press, this is something you should all know.

The new SWOP 10th Edition Specifications are here in their entirety. The Specifications provide the necessary information for suppliers of input materials for advertising and editorial pages to magazines to do so in a uniform way. When these Specifications are followed, the input received by the printer can be reproduced at the quality level intended and desired by the advertiser/publisher. Note: SWOP 10th Edition was updated February 06.

My first posting

I'll use this exciting space to share with you my little secrets (those that make the difference) about what I learned during the last many (too many to tell now!) years running printing companies and working on graphic design projects.

There's an awful lot to tell, but, hey, what would you like to hear first?

Tell me what you'd like to start with, tell me about your experience, or about what you'd like to achieve.

Check our website, http://www.m5p.net to get more tips..