Most full-colour magazines are printed using the four-colour CMYK process.
CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (Black). Different combinations of these four process inks are used to reproduce photographs, illustrations, graphics and other colours throughout a magazine.
But preparing colour for print involves more than simply converting everything to CMYK.
The final printed appearance can also be influenced by the paper, printing process, ink, production conditions and colour-management workflow used to manufacture the magazine.
At Magazine Printing Company, we require finished artwork to be supplied as PDF/X-1a. Once the magazine specification and production route have been established, the selected print supplier manages the appropriate colour workflow for the paper stock and printing conditions being used.
What Is CMYK?
CMYK is the standard four-colour process used for most commercial magazine printing.
The four process colours are:
- C — Cyan
- M — Magenta
- Y — Yellow
- K — Key (Black)
These inks are printed in controlled combinations to reproduce a wide range of colours.
Rather than requiring a separate ink for every colour appearing in a photograph or illustration, the image is separated into the four process colours and reproduced using combinations of CMYK.
This is why a magazine containing hundreds of photographs and colours can normally be printed using the same four process inks.
Why Is Black Called K in CMYK?
The K represents the key colour, which in conventional four-colour process printing is black.
Black is required because combining cyan, magenta and yellow alone does not provide the clean, controlled black required for normal commercial reproduction.
The black separation also plays an important role in reproducing detail, contrast, shadows and text.
What Is RGB?
RGB stands for Red, Green and Blue.
It is the colour model primarily used by screens, cameras and other digital devices.
Screens create colour using emitted light. Printing works differently: inks interact with light reflected from the surface of the paper.
This means an RGB colour displayed brightly on a screen cannot always be reproduced identically using CMYK inks on paper.
Some particularly bright or saturated RGB colours fall outside the colour range that can be reproduced by a particular CMYK printing condition.
That is why colour can change when artwork moves from a screen-based RGB environment into a CMYK print workflow.
Should I Supply RGB or CMYK Artwork for Magazine Printing?
For our magazine production workflow, finished artwork should be supplied as PDF/X-1a.
PDF/X-1a requires print-ready colour information to be prepared appropriately for the production workflow rather than leaving live RGB colour to be interpreted later.
However, that does not mean that RGB is somehow a “wrong” colour system.
RGB is entirely appropriate for photography, image capture, screens and many stages of a professional design workflow.
The important distinction is between the colour environment used while creating content and the final print-ready file supplied for production.
If you are supplying finished magazine artwork to us, follow our print-ready artwork requirements and provide the completed job as PDF/X-1a.
Why Can CMYK Look Different From RGB?
RGB and CMYK reproduce colour in fundamentally different ways.
A screen generates light. Printed paper reflects light.
Screens can therefore display some bright and saturated colours that cannot be reproduced exactly using conventional process inks on a particular paper.
When RGB artwork is prepared for CMYK printing, colours outside the printable colour range must be reproduced using colours that the selected printing condition can achieve.
This is one reason why judging final printed colour purely from an ordinary computer monitor can be misleading.
The paper itself also matters. The same CMYK values can appear different when reproduced on different stocks because paper shade, coating, surface and absorbency affect the printed result.
Does the Paper Affect CMYK Colour?
Yes — significantly.
Colour does not exist independently of the paper it is printed on.
A coated paper can reproduce colour differently from an uncoated stock, while lightweight coated papers introduce different characteristics again.
Paper shade can also influence the perceived appearance of the finished image because the paper forms the underlying surface from which light is reflected.
This is why colour management needs to take account of the actual paper and printing process selected for the magazine.
There isn’t one universal CMYK appearance that will look identical on every paper and every printing press.
What Are Spot Colours?
A spot colour is produced separately from the normal four-colour CMYK process.
Instead of creating the colour solely from combinations of cyan, magenta, yellow and black, an additional specified ink can be used where the production specification requires it.
Spot colours can be useful where a particular colour is commercially important or where the design calls for a colour or effect that cannot be reproduced satisfactorily using normal process CMYK alone.
Whether a spot colour should be printed as an additional ink or reproduced using CMYK depends upon the publication, production method, colour requirement and budget.
It is not simply a question of print-run size.
If a particular colour is important to your publication or brand, identify this when requesting your quotation so that it can be considered as part of the production specification.
Will a Spot Colour Always Look Identical?
No printing process should be described as producing a colour that is automatically identical regardless of where, how or on what it is printed.
A specified spot-colour reference provides an important target, but the appearance of printed colour can still be influenced by factors including the substrate, ink, coating and production conditions.
A colour printed on coated paper may not appear identical when reproduced on an uncoated stock.
Where colour consistency is commercially important, it should therefore be treated as part of the production specification and colour-control process rather than relying solely on a colour reference viewed on screen.
Can Every Colour Be Reproduced Using CMYK?
No.
CMYK can reproduce a very large range of colours, but it cannot reproduce every colour visible to the human eye or every colour that can be displayed by an RGB screen.
Some particularly bright, saturated or specialist colours sit outside the reproducible range of conventional four-colour process printing.
Where a design depends upon a colour that CMYK cannot reproduce satisfactorily, an additional spot colour or another production approach may need to be considered.
For most photographic and editorial magazine content, however, properly prepared CMYK reproduction provides the normal commercial printing solution.
What Is Total Ink Coverage?
Dark CMYK colours can contain significant quantities of all four process inks.
The combined amount of cyan, magenta, yellow and black is known as total ink coverage.
Too much ink can create production problems, but the appropriate limit depends upon the paper, printing process and production conditions.
For that reason, we do not give publishers one arbitrary total ink coverage figure and suggest that it is correct for every magazine.
The appropriate colour workflow is managed according to the production route selected for the job.
If prepress identifies something within the supplied artwork that requires client attention, we will advise you.
Should Black Text Use Four Colours?
Normally, small black text is best constructed using black rather than unnecessary combinations of all four process colours.
Using multiple colour separations for small text can make registration unnecessarily critical.
Large areas of black are different.
Depending upon the design and production requirements, a controlled combination of black with other process colours may sometimes be used to produce a visually deeper black.
The appropriate construction depends upon the artwork and production conditions, so avoid applying arbitrary “rich black” formulas copied from generic online guides.
If you are uncertain, ask us before supplying the final artwork.
Why Doesn’t My Printed Magazine Match My Monitor Exactly?
An ordinary computer monitor is not a contract colour reference.
Monitor brightness, calibration, display technology, ambient lighting and colour settings can all affect what you see.
More fundamentally, a monitor emits light while printed paper reflects it.
A normal PDF approval viewed on screen should therefore be used primarily to check the processed content and construction of the magazine, not as a guarantee that the final printed colour will visually match your monitor.
Where accurate colour prediction is commercially important, controlled contract colour proofing is a separate process.
How Is Colour Managed for Magazine Printing?
The appropriate colour workflow depends upon the paper, printing process and production conditions selected for the publication.
Magazine Printing Company establishes the magazine specification and selects an appropriate production route.
The selected print supplier then manages the colour workflow for those manufacturing conditions.
This can involve recognised printing conditions and characterisation data used within professional colour-managed production.
Publishers do not need to choose a FOGRA condition or production profile themselves.
Your responsibility is to supply correctly prepared artwork according to our artwork requirements. The production workflow then takes account of the actual manufacturing conditions selected for the magazine.
What Are FOGRA and ISO 12647?
FOGRA characterisation data is widely used in European colour-managed printing workflows to describe defined printing conditions.
Different paper types and printing processes reproduce colour differently, so these references help professional production workflows manage colour against known conditions.
ISO 12647 provides standards relating to process control in printing and proofing.
For offset lithographic production, ISO 12647-2 defines process-control aims and tolerances for printing.
For controlled contract proofing, ISO 12647-7 relates to proofing processes used to simulate an intended printing condition.
For publishers, the important point is not to select these standards themselves.
They form part of the professional colour-management and production workflow used to manufacture the publication.
Do I Need a Contract Colour Proof?
Not for every magazine.
The normal post-RIP approval proof is principally there so that you can check that the processed pages, content, positioning and other visible elements are correct before production.
A contract colour proof performs a different function.
Where colour reproduction is commercially critical — perhaps because of colour-sensitive photography, advertising material or important corporate colours — a controlled contract colour proof may be appropriate.
If colour is critical to your publication, tell us before production begins so that the appropriate proofing requirements can be established with the selected print supplier.
How Should I Prepare Colour for Magazine Printing?
For finished artwork supplied to Magazine Printing Company:
- prepare the publication according to our print-ready artwork requirements
- supply the completed artwork as PDF/X-1a
- do not rely on an ordinary monitor as a prediction of final printed colour
- identify any colour-critical elements before production
- tell us if a particular spot colour is required
- avoid arbitrary online CMYK or total-ink formulas that ignore the selected production conditions
- check your complete post-RIP approval proof carefully before approving production
You do not need to engineer the artwork for a particular printing press or choose the production colour condition yourself.
We establish the production route and the selected print supplier manages the appropriate colour workflow.
Need Advice About Colour for Your Magazine?
Magazine Printing Company is the specialist magazine operation of Cliffe Enterprise Ltd, an independent UK print-management company established in 1991.
Because we are not tied to one printing plant or production process, the magazine specification and manufacturing route can be selected according to the requirements of the individual publication.
That includes quantity, format, pagination, paper, binding, finishing and colour requirements.
If you’re unsure about CMYK, spot colours, PDF/X-1a, paper choice, proofing or colour-critical artwork, speak to us before production.
Planning your next magazine? Get a magazine printing quote, and we’ll advise on the artwork, specifications, and the appropriate production route. Or, call us on tel:01323 405978 to discuss your project requirements, or email simon@magazineprintingcompany.com. Depending on your needs and budget, we can suggest options that provide both quality and a great price.
Feel free to look at our other blog posts on Brochure Printing, Fulfilment, Direct Mailing, Paper, Printing and News.
