Ed #5 Enhancing Color

The most common use of an additional unit is to apply a special spot color or varnish. While the four process, or CMYK, inks, can produce a wide range of colors, they cannot produce all colors. So sometimes a spot color, applied as a solid and not as a screened tint, is used to provide an exact match of a corporate trademark, for example, or to create a screaming fluorescent yellow headline.

Applying varnish is another common application for an extra unit on the press. Varnishes, which are available in gloss, satin or dull finishes, are applied just like a solid ink. Varnishes can be spot applied precisely where they are desired, to create a variety of effects. A gloss varnish can help give a “wet” look to a photo of water, for example. Covering the background of an image with a dull varnish and the image itself with a gloss varnish—a step that would require two additional printing units—can increase contrast and help make the image leap from the page.

For more on varnishes and other coatings, see Ed #4