When it comes to choosing a printing press there are many options available, with different brands and arrangements of colour options. However, how do you know if you need a 4 colour, 6 colour or maybe even more when you buy your next used printing press?
Most people understand about the four colour arrangements. This process of printing uses the main ink colours of cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink, also known as CYMK. This is the most widely used offset and digital colour printing process.
Conventional offset printing is a lot more time-consuming than modern digital printing, which has transformed the industry with much shorter lead times and reductions in cost. Offset printing involves the use of separate printing plates. These must be set for each colour of ink and is suited for large runs where you do not need to keep changing the plate. Conversely, digital printing is much more economical for shorter runs.
Six colour printing takes the four colour options of CYMK and adds in orange and green inks, in a hexachrome range of colour. With the wider colour pallet to make your print, you can produce more vibrant images than just four colour alone. As well as the hexachrome option, there is also a dark/light variety which includes lighter shades of the cyan and magenta. This helps to create more realistic images.
8 Colour dark and light takes the six colour above and adds in a diluted yellow and a diluted black as well. Not only does this build on the photo-realism, it also creates less grainy imagery with smoother gradients.
There are also 10 colour and 12 colour options which can help to further enhance your printing collateral.
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We can help you source a machine quickly and help your business develop its offering with a more up-to-date machine. We work all over the world from our base in West Yorkshire, England and our experienced team can deal with any of your requirements. Just give us a call on 01924 263 339 or contact us online here.