Services for Screen Printing Industries Full Color Separation

Mastering Spot Color Separations with Underbase in Screen Printing

Spot color separation is a fundamental technique in screen printing, meticulously used to isolate each distinct color in a design, whether those colors are intended to mix or stand alone. In this method, every color in your artwork is represented by its own unique ink, leading to crisp, vibrant results. While spot colors are the ideal choice for printing text, solid lines, and block areas of color, they're generally not used for reproducing full-color photographs or designs that feature complex gradients involving a wide spectrum of tones.

However, it's important to note that some direct, or spot, colors can indeed incorporate gradients and halftones. This means that while a design might rely on a specific spot color, that color can still be manipulated to show transitions from dark to light, or to create shading effects, as long as it remains within the scope of that single ink.

When a design features very basic, easily identifiable solid color fills, we refer to this as a spot color separation. The number of spot colors we can effectively use in a design typically ranges up to 12, depending on several factors. These include the type and color of the garment (darker garments often require an underbase, which counts as a color), and the overall order quantity, which influences the setup and production efficiency.

The Versatility of Spot Colors: PANTONE® and Beyond

PANTONE® Solid Colors are widely recognized and utilized as the primary matching basis for spot color separations. This globally recognized system provides a consistent standard for color reproduction, ensuring that your specific brand colors or design elements are accurately matched every time. However, the flexibility of spot color printing means that virtually any color can be used, whether it's a specific PMS (PANTONE® Matching System) color or a custom-mixed shade.

Spot colors are incredibly versatile and are frequently added to other separation types, particularly Four-Color Process (CMYK) printing. They serve to enhance certain colors that are difficult to achieve with CMYK alone, or to address "out-of-gamut" problems where a desired color falls outside the reproducible range of CMYK inks. By incorporating a spot color, you can ensure that critical elements of your design, like a brand logo's specific shade of blue or a vibrant green, are perfectly matched and pop off the garment.

One of the greatest advantages of spot colors is their highest opacity, especially when compared to process inks. This superior opacity allows for the most flexibility when printing on dark substrates like black or navy T-shirts. When combined with an underbase (a base layer of white ink), spot colors lay down brightly and accurately, preventing the dark fabric from dulling or changing their intended hue. This ensures that your design's colors remain true and vibrant, no matter the garment color.