Chapter 42: Color Fundamentals

Overview

You see color every day, so it probably seems like working with it should come naturally. But color is a complex issue in printing, involving both physics and chemistry . The inks that produce color are designed chemically to retain those colors and to produce them evenly, so your images don't look mottled or fade. How light reflects off of ink and paper to your eye determines the color you see, and many factors (particularly different textures of paper) can affect the physics of how the light carries the color.

You also have implementation issues to consider: How many colors can your printing press produce, and how much will it cost? When do you decide to go for the exact pure color, and when do you decide to go with a close-enough version that's cheaper to print?

This chapter explains the basic theory behind color and InDesign's use of it. Although color is part of your everyday life, in order to get it to look the way you want in your printed pieces you need a solid understanding of how it works.