4 color process printing is used in printing labels with photographic images. The four colors are combined to recreate color. Spot color printing is generally used for text and simple graphics printing in single colors. Pantone colors are frequently used for spot colors.
What is color separation?
Label artwork with “color separations” means that each color within the artwork has been broken down into a certain mixture of the four basic ink colors (cyan, magenta, yellow and black – CMYK) to create that color. Each color layer of your label is printed separately, one on top of the other, creating a full-color label.
