Full Color Label Printing – 4 Color Process
About 4 Color Process Labels
Our flexographic and digital label presses use a “4 color process” to achieve high definition, full-color results. Commonly known as “CMYK”, these 4 colors stand for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (Black).
In flexographic printing, the label artwork’s colors separate into ink levels of CMYK. This separation is used to create printing plates and each plate prints a single color. With all four printing plates combined, the CMYK inks create photographic quality images.
Achieving Crisp Images and Color Accuracy
- Full-color 4 color process labels can help your product stand out on the shelf and make your brand more memorable.
- Most other label companies can only print up to 8 or 10 colors – we can print up to 12 colors with flexographic printing!
- Gradient colors can be hard to print but we’ve got it down to a science so you can further customize your label look.
Spot Colors and 4 Color Process Labels
Since normal CMYK inks mix during the printing process, minor differences in color occur when printing at high volumes. Using spot colors, however, avoids this entirely.
Spot colors are inks that are premixed to their needed level by a computerized ink matching system, then used during the printing process to achieve a higher level of color consistency. Spot colors will grant you acute accuracy and consistency with every press run. In a flexographic press, they use up to 12 different colors in a single run; digital presses can use up to seven spot colors in addition to CMYK colors for a total of 10 colors.
Why ‘K’ for Black?
As mentioned earlier, the ‘K’ in CMYK stands for ‘key.’ A key printing plate’s use is to print the detail in the image. Without a key plate, the images typically lack any detail because the key color’s use is to provide lines and contrast. Since black is the most commonly used key plate color, the ‘K’ in CMYK is synonymous with black.
To ensure color quality on 4 color process labels, we recommend you design your label artwork in CMYK mode.
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Further Reading
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Testimonials
I’ve been ordering labels from Consolidated for over 15 years and they are great. Quality labels and great customer service. I’ve had the same sales rep since the beginning and she’s the best!
~ Shelli
Century Systems
I wanted to tell you how great these labels look! They exceeded my expectations, and I’m very pleased with the quality and feel.
Eric
ELM Video Technology, Inc.
Thank you guys. I had some trouble with the labels from another company but you guys did it right the first time.
Alex W.
Superior Cleanse
Your customer service rep worked with me to find the exact substrate I was looking for and managed the project seamlessly from start to finish. The online tool for proofing and ordering is also fantastic. I will definitely use you guys again in the future.
Daren G.
One of the most efficient customer service representatives I have ever had the pleasure of working with…Thank you again, and great job!
Mike B.
CAP Carpet Inc.