Solid areas of colour in particular solid black, can pose a problem if its not been set up correctly.

Most artwork we see is set up with full colour black, which means that the black is made up from within the full colour set, there will be a percentage of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black.

This is fine if the whole colour make up is less than 200%, Eg 50% or less of all C,M,Y,K colours.

If 200% colour density is exceeded, then the paper its being printed onto will become saturated that its unlikely that the ink will dry properly. Should this be the case then this will cause ’set-off’, which is where the ink transfers from one print to another, which is a huge problem.

With regards to solid black areas, the crucial colour is obviously black, more often than not solid black areas have the black set to less 100%,  which means it will never achieve full 100% black.

If a black solid area only consists of black ink only then the result can be quite dull and becomes a matt black, even on gloss paper.

So other colours can be added into the mixture can help to ‘deepen’ the black, this is whats known in the trade as ‘Rich Black’ and needs to be made up of the following.

For a deep black, 100% Black (K), 50% Cyan (C), there is some room for a small percentage of magenta here too but never any yellow!. Yellow can make the black appear grey as it lightens it. On screen this will look fine, but if any percentage of yellow is added then this will water down the black, similar to adding white to it, so try to avoid yellow being present if at all possible

For a roll folded leaflets the In order to create artwork for a A4 folded to DL, or 6pp DL leaflets you need to divide up the 6 panels, creating 3 vertical panels each side. Imagine the document is flat A4 landscape, and you are looking at the outer cover side, so what you see is document which is 297mm wide x 210mm high (without bleed). Measured from the left to right, the left hand panel is 97mm wide, the centre panel (back cover) is 100mm wide and the right hand panel (front cover) is also 100mm wide.

The opposite is then the case on the other inside spread. Again reading from left to right. The Leaflet hand panel (inside front cover) is 100mm wide, the centre panel (inside of back cover) is also 100mm, then the right hand panel is 97mm. By having the flap panel slightly shorter on its width allows it to slide within the fold neatly without obstruction. The term ‘roll folded leaflets‘ is trying to describe the way in its its folded, the ‘flap panel’ is rolled over the next panel and then the next panel before its flat folded.

Don’t forget to add ‘bleed‘ to these measurements.

Colour is also used to suggest freshness, with bright blues, greens and yellows being the colours most often chosen where vitality and sparkle are associated with the product.

Obviously, where there is an association with fresh water and coolness, blue has a prominent role, as does green for the promotion of field sports and other outdoor pursuits. Fresh fruit and vegetables, which stress freshness and goodness ask for the same kind of treatment, stressing freshness and goodness.

The use of pastel colours is also much in evidence in packaging for pharmaceutical products, but the nature of some products, such as medicines, demands that they be presented in a bright, fresh, clean manner, suggesting much the same quality of health associated with eating fresh fruit and salads.

We have seen a surge in all things green over the past 2 years or so, the use of lime green and yellow for leaflet printing, I would go so far as to say its been the most common colour for flyer printing we have seen printed bar none.

It seems everyone has been at it, we even came across the biggest brand in the world – ‘Coca Cola’ having a go.