Greys,
shadows and gradients - Light greys, shadows and/or gradients
in logos do not fax or copy well! Printing designs with these
attributes on certain items (t-shirts etc) can also be problematic
and/or costly. If your design has any of these characteristics you
will be provided with a 'spot colour' version as well. You will also
get a suitable version for faxing and black & white printing
e.g. Yellow Pages.
Spot colour? The most effective logos
(especially in terms of cost) are those with up to three colours or
less. A design which uses spot colours can be matched with high
accuracy again and again across many different media
This method is generally less expensive because only a few colours
are used. Other terms of reference you might hear are '2' or '3
colour' which means that only black and either one or two additional
coloured inks are used
It follows then that (because each colour must be printed with a
separate plate on the printing press) fewer colours are needed to
print the job and therefore the less expense you will incur
See example of Spot Colour below
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Process
colour? - Also referred to as '4 Colour Process'. This method
must be used for printing full colour photos and designs
containing gradients and/or drop-shadow effects accurately
Instead of a pre-mixed ink for each colour, the image is broken up
into percentages of 4 standard colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and
Black (CMYK). When using this method of printing, a full color image
can be reproduced accurately. It is often more expensive but
unavoidable when printing color photos or designs with gradients and
drop-shadows. Exact colours are achievable across different media
but it can be difficult and takes more effort
See example of Process Colour below
How will it print? - The only way to
see exactly how the colour in the final print will look like is to
see a 'proof' from your printer (make sure that it is printed on the
same machine that your job will be output from). This also applies
to Spot Colours, however, spot colours can be assesed without the
need to go to print by viewing a Pantone Matching System 'swatch
book' (available for purchase or at your printers)
Designs by Eagle Imagery are provided with PMS reference codes
where necessary to enable you to assess 'real-world' colours
accurately
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In
summary - In most cases a logo should be designed for
spot color printing. It will be easier and less expensive to print.
On merchandise (T-shirts, mugs, vinyl signs etc) gradients and
drop-shadows are not out of the question but quality will be not
appear as good as the original
With a design using spot colours, reproduction will be consistent
and therefore more distinctive. So ask yourself - 'will that fancy
gradient effect cost me more in the long-run?'
If your logo is only for web use then there is no need to consider
a colour strategy (less that of 'colour psychology'!) and there are
few limits to what colours you may have in your design. However,
think of the future and consider that many businesses start up on
the web and then become 'bricks and mortar' companies needing
stationery and printed advertising!
And finally... All logos designed by
Eagle Imagery are initiated in 'vector' format unless otherwise
requested. The vector format is the industry standard method of logo
creation and it means that, unlike logos designed in 'raster'
programs such as Adobe Photoshop, they are infinitely scaleable
without any loss of quality. From vector format, your logo
can then be exported to almost any file format you desire |