There are two different ways colour can be applied when creating your artwork: spot color and process color.
- Spot color is a method of color generated by either pure or mixed ink, that is then printed using a single run.
- Process color uses four or more standard ink colours (CMYK) in very fine screens so that many thousands of colours are created.
While Spot color is beneficial when exact colours are required, not all publishers can use spot colors. This can sometimes be due to the printers' unable to produce the spot color, and will - therefore - error during print. Generally, process colors are used to accommodate the printer's regulations.
Any issues with Spot Colors are flagged in the pre-flight report as the following errors:
- Spot Color is Used
How to fix this Error
Please ensure that you change your colours from Spot Color to Process Color in InDesign. Do this by right-clicking on your swatch, selecting Swatch Options, and changing the Colour Type from Spot to Process.
