When a customer needed to produce detailed imagery using a nontraditional color palette, Dynamic Dies developed a three-spot-color solution capable of producing a range of nuanced tans, golds and browns.
Color management isn’t limited to bright, vibrant process work. Some of the toughest colors to reproduce consistently are the neutral tones — tans, browns, ambers and the subtle shades in between.
For a customer that does not typically run this type of detailed work, Dynamic Dies used fingerprinting and color management expertise to demonstrate what was possible. Starting with beer-inspired imagery with the goal of “brewing” the ideal shade for this client, our team developed a solution using just three spot colors rather than traditional CMYK.
The Challenge
The customer wanted to reproduce detailed imagery featuring a range of beer-inspired shades, from pale pilsner golds and amber ales to the deeper browns of porters and stouts. The challenge was creating this variation with a limited, nontraditional ink set.
Rather than relying on four-color process printing, we needed to determine how three spot colors could interact to create the tonal range and detail the images required.
The project called for:
- A broad range of tans, golds and browns
- Subtle differentiation between similar shades
- Detailed image reproduction
- Three spot colors rather than traditional CMYK
- A repeatable color target for production
The Approach
We began with reference images and developed the artwork around what could be successfully reproduced on press. Our team separated the imagery into three spot colors, then used fingerprinting to determine how those inks could be combined and screened to create a much broader range of tones.
Test plates demonstrated the possibilities. Using the same three spot colors, we produced several versions of the imagery with subtle variations in the finished shades. One might appear lighter or warmer, while another leaned deeper into amber or brown.
Those variations gave the customer a clear view of the achievable color range and allowed a preferred shade to become the target for production.
Ultimately, this is a different way to think about fingerprinting. The process isn’t only about reproducing bright CMYK graphics. It’s about understanding how inks perform together on press and using that information to manage color across whatever palette the job demands.
The Result
The finished test demonstrated that complex color doesn’t necessarily require a traditional four-color process. With three carefully selected spot colors, Dynamic Dies delivered detailed imagery with a range of distinct tans, golds and browns.
More importantly, the project gave the customer a defined, achievable color target and demonstrated a repeatable path for producing work outside its typical print mix.
Color Management Beyond the Expected
Bright colors may get the attention, but color expertise can matter even more when a job calls for the perfect tan, amber or brown. Dynamic Dies combines fingerprinting, color management and prepress expertise to determine the right approach for the work — whether that’s traditional CMYK or something entirely different.
Have a color challenge that doesn’t fit neatly inside the CMYK box? Let’s talk.
