Color separation is the process of separating original full-color digital files into individual color components for four-color process printing. Each element in the file is printed in a combination of four colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, known in the commercial printing world as CMYK.
CMYK 4-color offset printing process
By combining these four ink colors, a broad spectrum of colors is created on the printed page. In the four-color printing process, each of the four color separations is applied to a separate printing plate and placed on a single cylinder of a printing press. As sheets of paper run through the press, each plate transfers an image in one of the four colors onto the paper. The colors, applied as tiny dots, combine to produce a full-color image.
A commercial printing company handles the work of creating the color separations for most projects. The company uses proprietary software to separate digital files into the four CMYK colors and to transfer the color-separated information to plates or directly to digital presses.
Most print designers work with the CMYK model to more accurately predict the appearance of colors in the final printed product.
