Difference between 1 colour, 2 colour, 3 colour, 4 colour offset printing

[Mudita Jain]

Hello guys

My company is planning to set up a printing press. Please tell me what is the difference between 2 colour and 4 colour printing ...Need it urgently!!

 

[turbotom1052]

the rate of pay for your help

 

[Georgie]

That's probably the best answer

Depends on what you have your sights.

1 colour means you're printing one color. Black. Or a spot color like blue or red or whatever. If you wanted to do process color, and have a press with good registration and patience, you have to run the paper through in 4 passes. You don't see the result until all four passes are complete. You rely on color bars and experience.

2 colour can be either a small press with shared blanket or two units. In one pass, you can run black and spot color blue for accents or borders or graphic elements in one pass. Or you can run process color in two passes. Still takes experience, has more waste, and time. Not many are doing process color on 2 colour machines over here with the cost of labour and how many 4+ colour presses are around with capacity.

3 colour would only be a specialty application like packaging - have never touched a 3 colour press. If you have the money for 3, you'd save up and get 4 so you can do process color.

4 colour means you can do process color in one pass with a unit for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.

Adding a perfecter in between units means you can do both sides in less colors or run straight to do process colors.

Hope that helps. See if you can work even for free for someone for a little while to get your feet wet before spending money on equipment.

 

[rolandman]

if yer dont know that dont bother

 

[Chris from Printshop]

if yer dont know that dont bother

I concur.

Printing isn't an easy trade to learn. Sure, it looks simple to the onlooker but that's because the people doing it have learned how to do it over several years. I've been doing it for nearly 20 years (every aspect of the work from meeting the customer to delivering the order) and I still learn something every day. It's a skilled job and many people decide it looks like an easy way to make money. They fail way more often than those who succeed.

Franky, those of use who have taken the time to learn the printing trade find it a little insulting when people come along and think it's just a case of pressing a green button on a machine and hey-presto, printing comes out of it. In a box with a label on top.

Do a google search for "dot gain", "litho blanket stretch", "halftone screening", "litho platemaking", "print trapping", "process and spot colour separation", "pre-sensitised platemaking", "raster image processing". If you can get your head round this lot in one go, then save up half-a-million-quid, spend it on some printing gear and have a bash at being a printer ... what have you go to lose?

 

[sketchprinting]

I really think that if you don't know something as basic as this then you should stay away from printing all together. We have been up and running for the last 14 years and my partners and I had on average 7 years prior to this in the industry and for the last 6 or so years have been lucky to have seen some success, having seen this; what I would term 'idiots' with some money have set up in direct competition with us thinking that they will be as successful as us. one was a taxi driver prior to setting up, another was in the car cleaning business and yet another was a car window tinter. They have no knowledge whatsoever and because of this have resorted to under cutting everyone to try and get business. Seriously though do some research, perhaps get into the design side of the industry first and then consider investing money.

 

[Michael4]

Sketch and Roland may be making a good point, Although a negative answer, its going to be quite a long road to learning an entire trade before you can begin learning this press. Even with hiring an experienced pressman/woman you wont have the knowledge needed to manage this person.

You may find it worth it to look into a digital press. You can lease the machine and receive all the training you need in about 8 hours.
In a few sort months you will know the machine very well, you can even start looking into self servicing the machine.

On your down time , maybe take a few classes on offset printing, or have someone tutor you a bit.
Like i said its a long road... I did my best to operate a 2 color ABDick press , and its not an easy job...

 

[oldfa*t]

As I read the posts about different peoples experiences, its quite clear that I'm not alone that when I hear of someone attempting to start in this business, I feel pending disaster. I remember being fascinated as a teenager, watching presses run,dreaming that someday I would be at the controls with that confident smile of approval while admiring the finished product.., well folks, it happened, but not without much sweat, back breaking labor, sleepless nights to meet delivery dates, disappointment because of un-for seen problems with different aspects of certain jobs. There are so many ways a commercial printing job can be rejected, ranging from wrong color to finished size of the knife, or folded wrong. I remember one job we printed that never made it out the door, printing was beautiful, boss came in as it was on the muellur, said scrap that job, needed water base coating on the cover. what a mess.
So if you dont have the experience behind you, I'd strongly suggest NOT making the big investment, get out the yellow pages

 

[fleming]

Hi,
Four-color process printing is also known as CMYK process and two-color printing is called spot-color printing. CMYK and spot printing take different approaches in creating print media, so always talk to the printer about your print job before you begin designing it. Both methods are used to reproduce images, artwork and various print media, quality and cost may vary based on the paper and quantity printed.

 

[plotter]

no please buy the press, and after a few months of it not working, sell it to me nice and cheap ;-)

 

[sketchprinting]

I'll pay you a little more than plotter - sell to me. oh and buy a morgana folder/creaser, I'll buy that as well

 

[Michael4]

Hmm ... i could use a new UV coater..And a padding press

 

[sketchprinting]

I'm just kidding! - seriously, look at the advice from these posters and do your research, you'll find that this is a great industry full of some great people.

 

[Michael4]

Its tough , but if its whats you really want to do ... You can do it.

 

[plotter]

The big trouble ive been experiencing lately, not so much with litho and digital printing, but we also do wide format. and there are soo many people buying these printers and undercutting to a point where its not worth having the machine yourself. Example i print banners roughly 6 foot by 2 foot full colour and sell for approx £60 - £70. Now someone local is selling them for as little as £30, and i know someone who haggled him down to £26.00?????
I know he new to it and is pricing to get the business but hes really not doing himself or anyone else any favours, many of these people think that these printers are the same as a desktop only much bigger, just press print and away you go.. Believe me no part of printing is like that
there is no money in doing it this cheap and if you do start into printing, please check your pricing as people like this are just going to kill our industry (********) oops am i allowed to say that
sorry

 

[mariasmith]

One color - black is preferred for classifieds and for basic printings -preferably text only or black and white printing.

2 colors - to provide contrast to the field. preferably 2 shades of black or a different color like magenta and black for pictures with shadows (I don't use this kind cause Its hard to use and has the same cost as 3-4 color)

3 colors - for color printings (cyan,magenta and yellow) It can print black but it would cost much ink because it would have to mix all the colors heavily to make black. (not recommended)

4 colors - all the colors plus black for colored printing. this is for magazines and colored news papers. We use this for our fliers and some ads for standout graphics(our company). Our printer is a special kind that can do basic 3d printing but basically its a 4 colors printer with some add-on to print in 3D and do basic printing as well.

My advice to you is to invest in the 4 color printer cause It can do the printing of all of these just change the settings and your good to go.

 

[plotter]

i do full colour work on a single colour machine? And the price difference between a single colour heidi 46 and a 4 colour heidi is phenominal...

 

[portlandjem]

As others have replied to this thread... I agree.. printing is a skill that has to be developed. Many think it is easy, but it is not. If you are looking to buy a press, I might suggest a good 2 color press if you don't know who your customers are, or what their needs are . It would fill all
your needs for 1,2,3,4 color etc. I've done a lot of 4 color process printing on a 2 color press. It does work, but your pressman has to know what he is doing.. and be a very conscientous printer, and the press has to be in decent shape too.. However, I prefer a true 4 color press over anything else available. It would give the maximum flexibility. It gives the customer the end result immediately, if they want to press check the job for color. I know that cost is a big issue here, but in the long run, the 4 color press is the best for the 4 color process printing requirements. If most of your work is PMS work, a 2 color press is the most cost effective, especially if it has a perfector unit (2 sides printed in 1 pass).