What does Color Mean?
02/20/2007
It has been a week or so since I posted anything on my blog. I feel as though I have been slacking off here so I thought I’d make my article today as colorful as possible. Hopefully we have done a good enough job with our domain name, WePrintColour.com so that folks have gathered what we do. We have been active in this business for 30 years and if there’s one that that there is certainty with in the uncertainty of color and it’s uses in the world and in print. Over the last few weeks I have been very intensely involved with online software for graphic design and print. We have selected our color palette that will be available in our web-based system, but it wasn’t easy. Allot of study on color was necessary in order to make the right colors choices.
History of colour
Sir Isaac Newton (1642—1727) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer and philosopher well-known for the law of gravitation and accomplishments on the physics of coloring. Seven colours are, as a rule, distinguished in a spectrum- yellow, green, blue, red, indigo, orange and violet. In this prism spectrum Newton discovered that sunlight (white light) is separated into colored components when passed through a prism. Newton observed a sequence of colors ranging from violet / indigo, green, yellow, blue, and orange to red. This range of colours is the visible spectrum.
White light can also be separated into colors when it is reflected from thin films and layers. Many transparent natural objects form colors in this method. Oil on water, Soap bubbles and sea spume are prime examples of colours produced by diffraction through thin layers. A corresponding phenomenon of segmented colored light also known as Newton’s Rings can also be visualized in light reflected through a arched glass lens put on a mirror.
Newton’s rings (created using green monochromatic light) (from the Harvard Natural Sciences Lectures site: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~scidemos
Yellows
The Italian ancestors improved the lake making processes of the 
Egyptians and consummated Naples Yellow. Today, Naples Yellow is one of the oldest synthetic pigments with very strong subtly power.
Blues
Lapis lazuli (stone of azure) was originally used as a pigment by abrasion. The stone from which the color derives is know as The stone of friendship and truth. Even the best stone may contain up to 90 percent impurities. Upon the discovery of this color to the amazement of color makers the way in which the blue was removed that enlightened the Renaissance coloration palette. The bright, deep blue made by Lapis lazuli had awesome light fastness and also was the most expensive pigment known to man. In the year 1104 a German color artist “Diesbach” was manufacturing red lake pigments that required the application of potash as an alkaline. He accidentally used up all of the supply, and was forced to apply some that was contaminated with animal oils. To his discovery instead of manufacturing red he fabricated purple. Then he went forward to make blue, the first chemically synthesized coloring- Prussian Blue. Prussian blue is a prevalent coloring to this day and is also known for its technical mastery to fade in daylight and yet restore its dominance in the darkness!
Early nineteenth century in the Industrial Revolution, at the very beginning of the nineteenth century came new coloration processing potential. Scientists were motivated by the demand for new, increasingly permanent, colors plus were able to recover added minerals, ways and chemical biology to bring forth many of the colors that we see today as conventional.
Quick Facts on Cobalt Pigments:
| Cobalt Green | was first made in 1780 but didn’t become visible as a standard after Cobalt Violet was formed in 1860, as well as Cobalt Yellow or Aureolin (fabricated in1862). |
| Cobalt Blue | was invented in1802 by Thénard. |
| Cobalt Blue | is also well-known for its fast-drying and watercolor style. |
| Cobalt Blue | is an attractive transparent, granulating mid-blue of fine, long lasting color. It is vastly used in ceramics and also loved by artists with its subtle tinting technical mastery |
| Cerulean Blue | This color is cobalt that was made around 1805. |
By combining phosphorus in addition to cobalt oxide, aluminum, tin, zinc plus opposing metals, a diversion of colours can be made.
The cobalt pigments have never been cheap and the search persevered for a less expensive dark blue pigments for the color producers.
In the year 1820 a national prize of 6,000 francs was made in France
to someone who discovered a method of synthetically forming Ultramarine at a price of less than 300 francs per kg. Both the French and Germans went head to head for the race to make the color Ultramarine. It was J. B. Guimet who was successful in 1828. This was recognized as French Ultramarine since the pigment is chemically the same as Genuine Ultramarine. Ultramarine is physically finer and is without the contamination of lapis rock.
Chrome pigments
The isolation of unique contents in the late eighteenth century also played a role in making untouched colors.
In 1820 the discovery of chrome in USA facilitated a simple making of Chrome Yellow, a largely opaque, low-cost colours available in a variety of hues.
Although chrome colors were prone to darken, they stayed fashionable until the1990s, due to their good covering delegated authority, all at a very economizing price.
Let’s Rock and Roll with A Colour Concept
I can recall the first rock album I bought was “The Dark Side of the 
Moon”, 1973- a well-known Pink Floyd album. On the cover, the artist uses a descriptive characterization of the prism with the color spectrum used as a compelling optic changeling with desire, anticipation and apprehension.
Within the physics of color, our perception is explained as a part of an entity or quantity that results from the reflected light.
Coloring light is conducted in defined wavelengths, which are imaged by a looker as anomalous colors. The easiest clarification of color physics is to assign a small beam of white light (sunlight) through a prism and visualize how the white light is refracted and separated into deviant frequencies. Very similar to the graphic concept on the “Dark side of the Moon” album cover. The frequencies are transmitted through the opposing view of the prism as a spectrum or band of colors, from red, the lengthiest wavelength, to violet, the shortest.
A rainbow is an elemental example of sunlight graduating through millions of prisms-raindrops-to bring forth a naturally formed spectrum. 
A spectrum of colors shimmer because the diversified light is known
as iridescence. This optical phenomenon happens when we change the angle in which we view the surface of certain objects such as butterfly wings, bubbles or ocean mist. “Iridescence” is comes from the Greek word iris which means rainbow.
Colored light is of vital importance for film, theater, video, television and photography. Knowledge base of additive color mixture is important for people employed in this communication.
Additive primary colorations are red, green and blue, frequently are referred to as RGB. When white light is communicated through filters of these colors and 2 of the light rays are combined, they create the secondary colorations cyan, yellow and magenta.
In RGB you blend the three primaries Red Green Blue, the consequences white light.
Subtractive color pattern mixture is about the intermixture of pigments. This is where knowledge base of the color wheel assists in
Subtractive colour mixture to the applicability of the artist. Starting from subtractive mixing, the primaries are red, yellow and blue.
When two primary colors are mixed, they make the secondary colours like orange, green and violet.
When the 3 primary colors are compounded, the result is black.
There are 7 definite colorations of the spectrum accessible in diverse artistic media types, yellow, red, orange, green, blue, Indigo as well as violet.
Additive color patterns blending refer to the mixture of light. When you form colourized light, it acts greatly different compared to when you mix paint.
Ink Colors
The are basically 2 different types of ink processes that are applied in commercial offset printing. Spot color and CMYK Color.
CMYK Color
This is explained in great detail on the internet in a million places because it is the most commonly used and accepted form of printing professional offset printing. There is no limitation with color using this method. However you should know that this entire process in an optical illusion. Cmyk (4 color process) color uses the same 4 primary colors always. Cyan, Magenta, yellow and Black.
When CMY Colours are printed on the press printers use a color bar system at the tail end of every sheet so they can keep an eye on color and alignment of color (registration). It varies from company to company, but generally it will look something like this:
CMYK printing is actually quite simple in principle. For example this is a finished product that has gone through the complete generation of pre-press to press and finishing. In this example I have scanned the finished printed product instead of using the digital file itself. I have scanned it at a high resolution to illustrate the simplicity of CMYK printing.
Viewed at 100%
Zoomed in on the lion’s face 200%
Zoomed in on the lion’s nose at 400%
Zoomed in on the lion’s nose at 600%
We begin to see the way the colors are mixed, by tiny little dots that are in Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and black overlaying each other. When you zoom in really close you begin to see a honeycomb pattern. You can see when the dots meet or overlap each other how the illusion of millions of colors is created.
How does any of this information help when I want to order printing? CMYK is the most cost efficient, colorful and portable way to reproduce any photograph amazingly. But there are some limitations;
- Color constancy- When reordering CMYK printing you may notice slight fluctuations in coloring, particularly with royal blues and deep oranges. This is because these colors utilize high percentage values of each one on the four colours. Even with the most complicated on press, digital colour management this continues to be a silent secret in the CMYK printing trade.
- In ability to produce metallic or fluorescent inks- Because CMYK is principally based on printing inks on white paper, the paper servers as a color that ties it all together. To reproduce metallic, fluorescent or repetitive company colors the best method is Spot Color.
Spot Color
Instead of the above method spot color is first determined by using a pantone matching guide. This color system works very similar to the system used in choosing paint colors for your walls at home. You simply view a Pantone swatch book and choose your color by a number. That number is then mixed precisely on scales to make the same color every time. Pantone is a color management system that is VERY strict with the use of its trade reference. So I am reluctant to spend much time on it, as many of my associates have been legally threatened by Pantone and were requested to remove ALL mention of Pantone from their websites. That said, it is the international color system that printing companies use to keep their spot colors in sync day in and day out.
General Color Knowledge
| Blue | Within the chiropractic industry blue means oxygen, which can signify life and death? Blue shows adolescent, spirituality, truth combined with accord. Designers use blue to show perspective. Blue flowers are pacifying and may help lower blood pressure. |
| Yellow | Yellow stands for all apathies but is is also associated to decay and sickness. Hospitable and ravishing like the sun, a nice yellow to provide comfort to dreariest of rooms. For happiness yellow is your color, on the other hand gray is thought of as dismal. Yellow interprets as wisdom, cheeriness combined with brainy compulsion. Yellow roses show ecstasy together with affinity. A Yellow flower: empowers and provides relief from the blues |
| Red | In the doctoring field red is supportive to arthritis and green signifies bitterness. Red shows activeness, impudence, backbone together with cheerful readiness - Red is the colour most elected by men. Red roses are deciphered as romantic love. Red flowers actuate the brain wave behavior pattern and speed up rate of the heart beating. |
| Black | A room in the house colored in black may instigate distress. Black signals demise, terrain combined with endurance. Black is analyzed as self-confidence, power together with strength |
| White | White space in your composition can be used as an element for colors, it allows the conception to open up and can make big a project design seem smaller. White will signify Lucidity and Stainlessness. White roses are deciphered as significance of obeisance and humility. |
Fact: Colour is one of the most controlling, but poorly understood subjects of present day web design.
| White Space | When you create the large designs, an initial choice you need to make is colors of choice. White space in your composition can be used as an element for colors, it allows the conception to open up and can make big a project design seem smaller. White aren’t clearly without color. |
Colour and business tip- assortments in various tints can make it so you are able to acquire the perfect setting made to attract your perfect customer.
| Orange-Red | Hospitality businesses employ orange and reddish colors continually since they are well-known to entice appetite. Coral and orange roses mean expressed desire. |
| Dark Gray | Dark gray helps with an appreciativeness of dependability plus reliability. |
| Pink | Pink shows feelings of a lover, beauty together with tranquility. Brown signals soil, order together with observance- The red in brown delivers to this colour an anthropological feel. Pink roses render our gratitude together with valuing. Light pink roses interpret as respect and soul of kindness. Enjoy relaxation from pink flowers, relieves tension combined with is soothing |
| Orange | Orange translates to anxiousness together with hardiness. An Orange flower empowers and arouses |
| Gold | Gold expresses capital gains, economic growth together with foreknowledge. People who favor gold are usually prospering in life. |
| Green | Green symbolizes exuberance, environment, ferocity combined with well being. A green flower is stilling and relaxing mentally. Green provides assistance for those suffering from emotionalism and anxiousness. |
| Purple | Purple interprets as sovereignty, bewitchment combined with perplexity. Purple is the coloring for people that seek attention. Purple Roses interprets as the person that gives has fallen in love with the addressee immediately. Violet flowers provide a warm setting |
| Indigo | Indigo translates to clairvoyance; grace and deep discretion- Indigo can have negative impact when used during exercise |
| Grey | Gray is for Heartache, dependability combined with full development. |
| Peach | A Peach Rose is more inexplicit, as it can characterize similar sympathy or appreciativeness. |
Tags: paint color, about coloring, all about coloring, rgb color, color brown
In our business, the faster and more accurately we can put it together the happier our clients are. We strive to actually deliver your product early, to do this we need to count on our people and software we use. Illustrator has many Customizable templates for brochures, newsletters and stationery that help you get off on the right foot and allows you to adapt you them quickly and accurately, day in and day out. You can use Photoshop when I you an optimized web version or just export a vector file right from Illustrator.
