1. What is a Spot Color?

Printers use CMYK inks (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) mixed in different proportions to create a wide range of colors. However, this method cannot produce very vibrant colors (like fluorescent colors). For this purpose, special, more vibrant inks are created. These inks are not mixed but are applied independently to achieve brighter, more intense colors.

2. Why Use Spot Colors?

Typically, the four CMYK inks are sufficient to produce many rich colors. But to achieve even more vibrant color expression (e.g., making red redder or green greener), these specially bright colors must be used individually. The printer must be instructed to spray these inks independently, without mixing them with the standard CMYK colors.

3. Steps

This guide uses White Ink as the example for setting up a spot color. The process for other spot colors (e.g., fluorescent, varnish) is similar.

3.1 Select the White Ink Printing Method

In the “White & Special ink” window at the bottom left, select the “Shape” option under “Method”. This function allows you to precisely define which areas require white ink.

3.2 Set White Ink Output Amount and Choke

On the right side of the “White & Special ink” window, adjust the following parameters:

White Ink Amount/Density: Recommended setting is 100% (Reduce this value if excessive ink buildup occurs during actual printing).

White Ink Choke/Underfill: Typically set to a negative value (e.g., -0.1mm to -0.2mm) to prevent the white ink edges from bleeding outside the color areas. Adjust based on actual needs.

：White Ink Amount

：White Ink Choke

3.3 Spot Color Channel Setup Complete

4. Next Steps

You have now completed the Spot Color channel setup in PrintFactory software!

Next, you can proceed to the PrintFactory Software RIP Setup Guide to configure the RIP settings.