(slightly OT) 4 color?

[Fast Learner]

No indeed. It's been many years since 4-color has been the printing method of comics. Nowadays they use real slick computer-colored methods on slick paper.

Well, not exactly.

Comics are still printed using four colors of ink, and they are indeed Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black.

The big difference is that today's comics have a much higher line screen (smaller dots) and the coloring and separations is performed on computers. In the "four-color" days it was very common for the coloring to be done by applying (manually) either "Zipatone" or "BenDay" rub-on dot patterns to transparent sheets for the additional (non-black) colors. In the "four-color" days of Jack Kirby and others you could very clearly see the dot patterns. Today the dots are so small that in high-quality comics it takes a magnifying glass to see them.

Still technically four-color, though.

 

[Scarogoth]

Well, not exactly.

Comics are still printed using four colors of ink, and they are indeed Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black.

The big difference is that today's comics have a much higher line screen (smaller dots) and the coloring and separations is performed on computers. In the "four-color" days it was very common for the coloring to be done by applying (manually) either "Zipatone" or "BenDay" rub-on dot patterns to transparent sheets for the additional (non-black) colors. In the "four-color" days of Jack Kirby and others you could very clearly see the dot patterns. Today the dots are so small that in high-quality comics it takes a magnifying glass to see them.

Still technically four-color, though.

Quite so. It's just that you got here before me! And before anyone jumps on me, I know there are Hexachrome printing methods these days, but they're still very far from common. CMYK will be around for a while yet, I shouldn't wonder.

Anybody that's really interested in Colour management could look at: This link, which is about as up-to-date as you could want, I would think.

:-Dunx.

 

[kreynolds]

I've seen the phrase "4 color" several times on these boards. I must admit, I don't know what the phrase means...except in T-Shirt printing. Could someone enlighten me? Thanks.

It's a general printing term, so you aren't far off. It's also a term that makes people feel better about themselves when they say it because they know that someone out there doesn't know what it means, IIRC, but YMMW, IYKWIM, AITYD.

 

[Fast Learner]

Quite so. It's just that you got here before me! And before anyone jumps on me, I know there are Hexachrome printing methods these days, but they're still very far from common. CMYK will be around for a while yet, I shouldn't wonder.

Aye, indeed. I didn't even want to get into Hexachrome (there's another 6- or 7- color process, too, IIRC), extra spot colors, double-hits, foils and other stamping, etc., all of which appear in occasional comics (special editions and such, even on the inside).