Art, Ad, or Alchemy

Printing Color in the Real World

Mixing and matching inks in the real world. 

Published

1 month ago

May 21, 2024

Andy MacDougall

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IN EPISODE 21, Andy MacDougall and Madeline Hagy talk about color mixing, matching, and reproducing it on repeat jobs. It seems like the entire printed graphics world has turned to digital processing and imaging. The need — and skills — required for custom mixing and printing of spot colors faded into a blur of stochastic dots spit out by 4-, 6-, and 8-color print heads. The actual printing of a specific color is controlled by the algorithms of the computer and a button. Don’t get me wrong; that’s some fancy printing hardware and software. But nobody is mixing inks in the digital world.  

Screen printers, being a different species of printer, continue to work in a world where designers still call for spot colors, because it’s what we do. And Pantone, the color matching system that has been a worldwide common language between designers and printers since 1963, still remains in use.

All this and more on this episode of the “Art, Ad, or Alchemy?” podcast and companion column from the May/June digital edition.

ABOUT THIS PODCAST: Screen Printing: Art, Ad, or Alchemy? covers the wide variety of uses of the world’s oldest printing technology in its modern form. The podcast introduces listeners to the people and the magic behind the squeegee. From leading-edge medical devices fighting COVID, to fine art and rock posters, the clothes you wear and the teams you cheer for, the electronic devices and new energy sources that will guide our future – it’s a screen printed world out there, and host Andy MacDougall will take you into it.

Let’s Talk About It

Creating a More Diverse and Inclusive Screen Printing Industry

LET’S TALK About It: Part 3 discusses how four screen printers have employed people with disabilities, why you should consider doing the same, the resources that are available, and more. Watch the live webinar, held August 16, moderated by Adrienne Palmer, editor-in-chief, Screen Printing magazine, with panelists Ali Banholzer, Amber Massey, Ryan Moor, and Jed Seifert. The multi-part series is hosted exclusively by ROQ.US and U.N.I.T.E Together. Let’s Talk About It: Part 1 focused on Black, female screen printers and can be watched here; Part 2 focused on the LGBTQ+ community and can be watched here.