Ever noticed 4 colored circled dots in the newspaper? Okay, I can hear you! You might ask what it is in for me?
Yes, it’s not a big deal, but this has been asked as a question in an IAS interview. Let’s get to know this unnoticed information.
Evolution of Newspaper
In those good old days, newspapers were entirely printed in black and white. And later we started receiving in color, as printing technology evolved.
Some of us have a habit of reading newspapers regularly whereas some do occasionally. (Yes, very few)
Yet many failed to notice the interesting part of newspaper printing.
These dots aren’t just decorative; they tell us a lot about the printing process. Curious to know what they are for? Let’s explore!
RGB vs CMYK: The Color Spaces
In digital displays, (for eg, mobile phones, and computers) RGB (Red, Green, Blue) color space is used and in printed materials, (books, newspapers) CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black) color space is used.
So initially the color will be in RGB, but in the printing process, RGB colors need to be converted into CMYK.
Why?
Because printing requires specific ink colors to accurately recreate the image on paper. CMYK is the industry standard for printing because it covers a wider range of colors for printed materials.
The same applies to the newspaper printing industry.
How Newspaper Printing Works
Here’s where it gets interesting: Newspaper printing uses separate color plates for each of the four CMYK colors. The process goes as follows:
-Cyan is printed first.
-Magenta follows.
-Yellow is next.
Lastly, Black (Key) is printed to give those rich, dark shades.
This combination of colors will end up with the complete process of printing.
Why it is printed at the bottom?
“The printing industry outflows more than 80,000 papers per day, according to research.”
It is difficult to check manually whether the paper has been printed in all the color plates. And so there you may see an encircled object which has all colors. It indicates that the paper has been printed across all four-color plates.
In short, it indicates a quick visual check.
If you see a blurred image or misaligned text in a newspaper, it usually means that the color plates weren’t perfectly aligned during the printing process.
This is how colors play their role in the printing industry.
These dots might seem insignificant, but they help maintain the quality of your newspaper.
Interesting right?!
Next time you pick up a newspaper, take a second to look for those four colored dots at the bottom of the page. You’ll know that they aren’t just random circles but an important part of the CMYK printing process.