# 4 color process = 6 color in silk screening



## DMP (Jul 17, 2008)

Hey folks. I'm relatively new to the t-shirt business. I called a silk screen printer asking for 6 color silk screen printing and was told 4 color process will provide the same effect. True? or Snow Job? He's using plastisol ink - if that makes a difference.


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## out da box (May 1, 2007)

You can get 1000 colors using 4 color process, just like you can from a desktop printer even though they only use 4 colors-most of the time- c,m,y, and k.


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

DMP said:


> Hey folks. I'm relatively new to the t-shirt business. I called a silk screen printer asking for 6 color silk screen printing and was told 4 color process will provide the same effect. True? or Snow Job? He's using plastisol ink - if that makes a difference.


4 Color Process / Full Color process is printed CMYK. Plastisol CMYK inks are transluscent and mixes printed pixels to create an unlimited color graphic. But it depends in your graphic is best suitable for CMYK or 6 Spot colors. Perhaps posting your graphic on here can let us help you a little better.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

DMP said:


> I called a silk screen printer asking for 6 color silk screen printing and was told 4 color process will provide the same effect. True?


Sort of. Well, he's not being dishonest at all. Four colour process will give you a full colour image, but not necessarily the same effect. Sometimes spot colour just looks better.


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## antman428 (Sep 1, 2007)

Not to mention 4 colors should cost less than six, on my price list anyway.


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## boxcar22 (Jul 31, 2008)

Without seeing the image it's hard to say, but if you have areas of solid color in your image, go with the six spot colors. You'll get richer individual colors than if you try and simulate it with CMYK (4 color process).
Just what I've found in my own experience.


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## tdigital (Sep 14, 2008)

It really depends on how well the separations are made and how well the pressman can compensate for color balance issues (squeegee angle, pressure, etc) while setting the job up.


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## coachie (Jun 23, 2009)

I agree with Boxcar, you can't get real vivid saturated color with process inks. If you have a real "broken up" image with a lot of detail and subdued tones it may be suitable for process color but if the image has large bold color fields or limited color range I'd opt for simulated spot colors. Good luck!


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