1 Reply Latest reply: Nov 18, 2012 11:08 AM by Monika Gause RSS

    Considerations when designing for spot vs. process color?

    TCarp Community Member

      I'm helping a friend start up a clothing business.  It's just him, and I'm providing some computing knowledge.

       

      He is the designer and has been building his first set of graphics using AI.

       

      He's selected the first two "printers".  He ran into some price differences with a vendor that used spot colors vs. one that was process.  I could give him a basic understanding of spot vs. process, but ran out of understanding when it came to questions like "Why the price difference?".

       

      Would appreciate some explanation for things like "What kind of printers would shops with spot be using vs. those that do process?", "As the designer, are there reasons he would choose one method over the other?".

       

      He will be producing both embroidered and printed media on different fabrics (cap, 2-3 different quality cloth).  There will be different colors (for a particular design), and the size and location of the print/embroidery will vary (on the garment).  All in all, there will be less than 12 variations each for color, size, and 12 location.

       

      Along with the spot/process question, he's also being asked for different formats than he'd expect.  Given my understanding that AI produces vector, if a vendor (the embroidery shop) asks for JPEGs, are they assuming he's done the scaling?

       

      Will continue to do online searches and will post back if I figure this out.

       

      Tom

        • 1. Re: Considerations when designing for spot vs. process color?
          Monika Gause CommunityMVP

          The print shops should be able to explain the price difference and which one is more durable (depends on the printing process). Probably the one using spot colors does screen printing.

           

          Regarding the embroidery: you should definitely clearly communicate which size the embroidery should be. It can be scaled within some limit, but you shouldn't rely on the service people interpreting the graphic's size and resolution.