Spot colour

What it means in packaging

It can represent a dedicated ink or a production instruction such as a cut contour or varnish area. Its name and separation behaviour matter to the receiving workflow. The screen swatch only previews it and does not establish the physical result.

A practical example

A dedicated cut separation can show a bright outline on screen while remaining separate from the printed package artwork.

What to check

Agree exact separation names and inspect them in the printer’s preflight workflow.

Use it in your project

• Print checks and production exports
• Choose board, caliper and finishes

Related terms

Overprint

Overprint is a print instruction to retain underlying colour when another object is printed over it.

Cut line

A cut line indicates a path where material is intended to be cut through, such as a package outline or window.

PDF

PDF is a document format used to exchange fixed-layout pages containing artwork, text and production information.