In printing, separating colors into component plates is called what?

In printing, separating colors into component plates is called what?

• A. Color separation
• B. Color balance
• C. Raster graphic
• D. Vector graphic

Answer: (A)

Separating colors into component plates is color separation. In printing, a full-color image is reproduced by dividing it into individual color channels, usually cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, with each channel printed on its own plate. When the plates run together in the press, their dot patterns blend to form the final image. This process is distinct from color balance, which is adjusting how colors appear in an image, and from raster or vector graphics, which describe different ways images are stored and scaled rather than how colors are separated for printing.

Separating colors into component plates is color separation. In printing, a full-color image is reproduced by dividing it into individual color channels, usually cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, with each channel printed on its own plate. When the plates run together in the press, their dot patterns blend to form the final image. This process is distinct from color balance, which is adjusting how colors appear in an image, and from raster or vector graphics, which describe different ways images are stored and scaled rather than how colors are separated for printing.