PUB: Two-Color Gradients Don't Print Correctly in Spot Color

If you create spot color separations from a publication that has two-color gradient fills, those gradients are reduced to a single color gradient when you print the color separations. For example, if you are using red and blue as your two spot colors, and you have a gradient fill that goes from red to blue, the gradient only prints on the red plate when you print color separations.

Publisher does not provide a different halftone screen angle for each color plate. Because this feature is necessary to correctly separate two-color gradients, Publisher reduces two-color gradients to a single color.

If your publication requires a two-color gradient, you should consider having it printed on a digital color printer instead of by a printing press.

This feature is under review and will be considered for inclusion in a future release. Microsoft welcomes suggestions or comments about changes in functionality and product design.

When you print using a printing press, you achieve the effect of lighter and darker colors by a process called halftoning. A halftone is a pattern of dots which makes a region of ink look lighter than the ink color.

When you print a color separated print job on a printing press, each sheet of paper goes through the printing press three times (or through three different printing presses.) Each pass through the printing press adds another color of ink to the paper. If different colors of ink overlap, the dots that make up the halftone pattern may also overlap. At best, overlapping halftones appear muddy. At worst, they create an unwanted stripe effect called a moire pattern.