When designing for print, color output is critical to the quality of the project. This will be a 10-part series on Trapping. Below is an exercise in the difference between Black (100% black) and Rich Black (100% cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) in printing, completed in Illustrator. The “A” on the top left is 100% black, while the “A” on the bottom right is rich black, a combination of 100% cyan, 100% magenta, 100% yellow, and 100% black. As you can see, the cyan rectangle behind the “A” on the top bleeds through the text, and the top half seems to be less dark, while the rich black maintains its color, not allowing any of the cyan to bleed through.

Here’s is a step-by-step walk through to complete this exercise:

First, create an illustrator file with 10 art boards, each 4.25 X 4.25 inches. We will complete the other exercises on the extra art boards later.

• Select a thicker font so that the objective can be more clearly seen
• Use the type tool to create two separate “A”s and scale them up
• Create two rectangles with the rectangle tool and use the swatch panel to fill them with 100% cyan
• Position both rectangles partially behind the letters
• Use the swatch panel to fill the “A” on the top left with 100% black
• Use the swatch panel to fill the “A” on the bottom right with 100% cyan, 100% magenta, 100% yellow, and 100% black, to create rich black
• In the Window menu, select the Attributes panel
• With both “A”s selected (not the rectangles), click Overprint Fill

To view the difference on screen between the 100% black and rich black, go to the View menu and click Overprint Preview. Then you should be able to see the difference between the two.

Shortcuts to remember:

• Window > Attributes > Overprint Fill
• View > Overprint Preview

Come back later for part 2, Partial Overlap in Printing!