Farbauszüge

Farbauszüge, also known as color separations, are a fundamental process in traditional offset printing and certain digital printing workflows. The process involves breaking down a full-color image into its primary constituent colors, typically cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK). Each of these colors is then reproduced on a separate printing plate or digital file.

During the printing stage, each individual color separation is inked with its corresponding ink and transferred to the substrate, such as paper, in precise registration with the other colors. The combination of these transparent inks on the substrate, when viewed as a whole, recreates the original full-color image. This technique relies on the subtractive color model, where the inks absorb certain wavelengths of light and reflect others.

The creation of farbauszüge can be achieved through analog methods using optical filters and film, or digitally using scanning and specialized software. Digital color separation is now the dominant method, where images are scanned or created digitally and then processed into CMYK channels. Accurate color separation is crucial for achieving faithful color reproduction in the final printed product. Variations in the separation process, such as the use of different color profiles or ink sets, can significantly impact the final appearance of the printed image.