1
1-8
Desktop Color Primer
Once you have mastered the concept of the color wheel, you have a good framework
for experimenting with color combinations. Many books targeted at graphic designers
show groups of preselected color combinations. Some are organized by themes or
moods, and some are based on a custom color system such as PANTONE. The more
you develop a critical facility for judging color combinations, the more you will be able
to trust your own eye for color. The Bibliography at the back of this manual includes
books on design.
Color and text
It is not a coincidence that the overwhelming majority of text you see is printed in
black on white paper. Text in black on white is highly legible and is not fatiguing to
read for extended periods. For many color materials, using black text on a white
background and confining color to graphic elements and headings is a good choice.
Color text can add flair to documents printed on paper when used skillfully, and is
widely used in presentations. When using color text, avoid dazzling text and
background combinations created from primary complements, especially red and cyan
or red and blue; they are visually fatiguing and hard to read. Color text is more legible
when distinguished from its background by a difference in lightness—for example,
dark blue text on a light beige background. In addition, using many different colors in
a string of text makes for a confused appearance and is hard to read. However, using a
single highlight color is an effective way to draw the reader’s eye to selected words. See
plate 10 for color text samples.
When using color text, keep in mind that small font sizes typically do not print in
color with the same sharpness as in black. In most applications, black text prints
exclusively in black toner, while color text usually prints with two or more toners. Any
misregistration between the different toners on paper causes color text to lose
definition. You can make test prints to find the smallest point size at which color text
prints clearly. When using high-end graphics applications that allow you to specify
color as percentages of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, you can create pure cyan or
pure magenta text that prints with the same sharpness as black text. (Pure yellow text is
extremely hard to read on anything but a dark or complementary background.)
