Do you know the purpose of four coloured dots at the bottom of the newspaper pages? Click to learn details
Do you know the purpose of four coloured dots at the bottom of the newspaper pages? Click to learn details
In today’s digital world, while many people choose to read news online, some still enjoy the experience of a newspaper, often accompanied by a cup of tea. Newspapers have changed significantly over time in terms of content and design, but certain aspects have remained constant. You may have noticed four small colored circles at the bottom of newspaper pages. These dots raise the question: what are they for and what do they signify?
The function of the colored dots
These dots act as markers to ensure that colors are correctly aligned during the printing process. You might remember that the primary colors—red, yellow, and blue—cannot be created by mixing other colors. However, these three can be combined to produce a wide range of different shades. Printing technology builds on this idea by adding black as a fourth color.
In newspapers, the four colored dots represent the CMYK color model: ‘C’ stands for Cyan (blue), ‘M’ for Magenta (pink), ‘Y’ for Yellow, and ‘K’ for Black.
This is how newspapers became colourful?
The process of making newspapers colorful relies heavily on the CMYK color model. This model involves using separate plates for each of the four colors during printing. For vibrant and clear images, these plates need to be perfectly aligned. If they are not, the images can turn out blurry or have incorrect colors. This method isn’t exclusive to newspapers; it’s also applied in the printing of books and magazines. The CMYK color model was first introduced by the Eagle Printing Company in 1906 and has since become a standard practice in the printing industry.
