What is registration in printing?
Registration is how precisely the separate ink plates (cyan, magenta, yellow, black and any spot colors) line up on the sheet; when they don’t, edges show color fringes and small type blurs.
What it means for your file
This is why small text and fine lines should be printed in one ink. The “Registration” swatch in design programs is 100% of every ink, meant only for printer’s marks, never for artwork.
An example
A small headline in a dark blue built from C100 M80 prints on two plates. If the magenta lands a fraction of a millimeter off, a thin cyan or magenta edge shows along one side of every letter. The same headline in 100% black or a single Pantone ink prints on one plate, so it can’t misregister against itself.
A common mistake
Using the Registration swatch for black text or artwork. It looks black on screen but is 100% of every ink, 400% in total, so it prints muddy, smudges and shows color fringes. Leave it for crop marks and registration marks, which the PDF export adds for you.
How to fix it
If your printer sent the file back saying “Text is set in Registration color,” the fix page has the step-by-step way to do it yourself, and a fixed price if you’d rather have it done.
Where else it comes up
All print terms in the glossary, or run your file through the free print-ready checker.
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