What's a 4 panel folder?
A 4 panel folder is a single piece of paper that folds once, in half - like a greeting card. There a total of 4 square "panels" that can be printed: two on the outside, and two on the inside.
A 6 panel folder folds twice; an 8 panel folds three times. A 2 panel insert is only a single piece of paper - no folds. |
What does 4/K mean?
The "4" refers to the four colors of CMYK process printing: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK. By printing tiny little dots of those four basic colors in different proportions, it's possible to approximate a wide range of colors. CMYK process printing is used frequently for magazines, newspapers, posters, billboards, and many other applications.
The "K" stands for blacK ink, which can be used to print both black and white "line art" or greyscale art.
"4/K" means that one side of the paper is printed CMYK, and the other side is printed with blacK ink only. If you open up a folder and lie it flat on a table, one side would be color, and the other would be black and white. Close the folder, and there's color on the outside and black and white on the inside.
For a more thorough explanation, see the introduction to printing section.
What is a 2 color disc?
The disc is printed using a totally different process than the paper products. Instead of CMYK inks, discs require premixed "spot color" inks from the Pantone library. If you wanted green in CMYK, you might create a "process color" that's 70% cyan, 0% magenta, 100% yellow, and 0% black. If you wanted a "spot color" green, you would select a particular ink from the Pantone catalog, such as "Pantone 360 C" or "Pantone 358 C".
What is a white flood?
The surface of the disc is a little tricky to print on. Much of it is dull metal, some of it is highly reflective, and the inner ring is clear plastic. Applying a solid coat of white to the disc before laying down any other colors can make the CD face a little easier to design for. It's like a coat of primer. |
