GN4 supports permanent (named) and quick colors (unnamed) that can be process or spot colors, with variable blending and tints.

Which colors you can add, delete and modify?

All colors but Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black are user-defined, and can be added, named, moved, copied, pasted, renamed, deleted, and overprinted or knocked-out (GN4 term = trapped) with other colors.

Which colors you cannot delete, rename or modify?

You cannot delete, rename, or modify the C, M, Y and K colors (respectivelly Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black).

Where the colors are stored?

Permanent colors are stored in database and they are common for all the titles that share the same typography. Quick colors are local for page objects or formatted text, and unlike permanent colors, they are not stored in the color table, and cannot be renamed.

Where you can create colors?

Create permanent colors in the EdAdmin4 > Editorial Configuration > Typography > Edit Colors or in the Page Editor Fred4 (Edit > Edit Colors), following an appropriate structured approach (adding only the colors which are really needed). Create quick colors when editing page or text.

How do you create colors?

Create permanent and quick colors by selecting CMYK or RGB values. Color picker or importing from color files, such as PANTONE, FOCOLTON, TRUEMATCH and similar is not supported by GN4.

About color profiles

Colors are managed by color profiles.

About spot and process colors

You can create colors as 'spot' or 'process' color types. Such colors correspond to the two main ink types used in printing.

Process colors are separated in four plates (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) during printing in color separation mode. Color separation  is carried out internally for text colors, page objects colors and - optionally - for certain type of EPS colors.

Spot colors are printed only on the related plate (additional to four basic plates cyan, magenta, yellow and black) during printing in color separation mode, and are never separated.

Any permanent color can be set to be either process or spot.

In the Color palette, you can identify the color type of a color using icons that appear before the name of the color: the process colors have a square icon, while spot colors have a round icon. Moreover, if the page is marked as a spot color page, all other spot colors are marked with a stop icon, to warn you that you are not supposed to use them on that page. This applies also on texts linked to that page.

In the Color editor, the spot colors are shown as circle.

See also

Process colors, Spot colors, Color separation, Creating a permanent color, Creating quick colors in Working with Color Set chapter.