Printers Terminology

Duotone

A two-color halftone of the same images created with two screens, two plates, and two colors. Most halftones are one-color halftones, printed with black ink on white paper. By blending the black of the tiny ink dots and the white of the paper, the human eye sees shades of gray. Duotones are made by printing an image with two colors, generally black and a second color. The full range of tones are printed black and the middle range of tones are printed in the second color. The result is a striking image with more richness and depth that a one-color halftone. The image can be further enhanced by printing a tritone or a quadratone; these are also reproductions of black and white images, perhaps with a touch of color. The cost of printing tritones or quadratones may be as high as or higher than four-color process printing. See also four-color process, halftone, quadratone, screen, tritone.

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