The American Printer: A Manual of Typography / Containing practical directions for managing all departments of a printing office, as well as complete instructions for apprentices; with several useful tables, numerous schemes for imposing forms in every variety, hints to authors, etc.

by Thomas MacKellar

CONTRAST OF COLOURS.

It is wrongly supposed that the art of arranging colours so as to produce the best effects in printing is entirely dependent on the taste of the operator; for harmony is determined by fixed natural laws. The increasing demand for decorative or ornamental work renders it of some importance to the letter-press printer to make himself acquainted with these laws; as, without some attention to them, the most elegant designs of the type founder, and the finest inks that can be made, may yield but an indifferent, if not a decidedly unpleasing, result.

The following remarks will be of use to persons to whom the subject is new; but for a thorough explanation of it they should refer to Chevreul on Colours,—a valuable work in the French language, which has been translated into English.

I. We may, in the first place, consider WHITE LIGHT as composed of three primary colours—blue, red, and yellow—duly blended; these three, in an infinite variety of proportion, serving to produce all the hues in creation. If we take any two of these primaries and mix them, we have a secondary colour. Thus, blue and red form violet, blue and yellow give green, red and yellow make orange. Each of these secondary colours harmonizes perfectly with the primary which does not enter into its composition. Violet, for instance,—itself a mixture of red and blue,—harmonizes with yellow; green, having no red in its composition, agrees well with red; orange, in the same way, forms a perfect contrast with blue. Either of these contrasts has the effect of mutually brightening the colours employed; a red and a green, &c. being more beautiful when placed side by side than when viewed singly. This is termed the HARMONY OF CONTRAST OF COLOURS; and a good example of it is seen in the scarlet geranium, or the holly; the one showing a light green leaf opposed to a bright red flower, and the other a deep green leaf with a dark red berry.

The mixing of colours is a very different thing from contrasting them; for strange as it may seem, although one combination of the primary colours gives white, yet another proportion will produce black. While, then, red and green look beautiful side by side, it does not generally answer to print red ink on green paper. The reason is, that as the ink is slightly transparent, some of the green shows through it, and appears somewhat black, and thus lowers the brilliance of the red in the same degree as so much black ink would, if mixed with it. This remark will apply to orange or yellow on a blue paper, &c. The darker and fuller the body of colour used, the less it is affected in this manner.

The most perfect contrasts are those above mentioned, which are formed by the complementary colours; yet the primaries blue, red, and yellow also agree well together. But if such colours as are not in harmony are placed near each other, the effect is very damaging to their brightness. While red is made more brilliant by the proximity of green, it is dimmed and spoiled by placing it next an orange. Neither blue nor red contrasts well with violet, because the latter contains each of these colours in its composition. In any case where they must come into juxtaposition, the unpleasant effect may be lessened by adding a little of the opposite colour: so, if a violet is to contrast with red, it will be well to give it a shade of blue, making it more purple; if, on the other hand, it is to contrast with blue or green, it should be made redder.

II. Colours with Black. In all contrasts, the depth of the colour is an important element, but especially so in such as are to be affected by the presence of black. In but few instances will the latter bear the neighbourhood of a very deep colour to advantage, while it harmonizes with the lighter ones by contrast of tone. Yellow, from its near approach to white, should always be worked “full;” orange and green should also be full, and moderately deep in tone, to contrast with black. If a blue is employed, it should be light, or it will impoverish the black and be weakened itself. A very light blue border, with a broad margin of white between it and the body of matter enclosed, will give a clean, bright look to black ink, and whiteness to the paper. A light pink (such as carmine reduced with flake-white or with clear varnish) is also good; yet perhaps the preceding is preferable. Dark and heavy borders are frequently a positive injury to printing, where the working in a light shade would have secured a good effect; for the border should always be so far secondary to the matter enclosed as not to draw off the attention too much to itself.

III. Colours on Tinted Papers and Tinted Grounds. Besides the kind of harmony already mentioned, there is another, which is produced by the contrast of light and dark shades of the same colour. This might be employed in letter-press more frequently than it is at present, with some advantage, as the effects it is capable of yielding are very chaste and pleasing. In a photograph or an engraving, all the effect is dependent on difference of tones of one colour; and the beauty of a wood in summer consists chiefly in the contrast displayed by a variety of shades of green only. A deep green ink on a paper of a light tone of the same colour is especially good, if a heavy letter is used; and indeed in most printing in colours, full, solid-faced letter should be preferred to outlines or shaded ones, which are difficult to work, and have at best but an inferior appearance unless the darkest tones are employed. A deep blue on a light blue ground, or against a light blue border, is also good; and without the latter accompaniment it is not unpleasant on a blue wove writing-paper. To secure the proper effect, however, the tints should be of the same hue; that is, if the groundwork is of a bluish green, the colour that is to be worked upon it should also be a green inclining to blue; if, on the other hand, the ground is of a yellower green, the body of ink should also be yellower; and so on. This may easily be managed by adding a small portion of ink of the colour required, until the hue is matched.

IV. Neutral Tints. In selecting borders for the more chaste description of printing, it is a pretty safe rule to avoid such as cover much surface, if they are to be worked in any strong colour or in black. When lighter tints are used, they will bear extension over a larger surface; and in this case a pale gray or neutral border will have a beneficial effect on any body with which it is contrasted, as well as on black itself, which is purified by its proximity. If the central printing is in black only, or in black and yellow, a lavender gray may be substituted for the border. And in any case in which the central matter is all in one colour, it will improve it to have a border of gray which is slightly tinged with the complementary of such colour. Thus, if the body be red, a very small portion of green may be added to the gray; and so forth.

It must be remembered that in ornamental printing absolute cleanliness is indispensable. The same roller should never be used for different colours, even after it has been washed. Instead of hanging exposed to dust and to the air, rollers should be kept in a tightly-closed box; and in this manner they will remain a long time in good order. The tins of ink should be similarly preserved, and the lids never left off except at the moment of using from them. These are small matters; but it is only by patient attention to minute details that excellence can be attained in printing.