Colors and Tier 5: What You Need to Know

There are few hard and fast rules about color in Tier 5, but there are project-by-project considerations you should take into account.

Tier 5 is best suited for Direct-to-PDF, but the purpose of your PDF has a bearing on the choices you make in determining your approach in WriteRAP. Will you send your PDF to a printer? Will you make it available only digitally? Do you expect it to be printed?

Our one rule (break at your own risk): A PDF file that is going to be professionally printed should not incorporate 4-color design. Word works in RGB, not CMYK and has no internal mechanism for good color separation to CMYK.

Spot colors might be manageable by your printer - at a cost, and only if the color application is uncomplicated and applies to distinct elements. When creating a Tier 5 2-color template that is intended to print, do ensure that your printer can work with the file.

A PDF file that will be made available digitally has no color restrictions, although you might consider the end user's role. If it is likely to be printed on an ink-jet printer somewhere, bear in mind that your colors will not be represented accurately.

If you prepare a template with color for digital-only delivery and later that design is selected for a print project, you will probably want to have your vendor convert the template to a one-color version.

WriteRAP files are flexible - your needs determine whether to use color and how. Contact the CMS team or superuser if you have questions about your file.