Total paint application

The term total inking is used in four-color printing , especially in offset printing , and indicates the maximum amount of printing ink ( ink , dye ) required to produce ( reproduce ) the required colors .

In four-color printing, a total color application of 240%, for example, means that the sum of the proportions of the basic colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) does not exceed this value. As a rule, the darker the color to be reproduced, the higher the total amount of color applied. A bold black, for example, could have the composition 80% cyan, 40% magenta, 20% yellow and 100% black, for a total of 240%.

The total amount of ink allowed depends on the production conditions for printing and the substrate used (e.g. paper ). For example, the total amount of paint directly influences the drying time.