What’s a spot color? And when should you use one?

A spot color is a single, premixed ink (like Pantone 7502 … hello, Boilermaker Gold!) used in printing to get exact, consistent color — and sometimes, to save money.
 
Spot colors are great when:

🎯 You need perfect color accuracy (brand colors, logos)
✨ You want something special (metallics, neons, pastels)
💵 You’re printing a one- or two-color job, like envelopes or letterhead, and want to keep costs down

Unlike CMYK, which builds color by blending four inks (cyan, magenta, yellow, black), a spot color is printed with its own plate — no guessing, no color shift, no surprises.

You can access and download Purdue-brand spot colors for Adobe programs here. Want to make our brand colors your default swatches in InDesign? Check out this tutorial. 

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