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Did you know there are actually different ways to trap colors? Two of the most common techniques are called spread and choke. When two different colors meet in a design, there’s always a risk that they won’t align perfectly during printing (a problem called misregistration). If there’s even a tiny gap, it can leave a white line or cause colors to bleed in weird ways. Spread and choke are ways to fix that by nudging one color slightly into another to create a smooth, seamless edge.

A spread pushes the lighter color outward so it slightly overlaps the darker color. Think of it as the light color “growing” a little to fill any potential gaps. Imagine a yellow circle on a black background. If there’s misalignment, you might get a thin white outline around the yellow. So with spreading, the yellow is expanded a tiny bit to overlap the black, just in case.

A choke pulls the darker color inward, reducing its size so the lighter color can overlap it. This is often used when the darker color is a small shape or type sitting on a light background. Say you have black text on a pale blue background. If the press shifts, the black might not fully cover the blue underneath. So with choking, the black is slightly “shrunk” so the blue underneath traps into it.

A third color appears when two overlapping colors mix together and visually create a new one. This isn’t always a mistake as designers often intentionally use overlapping inks to create new shades, especially in techniques like screen printing. But when it’s unintentional, it can throw off your entire design. Usually, an unintential color is a result of trapping or misregistration. To hide gaps between colors, printers add a bit of overlap (trapping), but when those overlapping colors are semi-transparent or not carefully managed, they mix and create a third color that wasn’t meant to be there. An example of this would be a bright yellow trapped into a rich blue creating green around the edges.

Unintentional third colors can change the look of your design, distract from the layout, and dilute brand colors if you are using specific inks or Pantones.

Misregistration happens when different colors in a design don’t print in exactly the same position on the page. Printing presses lay down colors one at a time (usually Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black—aka CMYK). If those layers shift even slightly during printing, the colors don’t line up the way they should. Even the most high-end presses can experience tiny shifts during printing. Common causes include paper movement, mechanical issues, or temperature/humidity.

Misregistration can show up as thin white lines between colors, a colored “halo” around text or objects, blurry or dobled edges, or text that looks out of focus. It can be subtle or very noticeable, depending on how far the colors are off. Trapping adds a slight overlap between colors so that if they don’t align perfectly, you don’t get those ugly gaps. The overlap hides the misalignment.

If you’ve ever seen a printed design where colors don’t quite blend right, you may have spotted what printers call an obvious trap. It’s a common issue, and one designers and printers work hard to avoid. An obvious trap happens when the overlap is noticeable to the naked eye. Instead of hiding imperfections, it draws attention to them. You might see a dark outline where two colors meet, or an edge that looks thicker or muddy. It’s like using a highlighter when you meant to use invisible ink. One example is if a light color traps ito a darker color, the edge might look fuzzy. Another example is if a trap is too wide, you may see an unintended halo around letters or shapes.

When traps show up clearly, they mess with your design due to edges not looking sharp, colors appearing off, and making the whole piece feel unpolished. Designers can reduce obvious traps by using proper color stacking (dark colors “trap: into lighter ones) and by keeping trap widths small.

Like we discussed in the previous post, trapping is a technique used in printing to prevent small gaps between colors when they’re printed next to each other. These gaps can happen because paper can shift slightly, or ink doesn’t land exactly where it’s supposed to. Trapping creates a tiny overlap between colors so that if things don’t line up perfectly, you won’t see an ugly white line. Think of it like cutting and pasting: if you’re gluing down a shape on top of another and you’re not sure it’ll land right, you make the bottom shape a little bigger, just in case.

Partial overlap is one specific way trapping is done. It means that one color is nudged slightly into another, but not fully covered—just enough to hide any misalignment. For example, imagine printing a blue circle on top of a yellow background. If the press is even a fraction of a millimeter off, you might see a sliver of white between them. With partial overlap, the blue might slightly “bleed” into the yellow area, creating a small buffer. It’s not noticeable to the eye, but it saves the final print from looking sloppy. Full overlaps can change the way colors look when mixed, especially with transparent inks. That can mess with the design. Partial overlap gives printers more control by having enough coverage to hide errors, but not so much that colors muddy or shift.

One of our assignments for class was learning about trapping. Trapping is a technique which overlaps colors where they meet to compensate for potential registration errors. Our first exercise was learning about using black vs. rich black. Black is just 100% black (key) using CMYK. This is best used to text and copy. But if you have a large space needing a lot of black (like a shape, background, etc.), it is best to use rich black. Rich black is 100% black with additional percentages of cyan, magenta, and yellow. This creates a black that is much richer and dynamic than the static black.

Next week is spring break and I am going to try to drive out west to see Tucker. We have plans to get together with friends out there for Rapid City’s Pub Crawl. I was planning on leaving on that Thursday, but one of my friends asked if she could come with, but she works on Friday until 3 PM. The trouble with that is that there is supposed to be a bomb cyclone on Friday, hence why I wanted to leave on Thursday (along with having more time to see my husband). I’ve been trying to keep an eye on the weather to see what time it will start, but I might still have to leave on Thursday. I will not have seen Tucker for two weeks and I don’t want to miss my chance. I hope the weather doesn’t get too bad and that I will be able to go.

At my internship with Panther, a sales representative asked if I would like to accompany her to a BNI meeting to connect and learn from other professionals in the area. BNI stands for Business Network International. It is a meeting of people in different professions who come together to make connections, ask for referrals, and request assistance for jobs. It was a really cool experience to hear from business owners and employees from different companies I had no idea about. Each person went around the room, introduced themselves and the company they represented, and were able to talk about their wants and goals. They each had “asks”, which is when they ask if anyone in the group could help them with a service or connect they with others to achieve their goals. At the end, two people gave presentations about their businesses and work. I learned a lot and was also able to apply my knowledge from class on a presentation about web design. I really enjoyed the whole experience!

Since I am done with the Panther vehicle wrap, it is time to move onto a new project. I was asked to create a wall wrap for the company’s meeting room. All I was told about what to design was to keep it on brand, have pictures of Sioux Falls and the saying, “Serving the Sioux Falls community for over 35 years.” They sure let me utilize my creative freedom!

At first, I thought about making icons related to the services offered at Panther and place them in a grid with photos of Sioux Falls. I started making a mock up in Illustrator but decided I did not love the idea and wanted to go a different direction. I looked through Adobe Stock to find some quick pictures of Sioux Falls and see what I could work with. I have started looking for famous landmarks in Sioux Falls and thought about layering them a collage. I think I will go that direction and see how it turns out.

This week has not been my week. On Saturday, my husband, Tucker, left for his pharmacy rotation in Sturgis, SD for FIVE weeks. He is at the Fort Meade Veterans Affairs Medical Center on his Internal Medicine II rotation. Luckily, they have free housing on-site where he can stay with other students. His college roommate is also on a rotation out there at the same time so that is nice as well.

It was really hard to say goodbye. It is difficult when your best friend who is always with you has to leave. But somehow we got through it and said our goodbyes. Luckily for me, I have family nearby so I spent the weekend with them so I would not feel so alone. It also helps that they can cook and I can’t (Tucker does all the cooking). When I would go home after spending time with them, my apartment would feel so empty without Tucker.

On Monday, I felt like something was off with me. I knew something was wrong, but could not tell exactly what it was. I went to my internship that day, but at the end of my shift I felt like I could not go to school. I drove home and received a text from my sister that she just tested positive for influenza A. She was also the family I had just spent the weekend with since Tucker was gone. I went to the doctor and also tested positive for influenza A.

Tuesday was the worst day. I had terrible muscle aches, fever, chills, and a sore throat. I was stuck all by myself since I was sick. I wanted to work on a project that was due the next day, but all I could do was try to drink water and sleep. I felt absolutely miserable all day.

I continued to have a fever the rest of the week and was not able to work or go to school. I lost my voice for a day since I had family calling to ask how I was doing. I was popping ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and cough drops like they were candy. I did get a really awesome surprise on Friday night though. I was talking to Tucker on the phone when I heard my apartment door unlock and saw Tucker standing there! He came back early to see and take care of me! It was so sweet!

Let’s just say I am happy it will be a new week.