Welcome to our print color community. Here you'll find the latest print-focused Palettes and Patterns, as well as Blog, Trends and Forums to help guide your next print design project.

Channels»Print»Forums»Print»A CMYK World»Use of black or white background in ads

Join in the Colorful Conversations

Looking for answers to your color questions, have some advice to give... or simply want to get to know your fellow COLOURlovers? You're in the right place.

Use of black or white background in ads

Create New Topic
Showing 1 - 9 of 9 Comments
I'm looking for research, data, or experince and opinions about the effectiveness of ads based on use of black versus white background.
I think it's a matter of preference? black tends to make whatever that is in the middle stand out but also devours plenty of space, while white gives this very 'clean, stark, minimalistic' feeling.

i think its more 'trendy' to use white now. But of course it's just an opinion.

for example:
vs
white allows you to see details more clearly
I can’t speak with any authority about the effectiveness of the ads themselves… as marketing tools to influence the public, but I can offer a perspective as a print designer who has tried several things… some which have ‘worked’ as I intended and some which printed with, ummm… less than expected results… and I might consider those to have had a less pleasing effectiveness from a design standpoint. My comments will only apply to Print ads… and not to web design or lighted displays.

When designing on a white background, we’re really talking about designing on top of an absence of color… We expect the color of the paper (or other media) underneath to show through and to a slight degree affect the colors in our design. Because there is an absence of color being printed on top of, almost any addition on the page will be visible… down to a fine black hairline or a fairly light screen of any color (depending upon what screen range the printing press you’re working with can hold) Even a very light shade, a 3 to 5% screen of a color (away from the white background) will be easily visible and apparent. And very tiny type will be visible– consider a serif typeface that’s visible down to 4 points.

Printing with a black background is a trickier proposition… because we aren’t really talking about printing on black paper (and somehow adding lighter shades of inks) we’re talking about taking a page that has absence of color, virtually fully saturating it with ink, and then trying to create contrasts and details on the page. First you have to decide how you’re going to make “Black”. Are you going to use black ink at 100%… well, if you do you’ll get a nice consistent washed out gray… because most paper will absorb the ink and mute it slightly– remember, the paper does influence your color… but there are other ways of making black– from a color theory standpoint black isn’t one of the primary subtractive colors (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow) and theoretically shouldn’t be needed in printing… a perfect black should be attainable by using 100%Cyan, 100%Magenta, 100%Yellow… except that in practice that’s a large amount of ink to put on a page– 300% coverage– the page absorbs some of the color and to obtain a true black the colors should be mixed, not applied in layers… so printers added black ink to the other 3 primary additive colors in order to easily insure some color purity into the process. you can create a visibly darker, better black by adding a slight undertone of the other 3 colors into the mix… We’d call this our “Rich Black” and there are many combinations, but lets pick one– say C30, M30, Y30, K100. Well, now you have a better black on the page, but what happens when you try to add the simplest of elements with the highest contrast– a line of big solid white type? First, the edges around the type start to fill in slightly because of ‘dot gain’– the normal spread that happens when liquid ink is absorbed into paper. And because you’ve used a Rich Black, you now have 190% ink coverage right next to a space that you wish to be white. The ink is going to spread. Second, you’ve just increased your chances that there will be a visible halo of one or more of the primary colors bleeding into the white letters because of printer mis-registration. If everything isn’t lined up perfectly (and it won’t always) you’ve got a problem that’s going to be noticed.

Let’s reverse the strengths of printing on a white background for a second– I said that a black hairline would be visible on a white page… will a white hairline be visible on a solid black page? Even if you ONLY use black ink to create your background, no… it’s not going to happen. A white hairline is going to be devoured by all the ink surrounding it. I also said that a screen 3 to 5% away from white would be visible… is the reverse true? On a 100% black background will a screen of 97 to 95% black be discernible? Unh-uh… no way! You’re asking both your printing press and your eye to see the difference between a whole lot of ink and… slightly less, but still a whole lot of ink. It turns out that your eye is actually much better at seeing the difference between absolutely nothing… and a little something. Remember our 4 point serif typeface… how it was visible on a white background? Forget it on black… you won’t be able to read a word and the letters won’t be distinguishable because all the serifs and the letters will fill in.

So… what I’d add to your discussion is this in summary: from a design and printing standpoint using a white background offers a practical wider range of flexibility with your design. If you use black– and you can… we’ve all seen it done beautifully… you have to be much more careful with the contrasts that you use, the size of elements that go on the page, the combination of inks that make up the black, trapping issues for key elements, typeface sizes… a whole range of things. From that standpoint, if it is essential that an ad be attractive in order to be effective, then working from a black page presents some challenges that aren’t very forgiving if you mess up or don’t take everything into account. It can look really elegant, but it can also fail to be attractive in ways that wouldn’t fail when working from a white background. That isn’t a reason to avoid black or always choose white… just a comment from print experience on what it takes to BE effective when using black.
i like people who put in effort into their answers.. in my ideal world there'll be super helpful people like ricster here! :D
@ricster Good one!
It is my non-expert opinion that in general, black on white backgrounds lacks the warmth and subtlety that fosters endearment on a subconscious level. Of course, this is subject to the product or service advertised.
Good one.
You should write a book ricster! We'd all learn something :)
ricster, an excellent post.

As a print production manager from the old days I can say we had tricks for dealing with elements out of printed black (or other solid color) backgrounds that are not common if even available today.

We used to print black and black or black and gray duotones with flat, not process ink colors to keep halftone or duotone images from plugging up. If we had another color roller available on a multi-color press we would often run and extra pass of black with the first pass screened back. We controlled negatives for each print layer separately so could "fatty up" reversed type or rules and print one or more passes with the only the final black layer actually closing in on the element rather than trying to hit it with one pass of black. With process color we would often run a layer of screened cyan and fill it in with black.

With digital printing techniques one does not have the luxury of controlling the individual color layers anymore. Many contemporary print designers are not even trained to design and produce for flat color inks---just process.

Anyhow the best you can hope for sometimes is to set type larger than you might like and more bold to keep the black ink from plugging it up. Of course you must avoid frilly typefaces and design elements as well.

A couple other things to think about in designing with dark printed backgrounds are offsetting of remnant ink where you do not want it and a horrid situation called vapor ghosting.

Especially with highspeed web presses, ink residue can build up just on roller mechanisms handling the paper. This happens especially often when printing large, solid areas and if the corresponding location of elements in the print signature are a white background a haze can be left on the paper. It is important designers have some ideas of paper signatures or discuss such issues with their printer.

Vapor ghosting can happen under "ideal storm" situations when dark ink coverage literally vapors or evaporates up through a surface of the paper, often the side opposite the printing. It happens most often with cover stocks but is not unknown with book weights and the only way to fix it short of tossing $$$$$ worth of nice paper is to seal the surface and often with lamination that the design and budget did not allow.

As for whether white or black backgrounds look better depends on the design and what is going on around it if you know. Ad after ad of reversed out type gets pretty boring in a magazine. Sometimes your budget may not allow you to specify ad placement so you do not know. I will say that whether black or white background, I see a disturbing trend again toward eliminating "whitespace" and I guess some think the cluttered look is in. Remember that we identify letterforms and comprehend words as much by the space around them as the shapes themselves.

One final comment. If you are designing ads for newsprint production make sure you get your hands on the specific guidelines for how to prepare them for the unique qualities of this type of paper and the cold set inks used with it.
You must be logged in to post a comment.

Recent Discussion Comments

Bubbletripper
Bubbletripper
Bubbletripper
1 week ago
https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/24hrsonlinestore.com

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/adderall20

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/buyambien12.5mg

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/rebal2020

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/greenhouseplumbing

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/myfastwire

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/nightingalestore

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/123Thomas221

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/dailydosefit

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/generatestatus

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/aaxsxll

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/quilangbuddlseek

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/granwendocha?sAC=1

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/AAYBartending?sAC=1

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/aaycogi?sAC=1

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/aaycollin2?sAC=1

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/AaydenAaidyn?sAC=1

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/AayadeKrijger?sAC=1

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/aayaan653?sAC=1

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/Aayaan?sAC=1

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/Aayat?sAC=1

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/aayanamarbles?sAC=1

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/aaykara945?sAC=1

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/aayjh031?sAC=1

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/AaylaAaidan?sAC=1

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/aaymond11?sAC=1

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/aayLiinnOrtiz%21?sAC=1

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/aayerwin79?sAC=1

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/aaygenie938?sAC=1

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/aayilsolbey123?sAC=1

https://www.colourlovers.com/lover/Yrlhistrioni
tarotreadingtarotnow
tarotreadingtarotnow
2 weeks ago
Quick results hips and bums enlargement pills +27795312433 breast cream Skin Lightening in UK USA cayman islands mpumalanga
QUICK RESULTS HIPS & BUMS enlargement +27795312433 Botcho, BREAST, YODI plls Skin Lightening WE DO FREE QUICKEST DELIVERIES WORLDWIDE Skin Lightening Pills, Skin Bleaching, vaginal skin, Vagina Tightening, Herbal Creams Pills, HIPS & BUMS, BOTCHO CREAM, YODI PILLS, BREAST CREAM, BUTTS ENLARGEMENT, PENIS ENLARGEMENT CREAM, MAN POWER, STRONG PENIS, BIG PENIS, LONGLAST POWER, MAN CLINIC, Herbal organic hips and bums enlargement cream and pills on sale for curves VAGINA TIGHTENING CREAM, VAGINA TIGHTENING pills in Johannes burg Durban BREAST, HIPS AND BUMS ENLARGEMENT CREAM / GEL CALL ((+27795312433))GET BIGGER HIPS AND BUMS WITH YODI PILLS ,VAGINA TIGHTENING CREAM . BOTCHO CREAM AND YODI PILLS WERE RECENTLY INTRODUCED TO EUROPE, USA AND THE REST OF SOUTH AFRICA. THE RESPONSE WAS ASTOUNDING AS CUSTOMERS CONTINUE TO BE OVERWHELMED WITH THE FANTASTIC RESULTS! YOU WILL BE TOO! ENLARGING HIPS AND BUMS HAS BEEN A DREAM OF MANY WOMEN, HIPS AND BUMS SIZE AND SHAPE IS THE KEY TO yodi pills Zimbabwe breast pills yodi pills Zimbabwe, vagina tightening united states, vagina tightening Canada, vagina tightening Zimbabwe, vagina tightening Zambia, vagina tightening south Africa, vagina tightening united kingdom, vagina tightening Australia, breast cream united states, breast cream united kingdom, breast cream south Africa, breast cream Canada, ACHIEVING A PERFECT FEMALE ATTRACTIVE BODY. WE NOW INTRODUCE THESE TWO NATURAL REMEDIES WHICH ARE GOING TO HELP YOU NATURALLY ENLARGE THE SIZE OF YOUR HIPS AND BUMS THAT IS; YODI PILLS FOR HIPS AND BUMS OR HIPS ALONE OR BUMS ALONE AND BOTCHO CREAM,APETAMIN CREAM,MECCA PILLS FOR BUTTOCKS / BOOTY / BUM OR BUTT ENLARGEMENT CALL THE PILLS AND CREAMS CONTAIN EXOTIC PLANT EXTRACTS, FINE HERBAL EXTRACTS AND OTHER NATURAL REMEDIES RESPONSIBLE FOR NEW CELL GROWTH IN HIPS AND BUTTOCKS / BUMS. HENCE STIMULATING TISSUE GROWTH AND THEREFORE ENLARGEMENT OF HIPS AND BUMS WILL OCCUR NATURALLY WITHOUT HARMING YOUR HEALTH. EVERYTHING IS DONE NATURALLY NO MACHINES AND SIMPLY USED IN THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME. WE DO THE QUICKEST DELIVERIES WORLDWIDE
CALL; +27795312433
WHATASPP ;+27795312433
tarotreadingtarotnow
tarotreadingtarotnow
2 weeks ago
Ssd Chemical Solutions +27795312433 Clean every black money‎ in gauteng zimbabwe zambia botswana



Ssd Chemical Solutions +27795312433 Clean every black money‎ and to remove UN stamp
We have the top-notch quality chemical solution and activation powders that are used to clean all types of black notes. We have a team of experts who are specialized in working on this kind of project. With the availability of high-end technological machines, we clean your notes and give them a completely new and fresh look. Your banknotes will never be the same as black or stained; instead, you will notice that they never looked so new as they have become now.We are leading service providers with professional technicians that can travel to other countries around the world to get your black, white, green and red notes cleaned up, restored and ready for use. We retail our products in smaller quantities of 100ml, 250ml, 500ml, 1Litre, 2Litres, 3Litres, 5Litres and 10Litres.
SSD Chemical Solution, clean black money, clean black dollar, clean black notes, clean Zimbabwe black money, clean black south Africa money, clean black Zambia money, clean black Botswana money
 Do you have any defaced currency to be cleaned? You are at the right chemical house and the right solution to make the cleaning for you is available.  Every client is very important for us. Professionally selected team will help you to solve any problem at breakneck speed with the maximum of efficiency. Our experience and opportunities together with serious access to the work will help your needs to be realized.
PRODUCTS AVAILABLE:
-SSD Chemical Solution
-Activation Powder/ Anti Virus
-Automatic black money Cleaning Machine
-Mercury Powder
-Humine Powder
-SSD Supreme Solution
-SSD universal Solution
-SSD Solution PK 58
-SSD Topix solution
-SSD Castro X Liquid
-Oxide solution
-Tebi ssdhz powder
-Tebi-SSd Solution
 TELL ; +27795312433
WHATSAPP ; +27795312433
tarotreadingtarotnow
tarotreadingtarotnow
2 weeks ago
Love spell that works immediately Get back your lover +2778 683 5313 boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, husband IN UK USA cayman islands sameday results gauteng Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont
I Am Dr Alex who heals and solves all failed / unfinished problems from other traditional healers or spellcaster e.t.c. Stop suffering today! No matter what problem you have i will help you .
Have you tried many doctors healers with no progress ? if your answer is YES then let me help you because I'm determined to offer what you're looking for
Get back your boyfriend
Get back your husband
Get back your girlfriend
Get back your wife
Get back your baby daddy
Get back your baby mama
Love spell
Get your ex back spell
Marriage spell
Good luck charm spell
Avoid the divorce spell
man control spell
woman control spell
love spell
bring back lost lover
lost love spells
free love spells
love spell jar
do love spells work
obsession spell
self love spell jar
self love spell
love spells that work immediately
attraction spell
honey jar love spell
break up spell
love spells that work overnight
love binding spell
spells to make someone love you
powerful love spells
Note: my spell as no side effects
4» pick from the above list of spells
Call +27786835313
whatsapp +27786835313

Latest Articles

//View More ›

Latest Print Colors

//View More ›

Latest Print Palettes

//View More ›

Latest Print Patterns

//View More ›
X

Terms Updated

We’d like to inform you that we have updated our Terms of Use. The most substantive changes are:

This platform was acquired by a joint venture in Israel.
changes have been made to the relevant jurisdiction for disputes which may arise out of your use of the platform.
Changes made to the monetization of users’ creations and the ability to opt out from your account settings.

Please view the revised Terms here. If you don’t mind anything there, then you don’t need to do anything. Your continued use of the platform will constitute your acceptance of the latest version of the Terms. If you disagree with anything there, you can terminate your account within seven days from today.