Spot color applies a premixed ink to the page. This color is usually identified by a color system such as the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM. Spot color is useful for documents that require only a few colors, such as newsletters, brochures and stationery. Spot color is also used to match specific colors very closely.

Usually spot colors are created through an ink system such as the Pantone Matching System, which can either provide a standard solid color that can be purchased whole or mixed before printing. In contrast, process color is a way of mixing inks to create colors during the actual printing process itself.