Dictionary of Marketing Terms: color plate
color plate
red, blue, or yellow printing plate used in the reproduction of full-color original artwork. A printing plate can print only one color at a time. Therefore, if a piece of artwork is to be reproduced in full color, the printer must prepare a separate plate for each of the three primary colors, as well as an additional plate for black (which prints the shadows and contrasts). These plates are known as color plates.
