Knockout (printing)

A knockout is a part or a text reversed out of one or more ink layers. In practice, it is an area the ink will not touch. On a pouch printed with a solid colour, a logo left in knockout stays the colour of the fabric. The contrast comes from the fabric itself, not from an extra ink. It is an elegant, sober effect, often used on ecru cotton fabric packaging: a coloured background, the logo in the natural shade of the fabric. A knockout saves one printing colour while keeping a clean result.