Spot vs. Process color
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- monoboy0
Spot colours or 'specials' are usually Pantone colours that printers buy specific ink for and print on a single plate. This makes transparency difficult, you'll need to use overprint techniques. They are used to ensure colour matching is consistent across all printed material. It's very expensive and mainly the preserve of big brands where colour is key.
Most folks print CMYK or 'process' colours. This is a standard cost effective printing technique that uses four plates (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) that mix togoether to achieve a large gamut of colour. Results vary from printer to printer and colour matching is difficult.
Setting up artwork as spot colour and exporting a PDF as CMYK will also cause issues. Best change colours to process using Colour Bridge.
Hope that help.