Buzz
Food packaging these days is packed with a ton of details, offering useful information such as nutritional facts and ingredients, along with the intriguing set of colorful circles or squares that play a vital role... for the printer.
Known as 'printer's color blocks' or 'process control patches,' these color samples showcase the specific ink shades used to create the printed design on the packaging. Printers use these color markers to confirm that the package meets the correct color standards for the product. In case of issues, the color blocks help both human and digital printers identify whether an imbalance (or excess) of color is causing the problem.
Typically represented as circles on bagged products and squares on boxed ones, these color blocks are commonly seen in black, cyan, magenta, and yellow—the fundamental colors used by printers to produce other hues. If the package predominantly features one or two additional colors, you'll often see separate blocks (known as 'spot colors') for them too. For instance, Cheetos bags will nearly always feature at least one orange block, often with two or more in varying shades.
If you don't spot a set of color blocks on your bag of chips or box of cookies, there's no need to worry. Including these elements is optional, not mandatory—although most mass-produced products tend to feature some form of color blocks on their packaging. In some cases, companies may even remove the color blocks during the packaging process.
And if you do see the color blocks, you might also notice a symbol resembling the crosshairs of a rifle scope somewhere on the package. These 'register marks' (or 'position marks') help align all the colors during printing—an important tool for printers, but of no real use to consumers.
