Registration is defined as the alignment of successive colors and/or images as witnessed by register marks. The three uses of registration marks are to identify:
- position/location of the image on the substrate,
- color-to-color registration, and
- whether the image is square to the lead edge of the substrate.
Proper register is necessary for an image in order to prevent unwanted colors and misalignments. The Railroad Test Target (developed at Print/Con) helps solve register problems quickly by showing exactly the amount of misregister as a quantifiable movement. As a result, this can be easily corrected on press.
