Do your colors need to be exact? Then you want spot color, which is PMS, Pantone Color Matching.
Can they be close? Then you want four color process also known as full color or CMYK.
If your logo has to be specific colors for instance red PMS 186 or Blue 300 or both, then you want PMS color matching.
If the colors can be close, like a photograph, then four color process (CMYK, full color) is the way to go.
Four color process printing usually costs less than PMS color matching.
FOUR COLOR PROCESS ALLOWS MULTIPLE COLORS OR A FULL COLOR IMAGE PRINTED FOR ONE PRICE, while Spot color is priced by the number of colors (one color, two colors, etc. – all PMS ink matched. (PMS 300, PMS 186, etc.)
SPOT COLOR
1 spot color gold – next is blue – next is red – Final product looks like this.
Spot color graphics are produced by printing one color at a time (PMS colors).
The inks used in spot color printing are opaque and are referenced by the Pantone Matching System (PMS) for color accuracy.
Each color is printed individually, unlike the four color process.
FULL COLOR (FOUR COLOR PROCESS) CMYK
CYAN + MAGENTA + YELLOW + BLACK = FULL COLOR IMAGE
4 color process is just as it is named. A process of printing 4 transparent colors (inks) to achieve a full color or photographic image as illustrated above. These colors are layered over one another which produces the entire range of colors that make up the final image.
This is known as four color process, or CMYK or full color printing (all the same thing).
This method of printing is less expensive and more common these days on items such as Post-it Notes and paper items.