Just a thought, but I discovered that color - 40 is an excellent replacement for yellow. I map anything I want to plot yellow but be able to see it on paper, as yellow (#2) to color 40. To go along with that, I also set (where allowed ... ) all color - 2 (yellow) assigned layers, etc., to color - 40. It shows up just fine on a white background, Looks good on a black background, looks yellow and plots looking yellow. yet visible, on paper.
I make frequent use of white background in my work (Paper space layout tabs and some Model space operations), as set colors can be closely matched to plots and the results predictable. I also like setting my background to white when working in 3D hidden mode ( model space, of course ;-) ) as a ready visible reference. I have so many of my 3D commands optimized that I can fly through a 3D work-up in AutoCAD and quickly rough out a concept for someone and the white background allows me to see things in hide mode (etc.) very effectively and know what their color plot is going to look like. Being able to see colors on a white background that are normally washed out is a huge advantage. Another example of the color - 2 / 40 combo is the color - 4 / 151 combo. Works the same way as yellow on a white background, but for cyan ... There are others, but I think you get the idea.
Controlling plot-ability by layers, as mentioned by others, is really the best way to handle that aspect of your question.
Good luck - hope this helps !
-C.