Ink color and quality control

When it comes to color matching and quality control, stability and reduction are key to the printer. Ink companies meet these needs through a variety of color matching services, including two on-site ink factory and printing room.

From art to science

In the past, ink companies rely on the naked eye and experience to perform color matching. Although visual color matching still exists, many technologies can help.

Michael Impastato, vice president of market development at Flint Ink, said: “In recent years, color has evolved from art to science. In the past, we only used the naked eye and experience to make color judgments. Today, we still have colorists and experienced printers. Visual color matching, but the use of computer software, spectrophotometer, color balance light room and automatic proofing system, and now we can combine these technologies to enhance the ability of color matching workers to ensure color consistency."

Don Matthiesen, EIC marketing manager, said: "Color measurement has had a huge impact on the ink industry. The quality program emphasizes data quality control and requires a numerical value for color measurement. When consumer packagers realize that the best advertising is attractive packaging, At the time, the consistency of color transmission becomes more important."

Mike Buystedt, manager of the new market development for ANI printing inks, said: “More and more printers are doing their own color matching and look forward to ink companies providing relevant assistance. We have carried out two development work to assist ink printers and ink transfer. The system, that is, the proofer with a reliable copy printing effect and the automatic mechanical adjustment of the speed and pressure when the ink is transferred to the substrate, ensures the consistency of the reduction of the job during printing."

Nazdar color and quality manager Larry Cahill said: "The process is basically the same, but many tools change or include what we use now, for example, to improve accuracy and reproducibility, we use digital instead of traditional metrics. We rely on color computers We formulate, correct, and objectively evaluate our color matching effects scientifically, and finally obtain a weighted formula that can be printed with the customer-supplied color code and ensure consistent color.”

Mark Brandenburg, CCI's product service manager, said, "Now customers know what they need and they are more sophisticated in seeking information and output requirements, which has led the printing industry to shift color from art to science."

Jeff Basler, CCI Technical Service Manager, said: “The increasing quality of pictorials means that we need to use more plates for the proofing machine. We did set up a miniature printing environment for proofing.” Another major technology in color matching Color matching information is provided worldwide, and X-Rite Web Edition software makes it a reality. Mark Tesdall, software manager for CCI's special inks, said: "This software enables CCI to receive measurements directly from customer desktop samples and transfer them to CCI's database. Through this information, our colorists can accurately calculate and create proofs and transmit them to the rest of the world. The terminal requires only a terminal computer to connect to the Internet and use a browser."

According to Brian Chwierut, Sun Chemical Packaging Manager, the biggest change in color matching is the use of precision measurement tools to make color more accurate. The ink supplier enters the color information into the ink distribution system and dispenses the data in color. The data can also be stored and transmitted to all parts of the world.

The needs of the printer The printer has made many demands on the ink manufacturer. The first step is to hope that the ink can be matched with the customer color mark to ensure the consistency and reproducibility of the printing.

Harvey Brice, managing manager of Super Printing Ink Company, said: "They have three major requirements that require an exact match of colors and require consistent ink consistency. In most cases, the faster the supply, the better."

Matthiesen said: "Printers seek correct and accurate color relationships and consistency."

Impastato said: "The printers seek color and color matching in line with the customer's requirements. This is not just a matter of color matching. Therefore, first of all, the printer and the ink company must develop a good color standard, and the color standard needs to be obtained by the customer and printing. Manufacturers and ink printers confirm that they are formulated as the highest standard.Sometimes, Fantong reference chromatograms are used to describe colors, but all parties must realize that Fantong reference colors cannot be used as standard if the printer prints different substrates. Or use different inks to print Fan Tong color, then the sample needs to be confirmed. Once the standard is determined, printer color matching may be satisfactory results in terms of color consistency.

He continued: "The second is about consistency. Consistency should be applied throughout the printing company and throughout the company. It requires stable ink, consistent printing processes, and strict quality control. Variable factors are hidden in all. In the process, the primary task is to reduce the rate of change to an acceptable level.When using a spectrophotometer, the color change is represented by the Delta E of the ink, and the value of the Delta E is generally acceptable between 1 and 2, but sometimes Lower requirements."

Buystedt said: “Reproducibility and consistency are always two important features. Products must be compared with prepress proofing. Printers generally do not match colors at the time of printing, because the cost is too high. Color matching machines and software are often used for pre-press proofing. , can increase production capacity and reduce losses."

Cahill said: “Customers want to match colors like Nazdar according to specific printing parameter standards, including but not limited to screen meshes, light source applications, substrates, opacity, gloss, viscosity and color deviations. This information should be Before the color matching is confirmed to ensure that we can meet customer requirements and delivery requirements.Once the color matching is completed, the customer will usually get a wet or finished product to assess the color accuracy, and the wet sample will remain in our quality control department for future reference. When the color matching is approved, the samples are compared for batch production to ensure batch consistency.”

Ken Cummings, CCI Technical Account Manager, said: “In short, the printers expect to be able to handle the colors when printing. The ability to convert to color is to coordinate the relationship between ink and printers, Delta E is less than 1, the substrate is adapted, the printing cylinder Matching etc."

In order to do this, CCI has spent a lot of money to develop a proofing system that is equipped with an accurate anilox roller and an appropriate plate roller. At the same time, it will work with software vendors to study and predict the color matching on different printing materials. Basler said: "According to the completed study, we have been able to use X-Rite to modify the force values ​​to meet the increasing needs of our customers, including forecasting trapping colors, excessive color, and high-quality process printing. We can This is achieved on any ordinary material."

Sun Chemical's color experts believe that printers need to match color with actual printing and achieve printing goals. In addition, due to the pressure of producing high-precision colors, they need to document this information throughout the printing process.

Steve Miller, Color Systems Technology Manager, Commercial & Ink Department, Sun Chemicals, said: “The acceptable colors of the market have been redefined over the past decade. Printers are under pressure from brand customers to meet the high demand for color matching, which increases their spectrophotometers. And the need for color matching software, because the instrument can provide smaller measurement errors.These devices can now be more objective, accurate and cheap. Compared with five years ago, more press shops are using these devices, which allows us to Printers and brand companies work closely together to define the printed colors of different substrates, from plastics to uncoated papers.”

Miller added that, in addition to accuracy, printers have raised the bar on timely shipments. Because they have the ability to control inventory and guarantee delivery, Sun Chemical's color matching library can help printers to provide more flexible and rapid delivery.

Reprinted from: Wanke Chemical Online