Are you still using traditional methods to adjust spot colors? So you‘re really outdated！

Spot color ink

Spot color refers to colors other than four-color and four-color mixtures, which are printed using a specific ink specifically for that color.It has the following three characteristics:

(1) Accuracy

Each color set has its own fixed hue, so it can ensure the accuracy of colors in printing, thus greatly solving the problem of color transmission accuracy.

(2) Field specificity

Spot colors are generally defined as solid colors, regardless of how light they may be. Of course, you can also add a screen (Tint) to the spot color to present any depth and shade of the spot color.

(3) Show wide color gamut

The color gamut in the color library is very wide, exceeding the representation gamut of RGB, not to mention the CMYK color space. Therefore, a large part of colors cannot be presented using CMYK four-color printing ink.

The blending of traditional spot color ink

In order to improve the design and quality level of packaging and decoration products, printing factories often use spot color ink when printing trademarks, packaging, and promotional materials for tobacco, alcohol, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, daily necessities, etc., to ensure color consistency of the printed products and meet customer requirements.Spot color ink generally refers to various colored inks other than the series produced by ink manufacturers. To proficiently and accurately mix specialized ink, it is necessary to have a certain knowledge of ink color theory.

Fundamentals of Ink Coloring

(1) Basic color ink

Basic color ink is divided into three categories according to different mixing methods: primary color ink, standard intermediate color ink, and standard multi-color ink.

Primary color ink: refers to the three primary color ink that cannot be mixed with other colors, such as yellow, magenta, and cyan ink. In theory, the three primary colors of ink can be mixed in different proportions and ways to produce various colors. However, in practice, no matter how they are combined, pure black cannot be produced. Therefore, in color printing, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black inks are mostly used to overlay black.

In addition, the standards for four-color inks produced by different countries and manufacturers are also different. For example, the colors of China‘s offset printing glossy fast drying four-color inks are designated as medium yellow, magenta, sky blue, and black.

Standard color ink: refers to any color ink formed by mixing equal amounts of two primary colors.

Standard color ink: refers to any colored ink formed by mixing two intermediate colors in equal quantities or mixing three primary colors in different proportions.

(2) Mixing of dark spot color ink

The use of one or several primary color inks without any diluting agents for color matching is collectively referred to as the blending of dark spot color inks. According to the principle of subtractive color, when blending dark ink, the number of primary color inks should be minimized as much as possible. Otherwise, it will reduce the brightness and color vividness of the ink. But some products have special requirements for ink color, such as dark brown ink, which is usually mixed with red ink, yellow ink, and a small amount of black ink.

In addition, the complementary color theory must be used to correct the color deviation of complex colors such as bronze, magenta, and olive green, which are mixed with different proportions of the primary colors.

If the green phase is too heavy, a small amount of red ink can be added to correct it;

The red phase is too heavy, a small amount of blue ink can be added to correct it;

The purple smell is too strong, you can add a small amount of yellow ink to correct it;

If you want to increase the concentration of black ink, you can add a small amount of deep red or light blue to adjust it.Just as in the production of offset black ink, the principle of adjusting the color of black ink with pigments such as light blue, sun resistant bright red, and phthalocyanine blue is the same.Radiant blue is commonly used in spot ink, as it can eliminate the original brown background in black ink, making it darker and denser.

(3) Preparation of Light Spot Color Ink

Any ink color blending that requires the addition of solvents or white ink is collectively referred to as light ink blending. The method of adding diluents to primary color inks cannot be used for blending light colored spot color inks, as primary color inks have strong color development ability in diluents, and the coloring power of each primary color ink is different, which can easily result in inaccurate hue and waste of primary ink.

The correct blending method is to gradually add the original color ink to the dilution agent, and after the color meets the requirements, increase the proportion of ink needed for blending.

Light colored ink can be divided into three types:

Dilute ink mainly composed of solvents: It has a certain degree of transparency and is suitable for multi-color overlay printing of ink; Matte ink mainly composed of white ink: has strong covering power and bright ink color. Generally, light colored ink used for synthetic paper is blended with white ink. A light colored ink mixed with a diluent and white ink.

Mixing method of spot color ink

(1) Proportional method

Ink color mixing requires careful observation and analysis of the ink sample or print sample.

Ink samples can be scraped on Dorian paper or printed using an IGT printing adaptability tester.

Firstly, it is necessary to observe and analyze which colors of ink the print sample may be composed of. A copper ink suction tube with a scale can be used to roughly adjust according to the proportion.

Check if the rough ink sample (scraper) in the picture is close to the standard sample, and record the ink ratio and amount. If they are close, convert the proportional number into a percentage and then use an analytical balance to finely adjust it; If it is not close, the ink ratio of each color should be changed and the mixing should continue.

(2) Reduction method

After determining which colors of ink the standard sample (customer provided standard color sample or ink sample that is not close to the standard sample) is composed of, find out the ink contained, weigh 10g or 5g each with sulfuric acid paper and place it on a glass plate. Any ink used can be adjusted. When the ink color is close to the standard sample, a small amount of ink sample scraper can be used to observe the complexion, background color, and ink used during scraping.

If it is close to the standard sample, the remaining amount of ink can be weighed to convert the percentage content of the spot color ink, and then finely adjusted with a balance.

(3) PANTONE color scheme

The 2000 edition of the PAN TONE Formula Guide is a universal color guide for Pantone, which includes 1114 Pantone spot colors. Each color standard it provides has a number and ink ratio, and is bound in a fan shape for quick and convenient color selection.

Carefully observe and analyze the Pantone spot color ink in the image, compare it with the Pantone company‘s color matching guide, find similar color samples, and if they are very close, record the color number and compare it with the TCT ink color matching guide to analyze whether the two color matching guides are consistent;

If there is an error, find out which proportioning ink caused the error. After analysis, the proportion of ink used for the printing sample can be adjusted. This can make the allocation work relatively easier.

The above content is all the methods used in traditional spot color ink blending. Below, we will introduce a computer color matching system based on the principle of spot color blending.

Computer color matching system

A professional computer color matching system is a synthetic system that integrates color measuring instruments, professional color matching software, color display instruments, precision measuring tools, standard light sources, and automatic ink blending and uniformity systems. It calculates accurate ink formulas through standardized data and clear target conditions, minimizing the influence of human factors to the greatest extent possible.

It can be used for various printing methods such as offset printing, gravure printing, flexographic printing, etc., suitable for packaging printing enterprises and ink production enterprises.

Quickly calculate ink ratio and usage based on customer needs, order quantity, and production process, achieving precise matching and on-demand production.

Effectively eliminate reliance on manual color matching experience and improve production efficiency.

In today‘s increasingly high labor costs for enterprises, how to reduce labor costs and liberate labor force is the primary issue that Indian companies should consider. The spot color ink blending system relies on the Ink Formulation software (IFS) formula calculation system, which can provide fast, accurate, and stable ink formulas for printing enterprises.

At the same time, IFS‘s advanced multi-channel engine can quickly calculate the optimal formula based on spectral deviation, ink, lighting conditions, pigment prices, component quantities, and printing materials. Advanced algorithms greatly improve the color matching results, especially in the application of opaque inks, and the effect is equally significant for the use of highly absorbent substrates or high concentration inks.

From this, it can be seen that using a spot color computer ink blending system can not only reduce labor costs, but also be the best solution to help printing companies achieve spot color ink blending. Fast and accurate, with low professional requirements for personnel, are the biggest advantages of computer spot color matching systems over traditional spot color blending.

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