...colour quality management in print
Key Benefits
- Special and brand colour control and verification system
- Match brand colours on a variety of substrates
- Standardise special colour printing performance
- Manage your clients brand and special colours
- Reduce waste, downtime and improve communication
InkSpec is a comprehensive colour management system addressing the need for systematic, measurable production control of special and brand colours.
In today’s printing industry where competition is fierce, quality, speed and cost can all determine success. Requirements for the accurate reproduction of brand and special colours is increasing, especially for packaging and specialist printers whose jobs often run outside the CMYK colour gamut.
InkSpec allows printers to create or download customer defined colour standards and create InkSpec reports from printed jobs where those colours are being used.
Colour libraries are created by importing existing libraries, by measurement of a sample colour, by download from the customers LinkSpec web space; or by simply entering the required Lab values and TVI (Dot Gain) targets. The most comprehensive definitions are based on spectral data including TVI targets.
The user selects the paper type and ink set relevant to the job from the ink database which can hold up to 1000 colours. A spectrophotometer is used to read L*a*b* colour values, including Delta E’s, Densities and Dot Gain (TVI) from a small colour strip. Readings are compiled into a multi page ink report, one page per ink for up to 10 inks per job Users can identify how close the ink colour is to the specified targets and tolerances in the ink database, with a concise colour report for each ink, displaying printing performance and colour reproduction.
Reports are generated from either solid patch or solid plus tone strips. The most comprehensive reports that allow the user to see how colours change under different lighting conditions are generated from the highest level colour definitions.
Density targets are provided to allow the printer to match the target colour, but if the colour shade is very critical the printer is also provided with side by side on screen colour patches to check that the measured colour visually matches the target colour.
If the substrate specified by the customer is not able to reproduce the required colour, a re -
formulated ink is often the only option. InkSpec can export the substrate and target colour data in the formats required by ink formulation systems so that correctly formulated ink can quickly be supplied.
InkSpec special colour and PrintSpec four colour reports are designed to work together for measurement and report generation so that any mix and number of colours can be accommodated on a job. Each page of the InkSpec report provides the measured values and targets of each ink selected, these can be emailed to clients should the specified colours show conformance peculiarities on particular stocks.
© 2012 Mellow Colour Ltd
 | 
