Packaging material knowledge丨Color management and ink application of color box packaging

Introduction: The external image of goods is becoming more and more important in the fierce market competition. Color box/bottles and color printing technology have become an excellent choice for the external image packaging of goods. However, color recovery problems often occur in color box/bottles packaging products during production, such as neutral packaging. Gray cast, etc., which will affect product quality, so what should we pay attention to? The editor of Chamsmetic shared relevant content on color management and ink application of color box/bottles packaging. The content is for reference by friends who need to purchase various types of packaging:

color management

Color management is to manage people’s perception of color. The purpose is to complete the conversion between different colors in the entire image copying process to ensure that the image color can match the appearance displayed from the input display to the output, and finally reach the original manuscript. The same color as the replica. Chamsmetic also strictly follows this principle in the color printing of various bottles, pump heads, and hotel supplies.

Image reproduction requires multiple stages such as image acquisition, processing, color separation, and printing. At each stage, color information will be displayed according to the color rendering principle and color description characteristics of the equipment used at that time. Different scanning and display devices will display different colors for the same original. In addition, the color expression is different between the display screen using RGB three-color rendering and the printing ink with four-color rendering. In addition, there is a lack of consistency in converting RGB data into CMYK using different applications. Using different papers and inks, the obtained Prints are different too.

Optimizing Color Management-Chamsmetic

01 Contents of color management

For color management, a series of polite operating procedures must be followed to achieve the desired results. Color management is theoretically divided into three methods, referred to as “3C”, namely calibration (Calibration), characterization (Characterization) and conversion (Conversion)

Calibration: Mainly performs grayscale calibration (Linearization) to offset the influence of the Gamma Correction of the device itself.

Characterization: Recording the calibrated characteristics of all equipment is the process of characterization. These profiles are a bridge from device color space to standard device-independent color space (PCS).

Conversion: Convert the original color according to the previous ICC color profile, also called Gamut Mapping, in order to provide the most ideal color effect on the target device or material.

02 Implementation of color management

For a packaging and printing company to do a good job in color management, it needs standard light sources; high-quality color feature file generation; standard color management systems; standard measuring instruments and testing equipment; standard color targets; and standard printing management. ; Standard remote digital proofing color management; standard scan recovery, digital camera color management; standard monitor calibration and screen soft proofing.

In the specific implementation process of color management, the following aspects should be done well: careful printing, standardization, standardization, and digital production management of each process throughout the process. This is the premise and foundation for using ICC color management.

Chamsmetic advocates: Enterprises should strictly formulate quality standards for precision products, standards for the integrity of raw and auxiliary materials such as paper and ink, and equipment, standards for measuring instruments and status light sources, formulate standardized management documents, etc., and require everyone to strictly implement the standards. Monitors, soft proofing, printer ICC files, printing press parameters, etc. must be standardized and quantified within the standards and specifications. In all places that can be expressed in data, through testing methods, data that can guarantee quality can be summarized. The three are complementary and interdependent, thereby ensuring stable high-quality, high-efficiency production.

Prepress images are the foundation and key link of printing reproduction quality. The monitor must be professional, and the scanning of originals and the processing of digital originals should be guided by the four basic standards of copy quality (gray balance, tone reproduction, color correction, and sharpness enhancement), and by implementing the parameters of the four standard standards . After the scanned document is completed, the defects of the unsuitable original must be adjusted and artistically processed to make the printed product richer and better than the original.

PLA bottles-Edible and degradable-Chamsmetic

03 Selection of color management system

Different color management systems have their own strengths in device color management, so enterprises must first determine which devices require consistent color in order to make a selection.

Secondly, it is necessary to determine the self-describing files in the color management system and whether it can support the creation of direct-drawing files in an open system; if it is a closed system, the direct-drawing files must be created by the factory, so it is necessary to determine whether the tree-drawing files can be accepted. The fee required to draw the file immediately. The various functions of the system, such as feasibility, equipment support, scalability, compatibility and ease of use, should be compared and tested based on the company’s own situation. During the test, the same colored manuscripts can be used to observe which system is operating in the actual situation. , you can get the result that is most consistent with the original manuscript.

Effective color management is a guarantee of overall reproduction quality, but the final product is achieved through ink. As one of the elements of printing, ink has an important impact on the printing process and quality. The precise and reasonable use and distribution of ink is the key to ensuring accurate color recovery.

04 Problems with using ink and wash

The composition and function of ink: Water-based ink is processed from water-soluble resin, high-grade pigments, solvents and additives. The hue depends on the properties of the pigment. The color requires the pigment to have bright luster, stable tinting power, good durability and high dispersion. In order to obtain the excellent printability of ink, various ink additives are often used to adjust the mobility, monotony and viscosity of the ink according to different conditions. There are many factors involved in selecting the quality of ink. Improper use will cause a series of quality problems. When purchasing and using, you should pay attention to analysis, judge its appearance, and make adjustments according to the situation to ensure its excellent printability.

In printing, a certain viscosity of ink is a prerequisite for normal transmission and transfer of ink. Therefore, the viscosity of high-grade ink is generally controlled at about 20±5 seconds. The difference in viscosity will cause different shades of printing colors. During the actual production process, depending on the difference between the substrate and temperature, the pH value of the ink on the machine can be adjusted or controlled between 8.0 and 9.5.

Ink distribution: Ink distribution mainly refers to the color matching of ink. In the printing of packaging products, the colors used in ink are mainly spot colors and solid flat coating, achieving the dual effects of visual and anti-counterfeiting.

These different spot colors cannot be made by overprinting the four colors of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, and often the original inks cannot be found for direct use. They must be obtained by personnel allocating the original inks in disproportionate proportions based on the production situation.

The color allocation of ink is based on the principle of subtractive color, that is, any color can be mixed and allocated in different proportions of the three primary colors, and its three basic attributes of hue, brightness and saturation are taken into consideration. When color matching, the ink should be selected based on the actual printing process, ink layer thickness, printing substrate and other conditions, and the hue, gloss, tinting power and other factors of the ink itself should be taken into consideration.

Eco Friendly Water Bottle-Chamsmetic

05 Color matching process

Analyze the color of the original: Color adjustment is based on the color sample of the original. In order to increase the blindness of color adjustment, the color of the original must first be analyzed to determine the hue and proportion of the required primary color ink. It is first assumed that the analysis of the manuscript adopts a method that combines instrument color measurement and human eye colorimetry. It is relatively simple and practical to use printing chromatography to determine the proportion of the three primary color inks. The content of the three primary color inks and white ink can be calculated based on the percentage of primary color dot area marked in the chromatogram.

Color matching: According to the calculated ratio, first weigh a small amount of primary color ink for distribution. Pay attention to the constant comparison between the ink color and the original color. When the two colors are close, you can compare the adjusted ink on the scraping paper and repeat this until the two colors are completely consistent. When comparing colors, the ink should be applied evenly, and the thinner the ink layer, the better. In order to ensure the accuracy of the hue of the color sample, the paper should be the same as the paper used for printing. Adjustments to brightness and saturation are accomplished by adding white and black ink. When you need to add white or black ink, you should pay attention to the accuracy of the weighing. After the distributed ink reaches the original requirements, the batch ink can be distributed according to the proportion. The amount of ink used in a batch of jobs is determined by the type and specifications of the paper, the image area, the number of prints and the amount of loss, and is carried out on the principle of more or less.

Record: After the preparation is completed, the ratio of the various inks used for ink adjustment, ink adjustment oil, drying oil, ink model, quantity, manufacturer and other information will be published in detail, so that it can be used as a reference when preparing ink in the future.

Other points: When analyzing originals and comparing colors, it is best to perform them under a standard light source or a light source close to daylight. Also, pay attention to wait until the ink film becomes dull before conducting color comparisons to increase visual errors. Try to use ink matching that is close to the primary color ink or other single color. If too much color ink is used for matching, the brightness and saturation will be worse, which will affect the printing effect. Therefore, the fewer the number of ink types when matching, the better. It is best to choose an ink product from one manufacturer.

When adjusting colors, it is necessary to fully check the daily printing speed and printing pressure of the equipment, and control the ink viscosity. Prints printed under different printing speeds and pressures will have different hues and shades, so the ink dispensed at low speed must be checked with the original again after the printing speed reaches normal speed to avoid color differences.

After the ink is adjusted, if it is found that there is an error between the color sample printed on the machine and the original, it should be corrected in time. When changing colors, clean the ink fountain and ink roller to avoid color cast due to unclean cleaning. The remaining spot color ink after printing can still be assigned according to the hue of the new manuscript, but the saturation is often grayish. It is the remaining ink retrieved from the ink fountain, and it is very likely that it has been emulsified or has changed its printability. .

Chamsmetic has more than 15 years of rich experience in the fields of daily necessities packaging, cosmetic packaging, hotel supplies and other fields. Chamsmetic€™s team is not only familiar with various environmentally friendly materials, but also has a good professional foundation in various types of packaging knowledge. Friends from all over the world who are in need of packaging solutions are welcome to come for consultation, customization and purchase. You will get better packaging cooperation solutions.