Product category:
Printing Trade Organisations - including Allied Industry Bodies
News Release from: British Coatings Federation (BCF) | Subject: Colour matching technology
Edited by the Printingtalk Editorial
Team on 29 June 2007
Print Colour Matching Key To Customer
Satisfaction
The development of more refined colour matching technology to help printers satisfy customers' requirements has been continued by sheet-fed sector members of the British Coatings Federation (BCF).
BCF commented that printers are under pressure from customers that demand not only increasing quality at a decreasing price but also reliable colour fidelity throughout the supply chain Accurate and reliable colour matching remains one of the most difficult and crucial aspects of the printer's tasks, according to the BCF
This article was originally published on Printingtalk on 13 Apr 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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Traditionally, relying on physical colour swatches and the skills of a few highly talented individuals, ink manufacturers realised printers needed a more reliable method of colour definition and turned to computer technology to provide it.
Computer colour matching encompasses the measurement, storage and communication of a colour's physical characteristics, across a range of parameters, including lightness, hue and saturation, in absolute numerical terms, added BCF.
When reproducing the colour, anywhere in the world, those same characteristics can be checked, ensuring consistency and providing printers and their clients with confidence in the colour fidelity of the printed end-product.
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Computer colour matching can even tackle issues related to the effect of different substrates, or different printing technologies.
As Peter Elliot, Sun Chemical's business director for sheetfed inks, explained: "Although the use of computers for colour matching has been around for some time, we have recently seen significant advances in the accuracy and number of characteristics that can be measured and, therefore, reproduced.
There has also been the development of colour databases and the simple and rapid interchange of that data via the internet." He continued: "That has enabled organisations to develop and manage very precise colour palettes for specific products and to more closely control their colour harmonisation and brand images.
In an increasingly global market, particularly in the packaging sector where brands aim for consistency across continents, tight colour control is the ultimate objective." Colour-calibrated computer monitors are also being developed, said the BCF.
Uncalibrated monitors, even of the same make and model, can offer a wide variation in the display of any given colour.
That has meant that decision making and approval of colours on-screen has, up to now, been less than reliable.
However, developments in screen calibration, including the use of colour blocks and the rendition of colours within the context of a design, are offering new opportunities for the creation of colour accurate digital proofing, even from remote locations.
The development of computer colour matching is enabling printers and their clients to take advantage of the huge potential benefits of computer technology, particularly in terms of speed and communication, by demolishing the barrier between printed and digital colours, added BCF.
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