In the January issue of FLEXO Magazine, the article Alive ‘N Kickin' - The State-of-the-Industry in 2013, by author Tom Jacques shows a pie chart of the "Sources of Downtime" and the number one factor is Color Matching, or "color tweaking", as he like to call it. He also calls color matching the "Holy Grail" of things to be automated in flexography.
You can read the full article here:http://digital.realviewtechnologies.com/?xml=flexomag.xml&iid=73135#&startpage=21
Why, in 2013, is this still such a tremendous problem?
Actually, I can answer that with one short question "What is the proper ink density to run Pantone 185 on unsupported film?" Sounds like a simple question, right? Ink density is the most common measurement metric we use in a flexo pressroom. We all have an idea of what C,M,Y & K ink densities should be. As a matter of fact, there are specifications and guidelines available, like the FIRST specifications. But when it comes to spot colors, neither the ink drawdowns nor sample books ever provide optimal ink density targets. Why don't they? Back to my quesion, "What is the proper ink density for Pantone 185?" The truth is, no one really knows exactly...
Imagine how much time, material and frustration could be saved if you simply knew what the optimal ink density was to reproduce a specific spot color—or any color for that matter. How much easier would the press make-ready be if you knew that Pantone 185 on unsupported film should be run at density of X.XX to achieve the best color production possible? Even better, what if you knew after the first press pulls that the ink currenly on the press can never match the desired color. Wouldn't you rather know that right away without wasting precious time and materials before realizing that the ink will need to be reformulated?
We all know the current method for matching spot colors: a press pull is visually compared to the desired color, then you cross your fingers and show it to the customer, and hope that they accept it. Repeat as necessary. This tried-and-true method works, but not often without a certain level of pain, wasted time, and frustration.
We were very enlightened by the in-depth blog post "Where are my CIELAB knobs?" by John Seymour (AKA "John The Math guy"), and not just because he mentions our product, SpotOn! Flexo (...although that didn't hurt!) John does a very thorough job of describing the challenges of color matching, and then goes on to discuss possible solutions using newly available tools.
You can read the full article here:http://johnthemathguy.blogspot.com/2013/01/where-are-my-cielab-knobs.htmlLearn more about SpotOn! Flexo here:http://www.spotonflexo.com
In the January issue of FLEXO Magazine, the article Alive ‘N Kickin' - The State-of-the-Industry in 2013, by author Tom Jacques shows a pie chart of the "Sources of Downtime" and the number one factor is Color Matching, or "color tweaking", as he like to call it. He also calls color matching the "Holy Grail" of things to be automated in flexography.
You can read the full article here:
http://digital.realviewtechnologies.com/?xml=flexomag.xml&iid=73135#&startpage=21
We all know the current method for matching spot colors: a press pull is visually compared to the desired color, then you cross your fingers and show it to the customer, and hope that they accept it. Repeat as necessary. This tried-and-true method works, but not often without a certain level of pain, wasted time, and frustration.
We were very enlightened by the in-depth blog post "Where are my CIELAB knobs?" by John Seymour (AKA "John The Math guy"), and not just because he mentions our product, SpotOn! Flexo (...although that didn't hurt!) John does a very thorough job of describing the challenges of color matching, and then goes on to discuss possible solutions using newly available tools.
You can read the full article here:
http://johnthemathguy.blogspot.com/2013/01/where-are-my-cielab-knobs.html
Learn more about SpotOn! Flexo here:
http://www.spotonflexo.com