Improved Epson proof through targeted colour elaboration

Within the company’s business unit e.GEN, their c.INKTEC team develops customized colour standards and formulations. In their innovation center, they have various laboratory printing machines at disposal to accurately implement colour development. The extensive selection of cylinder sets with different specifications and layouts, combined with a diverse range of printing materials such as paper, cardboard, and film, forms the basis for a very good colour elaboration.

Thanks to their close collaboration with renowned ink suppliers, they have a broad portfolio of printing inks and coatings. This partnership allows to offer a variety of colour options while ensuring that always the latest developments and trends in the field of printing inks are utilized.

The Trolli study

In a recent study conducted with their customer Trolli, they focused on improving the accuracy of Epson proofs through targeted colour development under realistic printing conditions.

At the beginning of the study, measurement data from a printed colour drawdown was used as the basis for generating the Epson proof. This colour drawdown was printed on e.GEN’s in-house ingenio gravio 90200 laboratory printing machine with the specified cylinder and on the desired substrate. Subsequently, the c.INKTEC colour sample with full and half tones was measured, and the existing orange tone in the data was replaced with the new colour information to achieve a more realistic Epson proof.

The new proof result was compared to the target proof provided by Trolli. When deviations were identified, the data was adjusted accordingly to achieve a colour impression that matched the customer’s goal and could be reproduced on the printing machine. The final proof was approved by Trolli, and all relevant information, including the Epson proof, c.INKTEC colour sample with half tones, and cxf and SCTV data, was provided to the printing company.

Extremely satisfactory results

The results of the study were extremely satisfactory. The printing company was able to reproduce the colours based on our c.INKTEC colour sample and achieve the same SCTV values on the production machine. Through targeted colour development based on realistic printing conditions and the exchange of colour information in the design data, the accuracy of the Epson proof for Trolli has been improved. The adjustments made to the colour data and the close match between the c.INKTEC sample and the production sample led to consistent and precise colour reproduction. Thus, the set goal was successfully achieved.

This study highlights the importance of considering realistic printing conditions and making necessary adjustments in the data beforehand to create achievable colour targets and meet their requirements.