Colour management turning art(work) into science

Flexible Packaging manufacturer FFP Packaging Solutions have introduced new systems and invested in new equipment to manage colour through their workflow, adding measurable consistency to the printed image, to provide major partners with reliable, robust, consistent colour performance.

The management of colour is a critical part of the control of quality and brand standards and, in a technical industry such as flexible packaging, should be measured, checked and controlled. Colour Management in flexible packaging is complicated by the variety of materials in use and whether those materials are surface or reverse printed, each combination of which may demand different ink systems.

At the heart of FFP’s Colour Management system is a complete set of Colour Profiles, each describing colour behaviour on press for a specific film/ink combination. These are backed up by on- and off-line colour instrumentation and a colour-calibrated proofing system.

There was no shortcut to the profiling process. FFP printed every combination of film substrate, surface and reverse print, in four colour process set (CMYK) and combination, on a colour management test chart under standard print conditions on digital printing plates; producing a full gamut of shades, block colours, blends and solids. The resulting print was supplied to a repro partner who scanned it, patch by patch, to create an ICC profile. Time consuming but critical to the final result. Based on spectrophotometry and densitometry data, a printer’s specification was generated. That wasn’t the end of the process, though. Proofs were produced using spectrophotometer- equipped proofing equipment and compared to results achieved on press. Only when the repro partner proved that they could produce accurate proofs to match the test print for a specific combination were they added to the approved list – the entire process was repeated for every substrate and print style.

When a new design goes to press, FFP selects the right ICC profile and, once the repro partner supplies the repro files, FFP print a colour matched proof through their own colour matched proofing system to supply to the customer. On-press, FFP have installed spectrophotometers to measure colour against the proof – giving their customers what they need and demand – reliable, robust, provable colour performance.

FFP Packaging Solutions Ltd

Gary Tee, Sales Director

Tel: 01604 798600

Email: garyt@ffppkg.co.uk