Can I Have Your Recipe?
Extended color printing cooks up a smorgasbord of color.
February 2007 by Jean-Marie Hershey
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In the world of packaging, CMYK is an appetizer, whetting but no longer satisfying end-users’ growing appetite for color. It stands to reason: color is arguably the most identifiable and valuable of all the assets associated with a given brand. And not just any color, but intense, vibrant color that differentiates a company from its competition, creates an irresistible emotional connection with the consumer; color that is the key component of high-impact graphics designed to grab a consumer’s attention and hold it long enough to trigger a purchase decision.
With its limited gamut and ability to simulate only about 60 percent of standard Pantone colors, however, the four-color process system packs insufficient marketing punch for many packaging applications. Designers are constantly frustrated when printing in CMYK alone, as it permits just four color (halftone) combinations, and therefore can reproduce only a limited range of hues. Working with spot colors also can be costly and time-consuming. A more aesthetically rewarding and cost-effective option is to alter or add two or more special colors to the standard four-color process set (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) in order to augment or “extend” the standard gamut and enable the press to print a wider range of colors.
For the printer/converter, using one set of inks can effectively reproduce a vast number of spot colors while reducing the number of press runs, wash-ups, and inks involved. Fewer changeovers also yields greater consistency over the length of the print run. For the package designer, extended color printing offers a greatly expanded palette and the promise of faithful reproduction of original art work. For the end user/CPC, payoff comes in the dramatic visual shelf impact that translates into dollars at the cash register. Granted, working with extended ink sets requires some adjustment, but the results clearly are worth the trouble for a growing number of printers and end users.
Living color
The six-color Hexachrome process, introduced by Pantone, Inc. more than a decade ago, uses customized CMYK inks, plus orange and green, enabling printers to achieve almost twice the color gamut of conventional CMYK inks, together with more natural skin tones, richer solids, and more accurate pastels and contone images than traditional four-color process.
Hexachrome’s combination of CMYK plus orange and green inks is said to extend the gamut dramatically when compared to four-color process printing. In most areas of the color spectrum, it reportedly meets or exceeds the gamut of RGB, meaning that designs created on-screen can be reproduced in print. Moreover, instead of changing the press every time a new spot color is needed, the press stays configured for Hexachrome, which simulates them. Over 90 percent of the spot colors found in the Pantone Formula Guide can be matched using Hexachrome. Requirements include a six-color press, access to a six-color proofing system, and specially formulated Hexachrome inks.
With its limited gamut and ability to simulate only about 60 percent of standard Pantone colors, however, the four-color process system packs insufficient marketing punch for many packaging applications. Designers are constantly frustrated when printing in CMYK alone, as it permits just four color (halftone) combinations, and therefore can reproduce only a limited range of hues. Working with spot colors also can be costly and time-consuming. A more aesthetically rewarding and cost-effective option is to alter or add two or more special colors to the standard four-color process set (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) in order to augment or “extend” the standard gamut and enable the press to print a wider range of colors.
For the printer/converter, using one set of inks can effectively reproduce a vast number of spot colors while reducing the number of press runs, wash-ups, and inks involved. Fewer changeovers also yields greater consistency over the length of the print run. For the package designer, extended color printing offers a greatly expanded palette and the promise of faithful reproduction of original art work. For the end user/CPC, payoff comes in the dramatic visual shelf impact that translates into dollars at the cash register. Granted, working with extended ink sets requires some adjustment, but the results clearly are worth the trouble for a growing number of printers and end users.
Living color
The six-color Hexachrome process, introduced by Pantone, Inc. more than a decade ago, uses customized CMYK inks, plus orange and green, enabling printers to achieve almost twice the color gamut of conventional CMYK inks, together with more natural skin tones, richer solids, and more accurate pastels and contone images than traditional four-color process.
Hexachrome’s combination of CMYK plus orange and green inks is said to extend the gamut dramatically when compared to four-color process printing. In most areas of the color spectrum, it reportedly meets or exceeds the gamut of RGB, meaning that designs created on-screen can be reproduced in print. Moreover, instead of changing the press every time a new spot color is needed, the press stays configured for Hexachrome, which simulates them. Over 90 percent of the spot colors found in the Pantone Formula Guide can be matched using Hexachrome. Requirements include a six-color press, access to a six-color proofing system, and specially formulated Hexachrome inks.
Companies Mentioned:
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Chemistry for the Graphic Arts
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