In printing design, the three primary colors of ink are mixed in different proportions to obtain the desired color spectrum hue value. The correctness and balance of the three primary colors of ink printed on the substrate are directly related to the printing designer. Although the printing design operator can only measure and set the ink density within a limited range, these density ranges can help the printing designer obtain a larger range of overprinting ink colors, regardless of whether the ink is transparent or the substrate is pure white. In print design, we can easily find these density ranges in various related publications: such as the FIRST and SWOP standards.
The ink density range in the print design according to the instructions can be used in any ink overprint sequence, namely YMC, YCM, CMY, CYM, MCY or MYC. But does every sequence in the print design produce the same color? Actually not.
Even when the solid density is controlled to an absolute value, each overprint sequence in the print design will produce different overprint colors of red, green, and blue, because the printing ink formulation on each print design has its own different properties, such as affecting the coverage rate. Ink opacity. Therefore, the surface energy of the ink drying film layer printed first (print design) will affect the adhesion characteristics of the wet ink printed later (print design).
Yellow pigments have poor coverage, and magenta and cyan pigments have good coverage. But the surface energy of yellow pigment ink is high.
The first step in color management in print design is to determine the best ink overprint sequence and density balance that can provide a high color rendering range.
The GATF Association developed a simple color hexagon color map many years ago to visualize the ratio of different colors. The density meter can measure hue deviation,
Grayscale and overprinted colors to show the pros and cons of colors and compared with the three primary colors.
For example, the three corners of the hexagonal color diagram that are not adjacent to each other are the ideal primary ink color (YMC), the other three corners are the overprint composite color (RGB), and the center of the hexagon is the neutral color (white to gray) To black). The greater the color strength of the ink, the closer to the corners, the farther away from the neutral color.
When the printing colors and compound colors of the actual printing design are distributed in the hexagonal color map, the density, hue difference, and gray value of the three primary colors (CMY) and compound colors (RGB) are displayed.
Because the ink is not too ideal, the distributed hexagons (irregular) will not be the same size as the entire ideal hexagon color map, but it can be used for optimal printing. therefore,
Using the GAFT method for irregular hexagonal distribution to display the three primary colors and composite colors of the printed design, you can get the best density and overprint sequence.
By measuring the size of the coverage area of ​​the color, the overall ink rendering performance and the contrast strength of the printed design color are determined. Of course, the larger the area, the better.
Other density values ​​can also be distributed as part of the print design measurement sequence, such as 25% dots, 505 dots, and 755 dot density values ​​for colors.
If the distribution of these other hue values ​​is concentrated, it means that the print design is under control. On the contrary, if the distribution is not concentrated, it means that the print design is out of control and necessary adjustments should be made.
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