7 Color Printing vs. 4/clr & PMS

[ondagawood]

I'm trying to re-familarize myself with something I read or saw a few years ago. What are the 7 colors used to nearly create "any" color without the use of traditional 4 clr & PMS spots.
Am I correct to say - C, M, Y, K & green, red, brown ?
Please advise & thank you.
Scott

 

[gordo]

I'm trying to re-familarize myself with something I read or saw a few years ago. What are the 7 colors used to nearly create "any" color without the use of traditional 4 clr & PMS spots.
Am I correct to say - C, M, Y, K & green, red, brown ?
Please advise & thank you.
Scott

For spot color replacement using a 7 color process ink set the ink hues are: CMYK, Green, Red/Orange, Blue/Violet. The particular hues of the Green, Red/Orange, Blue/Violet will depend of the color you're trying to match, the substrate you're printing on, the CMYK inkset you're using, and the printing method you're applying it to.

Esko Kaleidoscope and Kodak Spotless are two products that can be used with an extended process color inset to replace spot colors.

best, gordo

 

[monq]

Hi ondagawood - just out of curiosity, what would be the advantage of trying to recreate Pantones using 7 non pantone inks? I mean - with 7 Pantones, you have quite a lot of colours to play with, instead of having to use 7 "process" colours?

Just curious - I am sure there is a valid reason for this. Cheers!

 

[gordo]

Hi ondagawood - just out of curiosity, what would be the advantage of trying to recreate Pantones using 7 non pantone inks? I mean - with 7 Pantones, you have quite a lot of colours to play with, instead of having to use 7 "process" colours?

Just curious - I am sure there is a valid reason for this. Cheers!

Here are some reasons why an extended process color workflow is used instead of spot colors:
• More efficient press utilization/smaller (less expensive) presses
• Greater efficiency via simpler combo sheets/maximize sheet usage/minimize wastage
• Virtual elimination of makeready (and associated costs)
• Provide more creative options because design is not limited by the number of spot colors that can be used
• Brings long run cost efficiencies to short runs enabling more marketing options (e.g. localization)
• Enables just in type inventory fulfillment
• Align color across various printing methods or media
• Simulate arbitrary colors
• Create aligned real world-to-print color recipes
• Create cross-printer “safe” colors where printing is done at multiple locations
• Extended gamut also available for contone images

Depending on the needs of the print buyer/and packaging needs any one or multiple value propositions may be sufficient reason to implement such a workflow.

best, gordo

 

[monq]

Thanks for the excellent feedback Gordo! I guess that I always go with my tunnel vision of artwork creation / forgetting that most people would not like to be constrained to only a few colours!

Just as a final question - can you really replicate the vibrancy of solid inks like a Process Blue or PMS 485 with these 7 colours? I am assuming that you can somehow fool the eye well enough if the screening looks ok / but I am guessing that the final output will never be as good as a single splotch of ink? (sorry - splotch is my technical word for solid, "non screeny" ink! )

Cheers!

 

[gordo]

Just as a final question - can you really replicate the vibrancy of solid inks like a Process Blue or PMS 485 with these 7 colours? I am assuming that you can somehow fool the eye well enough if the screening looks ok / but I am guessing that the final output will never be as good as a single splotch of ink? (sorry - splotch is my technical word for solid, "non screeny" ink!

Yes you can replicate the vibrancy of solid inks like a Process Blue or PMS 485.
The base ink hues are chosen according to the customer's palette of brand colors. So, PMS 485 could be one of the extended process ink colors. Wherever PMS 485 is needed it would be printed as a single solid ink. However, PMS 485 would be used in combination with Yellow and/or Magenta and/or Cyan to extend the range of spot color Oranges and Purples that normal 4/C process cannot reproduce.

You don't use all 7 colors on a single area of color. Typically you would use no more than 3.

10s of thousands of labels and folding carton packages are printed weekly using this method. For example, in N America, most of the grocery store house brands are printed this way.

best, gordo

 

[monq]

Gordo - as usual, thanks a bunch for all your excellent feedback. between you and other people in this forum (and my local printer as well - I am becoming best pal with him! ) I am learning absolute loads!

Regards,
David

 

[Alois Senefelder]

Hi-fidelity printing

Hi-fidelity printing

Gentlemen and monq

PDFs - Hi-fidelity printing from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen



Regards, Alois

 

[gordo]

Gentlemen and monq

PDFs - Hi-fidelity printing from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen

Regards, Alois

Hi-fidelity printing is not the same as replacing spot colors with extended process screen tint builds.

Hi-fidelity printing uses non-process colors in combination with 4/C printing in order provide greater color fidelity, or visual impact, to images.

Replacing spot colors with extended process screen tint builds uses non-process colors in combination with 4/C printing in order to reduce print manufacturing costs and provide greater flexibility to the brand owner.

best, gordo

 

[monq]

Gentlemen and monq
Regards, Alois

p$ are you trying to say that I am not gentlemany enough?!?!

Thanks for the pdfs - and Gordo, thanks for the extra clarification.

 

[ondagawood]

Gordo, monq & alois,

Thanks for all the feedback and info, thats' just what I was looking for. Just trying to remember that stuff in case I need it soon for a "new" job. Recently let-go, lack of work and position eliminated. 30 yrs. printing experience looking for new job.

Cheers,
Scott

 

[rich apollo]

Heck, you can extend the color gamut with an extra hit of cyan or magenta. Here's a link to a simple, inexpensive method:Hi_Fi_color

It works very well.

monq, you asked some questions:

Q: what would be the advantage of trying to recreate Pantones using 7 non pantone inks?
A: The advantage is that the pressmen don't have to wash up the ink fountains and switch colors. Using an extended process set of inks means greater efficiency and that equates to savings. Also, process inks will generally be less expensive than spot colors.

Q: can you really replicate the vibrancy of solid inks like a Process Blue or PMS 485 with these 7 colours?
A: Absolutely! A single large solid is actually tough to print well. Printers will often run a second spot color plate with a screen to smooth out the solid. With an extra cyan plate, I've printed blues so spectacular they make your jaw drop. With an extra magenta I've printed reds that look like a candy-apple paint job on a hot-rod.