Color Target for repeat orders

[Brad38CMU]

I've seen this managed a couple different ways at other companies, but I'd like to get some opinions on what we should be targeting for color for repeat customer orders after the initial press run is complete. We are a flexo printer running both Expanded Gamut and standard CMYK+Spot press setups. I am of the opinion that the contract proof that the customer signed should always be what we are targeting. Others believe that we should utilize the contract proof for the initial job, but then target the press samples from the initial run and ignore the contract proof for any future orders. Common "copy of a copy" logic can be applied that would create additional variation in color if we are not always pointing to the contract proof as the target.

Please comment on what others are doing and if there is any formal FTA or other industry standard documentation that would support your opinion point me to it. Much appreciated!

 

[Magnus59]

I've seen this managed a couple different ways at other companies, but I'd like to get some opinions on what we should be targeting for color for repeat customer orders after the initial press run is complete. We are a flexo printer running both Expanded Gamut and standard CMYK+Spot press setups. I am of the opinion that the contract proof that the customer signed should always be what we are targeting. Others believe that we should utilize the contract proof for the initial job, but then target the press samples from the initial run and ignore the contract proof for any future orders. Common "copy of a copy" logic can be applied that would create additional variation in color if we are not always pointing to the contract proof as the target.

Please comment on what others are doing and if there is any formal FTA or other industry standard documentation that would support your opinion point me to it. Much appreciated!

When I started my apprenticeship in this industry some 47 yeas ago, the practice at the shop was to match previous sample each time, most of our work was spot colour, and the ink manufacturers had their own house colours (Bright Scarlet, Royal Blue, Chocolate Brown etc) Pantone colours were few and far between, and when we did mix Pantones it was by eye, not with scales.
Sometimes we would look at the last run of a job and compare it with one from several orders back, often the colours would be nowhere near each other.
What I learned from this was that you should always match to a known correct version, whether that's the proof or the first printing. The downside to this is that both proofs and printed sheets can change colour over time due to environmental factors, so both methods have their pitfalls, therefore, wherever possible, colour matching should be performed using a measuring device that returns LAB values.

 

[SteveSuffRIT]

What if the press color OK had out of specs values for SID (solid ink density), TVI (tone value increase), GB (gray balance)?
On the reprint, would you want me to print poorly over again?
Always use the prepress customer approved proof for color matching.

 

[Dario]

Where I work, the printing department holds on to its own color samples from the first print run confirmed by the customer, and it always goes by that alone.
I do prepress, and I don't put my mouth on what the press does - I'd just go looking for trouble.
My humble opinion is that every job should always be based only on objectively measurable data, and of course also define within what tolerances one can move.
Unfortunately, my press man is old school, and he doesn't know what I'm talking about - he just wants printed color proofs to look at with his own eyes.

ps: I suggest yous take a look a this: Brand colors: we need to do better… and, yes we can! - Project BBCG

 

[Richprints]

Who did the press OK? If the customer is involved his OK needs to be the target, even if spec values are out. The new specs should now be the reproduceable target. As long as you can get data from color bars you can reproduce to the "color standard".

 

[SheetSqueezer]

Who did the press OK? If the customer is involved the OK needs to be the target, even if spec values are out. The new specs should now be the reproduceable target.

As long as the values aren’t too far out, I agree. But if they’re too far out to start with it’s better to go back and (presumably) adjust the file in prepress before printing. Especially for something with multiple forms or signatures and/or a known repeat order.