HP Indigo

[Armya Inc]

Hi can you tell mw how spot color is done on HP indigo?

 

[jlee]

The HP indigo will do a conversion to process, if you are using Indichrome then it will be 7 colour process CMYKOGV.

 

[jrcarew]

HP Indigo uses in device lookup tables for accurate spot color conversion when printing in CMYK or Indichrome.

Alternatively, HP provide their ink mixing system which will allow for a true spot color to be used. For instance if you were printing a 5/5 job (CMYK + PMS 185) a printer can order (from HP) or mix on site (if they have the equipment, inks, software) PMS 185 and run the spot color in one of the 7 color units on the press (depending on the specific press). HP is the very similar to traditional offset printing where each inking system delivers 1 color (either process or spot) to the plate, then blanket and to stock and repeats per color.

Hope this helps.

 

[Armya Inc]

Thank you both, Then it can be done with combination of software and hardware. What software does this? what are the limitations?

Thank you.

 

[jinthebay]

As a side note, as JR stated, and depending on the number of stations the press is equipted with, you can either order the specific Pantone colour from HP or mix it on site.

HOWEVER! unless you have a client that demands a true spot colour and are prepared to keep that ink in one of the tanks and BIDS (Binary Ink Developer) it may be a waste of time and money.

We found this out the hard way. After purchasing a specific pantone ink we realized that maintaining that ink for just a few runs a month was costly and difficult. Unless the ink is used on almost a daily basis, it can become compromised and the cleanup process is not quick and easy. Also, in order to achieve accurate density values, you may need to hit the colour twice (two passes of the same colour) meaning an additional click charge. This is something that HP is reluctant to advertise.

Hope this helps as well.

 

[Armya Inc]

As a side note, as JR stated, and depending on the number of stations the press is equipted with, you can either order the specific Pantone colour from HP or mix it on site.

HOWEVER! unless you have a client that demands a true spot colour and are prepared to keep that ink in one of the tanks and BIDS (Binary Ink Developer) it may be a waste of time and money.

We found this out the hard way. After purchasing a specific pantone ink we realized that maintaining that ink for just a few runs a month was costly and difficult. Unless the ink is used on almost a daily basis, it can become compromised and the cleanup process is not quick and easy. Also, in order to achieve accurate density values, you may need to hit the colour twice (two passes of the same colour) meaning an additional click charge. This is something that HP is reluctant to advertise.

Hope this helps as well.

Thanks to both of you, I am kind of new in this field. Sorry for asking basic questions. but as far as I understood we are basically doing the same as offset print in the digital world, but in digital world the same idea of CMYK+ spot color are done through the software and then the file was sent directly to the Paper with CMYK ink and/or Specially Mixed Inks for Spot colors.

Can I also say that HP Indigo is like Heidelberg DI Machine ? What kind of plates do you use? Is it special plates(Media)? Do we have limitations for units like press machines? Like for 2 collor machine and a CMYK job, the paper has to be passed twice. How does it work?

Thank you again.

 

[Photobook]

Indigo Rendering Intent

Indigo Rendering Intent

Sorry for tacking on to this thread, but does anyone know if it is possible to "force" the indigo to Perceptual Rendering? In other words can it be set to always use Perceptual Rendering, no matter how the Document or any of the placed graphics are set?
Thanks!
J

 

[jinthebay]

Thanks to both of you, I am kind of new in this field. Sorry for asking basic questions. but as far as I understood we are basically doing the same as offset print in the digital world, but in digital world the same idea of CMYK+ spot color are done through the software and then the file was sent directly to the Paper with CMYK ink and/or Specially Mixed Inks for Spot colors.

Can I also say that HP Indigo is like Heidelberg DI Machine ? What kind of plates do you use? Is it special plates(Media)? Do we have limitations for units like press machines? Like for 2 collor machine and a CMYK job, the paper has to be passed twice. How does it work?

Thank you again.

Hi Armya,

I've never used the Heidelberg DI so I can't comment on that. With the Indigo, your BIDs are the equivalent to your units. Basically, they are ink rollers. One for each colour. They are connected to your ink tanks which pump the ink to the BID roller and print onto the blanket. The plate or PIP (Photo Imaging Plate) is a thin aluminum substrate that is wrapped around a cylinder, is electrically charged, and picks up a latent image from the lasers in the writing head. Each separation (CMYK and or Spot) coincides with a hit of ink from a specific BID (In my case, Yellow, then Magenta followed by Cyan and lastly Black) one separation at a time. The ink is attracted to the positively charged latent image. After each separation, the image is erased and picks up the next separation. This process happens VERY quickly. Fast enough for me to print (13) 4/4 12x18 sheets per minute. My PIP's usally last anywhere from between 60K and 100k impressions before needing to be changed.
Depending on how many BIDS you have (In my case we have seven) will depend on whether you can print CMYK or CMYK Indicrome (CMYK+ Orange, Violet and Green) (this produces a wider colour gammet) or CMYK and possibly 3 Spot colours (If you had seven bids like we do).
I'll state for the record though that we have been pleasantly surprised as to how close we can match CERTAIN Pantone colours with just a CMYK build. Not all colours can be matched this way, especially those Pantone colours that have White in them.

Hope this also helps

 

[jinthebay]

Sorry for tacking on to this thread, but does anyone know if it is possible to "force" the indigo to Perceptual Rendering? In other words can it be set to always use Perceptual Rendering, no matter how the Document or any of the placed graphics are set?
Thanks!
J

Hi Photo,

I don't know if you can "Force" this per se, but you can change the intent in your ticket template. In the colour management tab of your ticket template is the Intent section. Perceptual can be changed to Absolute Colormetric or Relative Colormetric.

I think another option would be to resubmit job as new and then change it there without having to create a separate template. Never tried this myself but it might just work.

Hope this helps