What happened to Hexachrome and whether the CMYK gamut can expand

[HarveyDunn]

Out of curiosity: what killed Hexachrome? Was it the complexity of doing the separations? Or was there just no demand for a 6 color process? Any chance we will see another attempt at a 6 color process in the future? I've heard a bit about Opaltone, but I don't think I understand what it is.

GRACoL seems like a nice upgrade on SWOP as far as the gamut for sheet-fed printing is concerned; is it a plateau we will be in for some time, or are there additional expansions of the gamut on the horizon?

 

[Stephen Marsh]

The Hexachrome process was proprietary, which may have been part of the reason for it’s lack of use and eventual extinction.

Other extended gamut CMYK+ process+spot sets using any standard/any ink have been implemented by Esko (Equinox) and Creo/Kodak (Spotless). Generally they are CMYK+Orange+Green, CMYK+Orange+Violet, CMYK+Orange+Green+Violet.

Some use this to expand the gamut of regular images beyond the traditional CMYK gamut, however photos can start to look “radioactive” if this is not done well.

Others use these processes to simulate a range of spot colours, so that the press can run a standard 5/6/7 colour set without needing any washup for true “specials”.

SWOP was never meant for sheetfed, running FM screens can slightly expand gamut, while running to “non specification” higher densities can also increase gamut too.

Gordo has written about all of this here:

The Print Guide: Hi-Fi color - 8 strategies to implementation


Stephen Marsh

 

[HarveyDunn]

How does a person design for one of those processes you mention? I can plug any color I know to be in the CMYK gamut into InDesign and let Adobe do the rest. Is there something similar available for those?

 

[gordo]

How does a person design for one of those processes you mention? I can plug any color I know to be in the CMYK gamut into InDesign and let Adobe do the rest. Is there something similar available for those?

Expanded gamut printing is not typically used for expanding the gamut of 4/C process images for the reason that Stephen noted. If you're talking about replacing spot colors with extended process colors then, for example, with Kodak's Spotless solution you would specify a named color (could be Pantone or a proprietary brand color) that has associated CIE Lab values. So, basically you would specify spot colors as you currently do. The separations occur in the RIP at the printer or tradeshop.
IMHO, the lack of broad adoption of this technology is primarily due to the culture of printshops and their typical lack of marketing/customer issue understanding. The shops that have adopted the technology are highly profitable with it - and hence reluctant to advertise their use of it on public forums. Many of the house brand packaging on the shelves in US food stores are printed this way.
There might be someone at Kodak that could send you more detailed information, samples etc. (I used to have a list of over 1,000 labels printed using the Spotless process).

N.B. I was on the Creo/Kodak Spotless product development team. I have not been associated with Kodak since 2008.

 

[HarveyDunn]

Could I specify a LAB value that is a bit outside the GRACoL gamut and ask them to hit it for that one spot?

 

[gordo]

Could I specify a LAB value that is a bit outside the GRACoL gamut and ask them to hit it for that one spot?

If you have an ICC profile of the printshop's gamut then you can easily see if a color that you specify is in or out of gamut using an application like Chromix ColorThink. You can also compare an RGB image to the gamut to see what color areas are in or out of gamut.

 

[HarveyDunn]

Could anyone recommend any printshops that offer an extended gamut for sheet-fed printing who would be able to supply me with such their profile? This is for an artbook project. Right now the plan is to print it using GRACoL. But there are some colors that are OOG. It might be interesting to see if there is an alternative worth considering.

 

[Lukas Engqvist]

Esko is proposing something called fixed inkset printing using 7 colours and their equinox technology. It is the same thing, but slightly different. The normal setup is CVMOYGK (Violet is between cyan and magenta, orange between Magenta and yellow, green between cyan and yellow) See Esko’s Equinox Wins FTA’s 2014 Technical Innovation Award - Flexographic Technical Association

We are a graphics school with a flexopress and have done some test with this and in light of runs getting shorter and all customers wanting more of everything it's an interesting technology. Calibrating a material is quite time consuming and I have no idea about the economic implications.

 

[gordo]

Esko is proposing something called fixed inkset printing using 7 colours and their equinox technology. [SNIP] and I have no idea about the economic implications.

That is a limitation of Esko's system - their competitor's solution allows the choice of 4, 5, 6, or 7 color process as well as the use of any hues for the extended process inks.
The economic benefits to both printer and print buyer are huge. There are massive efficiencies and marketing benefits for the brand owner as well.

 

[HarveyDunn]

Gordo - can you recommend any print shops that would be worth my time to contact (see previous comment above).

 

[Stephen Marsh]

Could anyone recommend any printshops that offer an extended gamut for sheet-fed printing who would be able to supply me with such their profile? This is for an artbook project. Right now the plan is to print it using GRACoL. But there are some colors that are OOG. It might be interesting to see if there is an alternative worth considering.

Is it financially and technically viable to produce this at an outsourced trade printer using their digital press? For example, the Kodak NexPress has a HD ink option that expands the gamut beyond it’s standard CMYK, with only 4 clicks, while there is also a fifth imaging unit that can expand the job into a 5 colour job using a single red, green or blue. There is of course the HP Indigo, which offers 4-7 colours.


Stephen Marsh

 

[Deleted member 16349]

That is a limitation of Esko's system - their competitor's solution allows the choice of 4, 5, 6, or 7 color process as well as the use of any hues for the extended process inks.
The economic benefits to both printer and print buyer are huge. There are massive efficiencies and marketing benefits for the brand owner as well.

Due to the extra stations needed for these ink sets, I always thought that a positive ink feed with accurate presetting would help obtain those benefits you referred to.

Also since more inks might be used to get to specific colours, each plate might tend to have lower coverage and low coverage is more of an issue with control plus the tolerance on each will probably have to be tighter.

It would be very interesting to see having so many units come up to target quickly and stay consistent. I am curious how far one can push the limits.

 

[HarveyDunn]

Stephen, the simple answer is: I don't know. I would need to find a printer offering an extended gamut and discuss with them how predictable the results can be for colors outside the traditional gamut. I have been unable to find any trade printers offering an extended gamut.

 

[marktonk]

Heidelberg's Prinect Color Toolbox offers an option Multi Color.

Separation of up to seven colors • Using the optional Multi Color Extension, color separations for 5, 6 and 7-color printing can be produced. The inks for this can be selected in the color space in any sequence that makes sense in colorimetric terms. This means that frequently used color models such as Hexachrome® or HiFi Color are supported to the same extent as customer-specific models.

here is a link
http://www.heidelberg.com/www/binaries/bin/files/dotcom/en/products/prinect/color_toolbox.pdf

 

[gordo]

Hey Mark,

I think this fellow is looking for a customer rather than a vendor.

 

[marktonk]

Hey Mark,

I think this fellow is looking for a customer rather than a vendor.

Ah, yes. I am aware of label printers but art books are not their forte.

Best,

Mark