Lower Total Area Coverage Is Acceptable and Offers Big Savings, VIGC Finds
TURNHOUT, BELGIUM—Oct. 20, 2011—Excessive total area coverage (TAC) for deep blacks could be costing the global print industry hundreds of million of Euros, according to the results of a study by the Flemish Innovation Centre for Graphic Communication (VIGC). The long-held belief in the industry is that the TAC should be between 320 and 360 percent, but the VIGC investigation revealed that 260 percent, or even 220 percent, is more than adequate, as long as the conversion is carried out with the correct profiles.
According to Eddy Hagen, director of the VIGC, “We wanted to find out how low you can go in terms of maximum ink coverage before you see an unacceptable difference. The final result was amazing. The old truth—that you need between 320 and 360 percent TAC—is not borne out, provided you convert colors correctly.”