The Wider View: Increasing Opportunity with Expanded Color Sets

To an outsider, wide-format printing devices seem to be, more or less, the same. The three best known “flavors” of printers — roll-to-roll, hybrid, and flatbed — create a “three scoop sundae.” And while certainly delicious in its potential for opportunity, that does not by itself include all the “toppings” available through ink choices. Okay, enough with the ice cream metaphor.

Today’s producers understand that CMYK will not earn you every flavor (or color) in the rainbow. Finding more flavors means developing an understanding of the rather granular ink offerings found in modern wide-format equipment.

For example, several wide-format OEMs offer expanded color sets including options like orange, violet, and green, which greatly increase the available gamut. This can be highly beneficial for companies seeking extremely high color quality.

An example of where greater color quality is needed is for countertop point-of-purchase cosmetics displays: The flesh tones must be correct, and because they are viewed close-up, the ability to produce subtle tonality shifts is paramount. The expectation is that the print should look photographic.

Another common example is the accurate printing of brand colors that fall outside of what CMYK can provide. Examples include Tiffany blue (Pantone 1837), Coca-Cola red (Pantone 484 or 485), and Barbie pink (Pantone 219).

Most of us can picture these colors in our mind, and as a result, most of us can tell (or sense) when the color is incorrect. The use of expanded color, in these cases, not only enables producers to match the color (within expectation); it also puts them in contention for business that relies on hard-to-reach hues.

Neon colors have also been having a moment. While many think of neon as the realm of the groovy black-light posters of the 1970s, neon and fluorescent colors can be used to expand potential gamut. Their ability to fluoresce enables prints to glow or pop in subtle and/or visually striking ways.

Clear, jettable coatings can be used in a variety of applications as well, including the creation of gloss and matte finishes, the production of subtle textures, and spot-varnish effects. Used thoughtfully, this option enables enhancement of all or part of the printed surface, either to add additional “pop” to colors or to embellish the print in ways that increase value and differentiate the work from producers without the capability.

Finally, opaque white ink — it was once somewhat of a novelty and now it’s widely used, particularly on flatbed printers. This ink enables printing on non-white substrates by creating an opaque white base. Because of the white base, process colors (CMYK or expanded) can be used on top of them without being subject to color shift from the color of the substrate upon which it is printed. While white ink is generally used in this way, producers, in collaboration with designers, are now also using it to create multi-layer effects, or to produce double-sided prints on, for instance, transparent acrylic. This is another example of how possessing a capability can open opportunities for unique, potentially higher-value work.

All this said, simply having these capabilities on your shop floor does not guarantee your profitability in using them. That aspect — successful integration — will be addressed in next month’s column.