The effect of colorants in proofing systems in comparison to standard four color process inks

This research concerns the evaluation of various proofing systems and their comparison to printed four color process colors.

Various types of proofing systems are being used today. They are either inkjet or laser toner based. These proofing systems use different colorants then pigment based offset printing inks. Pigmented printing inks might differ slightly in shade but not to a large extent. Due to the different chemical composition of inkjet inks and laser toners in comparison to the pigments used for printing on press, color differences are to be expected between printed sheet and proof. 

These differences might lead to noticeable color variations, especially when it comes to the reproduction of colors where the eye is more sensitive to minute differences.

The study intends to see how big the differences between 4 color process inks and randomly selected proofing systems are using color measurements with the CMC-tolerancing method. The prints will also be used to determine the obtainable color gamut of the evaluated systems. The gamut evaluation will also show if either system can reproduce colors that the other one can’t. 

Hue differences between the spectral curves of printing inks and the dyes can lead to metameric effects when proof and print are viewed under different lighting conditions (lights at press-side and office lights). 

The result of this study is that some colorants used in today’s proofing solutions are quite close to offset printing inks in regards to color while others still remain a little bit problematic.