In the sign and display graphics business, as in many other segments of the printing industry, shorter runs and reduced cycle times can stress even the most efficient wide format printing operations. By implementing a color-managed RIP-to-roll (or RIP-to-rigid media) workflow, these operations can ensure that color is right the first time and every time to help speed work through the shop and meet color expectations. Photo by Peter Saunders Today we are share tips from our Color Experts that c...

When it comes to color accuracy in the world of print and packaging, having the right tools at your disposal is crucial. We understand how overwhelming it can be to choose from a plethora of options. Fear not, for we’ve simplified your decision-making process. Here’s our list of top color match devices, each catering to different needs:   eXact™ 2 Handheld Spectrophotometer for Paper, Corrugated & Carton Boards Ideal for professionals working with paper, corr...

Starbucks has once again kicked off the holiday season with four new festive cup designs. This year they surprised us with a magenta accent, which “lifts the traditional holiday colors and makes the red even look brighter,” said Kristy Cameron, Starbucks’ creative director. In the frenzy of holiday shopping, packaging plays a crucial role in catching the eye of potential buyers. However, staying ahead of the game and adapting packaging designs to align with ever-changing con...

Working in prepress holds a unique challenge. Even if your color workflow is tight, everything can fall apart if the customer’s file isn’t color managed. We’ve all seen it. You receive a file that the customer claims is ready to print, yet when you open it on your computer, the colors don’t look right at all. You can’t send it to print without knowing for sure, because you’re the one who will take the hit for wasted time and materials if it’s wrong....

If ensuring color consistency is part of your job description, you’ll want to learn more about PantoneLIVE. Our customers report that it helps them get products to market an average of four times faster! PantoneLIVE is an end-to-end, digital color communication ecosystem that helps everyone involved in a packaging workflow visualize and communicate color. It shows which colors are achievable, and which are not, across everything from flexible packaging to corrugated board. And, since the digital...

When all of final production packaging comes together on the store shelf, it’s a brand’s moment of truth. Do the stand-up pouches, overwraps, and corrugated POP displays match? How close is the color to its standard? We know you spend so much time and money designing, proofing, sampling, printing, and shipping… so where does the color go wrong? Is it an issue with accuracy, consistency, or both? Package designs come together on the shelf. Here you see pouches, labels, cartons, and corrugated wit...

What happens when you have more than 2,000 brand colors to manage across a complex global packaging supply chain? Things get complicated! Although it may seem easier to create a new color than to dig through databases or binders of color drawdowns to find the closest match, the problem comes later when you’re faced with a huge, unmanageable library. One of our clients, a well-known fast-moving consumer packaged goods (FMCG) company, understands how easily things can get out of control. They wer...

All it takes is 2 to 7 seconds. That's right, a tiny snapshot in time is what a consumer invests in making many purchase decisions about a product. This is the much talked about and researched “First Moment of Truth”.   X-Rite color management solutions for print and packaging deliver excellence in quality control, formulation and automation.     Color is a significant factor in First Moment of Truth, when you considered the reach it has to engage us and communi...

When someone says “apple,” do you think red, green, or yellow? What do you do if a customer asks you to produce a color using descriptions that are not specific enough? Check out how something as seemingly simple as color communication can determine whether your color program succeeds or fails. A picture may paint a thousand words, but words alone do not paint a thousand colors. Circular conversations about color happen everyday. They generally start with someone asking for a sligh...

Does your quality control program include visual evaluation? If not, it should. Using the SpectraLight QC as part of a color evaluation workflow. No matter your industry, judging color is more than just measuring samples with a color measurement device. Just because a spectrophotometer says your color is within tolerance, doesn’t necessarily mean it will look right to the human eye. To minimize customer rejects, your color control process needs to include visual evaluation in a light boo...

Anyone responsible for printing goods or packaging knows that some colors, like orange, are just too difficult to reproduce using only CMY inks. A fourth color, black (K, which stands for key color) is often added to subtractive color printing applications. Since C+M+Y actually creates a muddy brownish color due to ink impurities in C, M and Y, adding a true black ink creates the deep color and tones that CMY alone can’t achieve, plus adds density to the shadows. This four-color printin...

This time of year, the internet is full of Top 10 Countdowns. It’s a tradition we’ve embraced since 1940 when the Billboard published its first chart ranking the top selling recorded songs. Since then, others have jumped on the bandwagon to highlight the most popular trends of the previous year.   We’ve been publishing our top-read blogs since 2016, and we’re happy to see some educational topics like color perception, tolerancing, and spectrophotometers continue to r...

It’s important to ensure design intent is realized each time and everywhere a product appears. But with so many variables to impact print quality, how can brands utilize suppliers around the world and still achieve consistent color? Our X-Rite Pantone Packaging Color Experts have designed a series of consulting services and workshops to help you get the most from your print, packaging, plastic or textile value chain.   Offered both online and onsite, these interactive sessions i...

Digital technology is revolutionizing printing operations. However, as offset printers look for ways to improve quality, reduce costs, and increase productivity, the ink room is often overlooked. This is a big miss. If offset inks do not meet specifications, all the standardization efforts in the pressroom will be wasted. With the right tools, ink formulation can become an integral part of an end-to-end color workflow to reduce cycle time and increase profits. Today we'll outline an ideal digit...

Why Calibrate Your Spectrophotometer? For the most part, today’s color measurement instruments are 100% digital. In fact, there are very few analog components inside, except for the light bulbs. Although they’re more stable than their analog predecessors, their tolerances are much narrower, and they need regular spectrophotometer calibration to stay within these tight specs. Bulb Stability As you use your instrument and the bulb turns on and off, it starts to change its character. S...

You say color is important, but do you know why it’s so important? In reality, color is a critical element in the manufacturing process. Unfortunately, many manufacturers are realizing that getting color right is much harder than it used to be, and the brands they support are asking them to meet tighter tolerances. Here’s why. While advances in color technology – think metallic packaging, pearlescent finishes, custom fabrics and vibrant new colors – entice customers, the...

Metallized substrates like two-piece metal packaging are expensive to produce and make print color control a challenge. While many in the metal decorating sector are resistant to embracing color measurement, it is the fastest, most accurate and cost-effective way to produce consistent color across processing plants and achieve sustainability initiatives. Today we’ll discuss: The shortcomings of visual evaluation in a color control program, The components of a digital color solutio...

Color management is a process that identifies and characterizes each device in the imaging workflow to ensure all devices are speaking the same language. As defined by the ICC (International Color Consortium), a color managed workflow is predictable, consistent, and repeatable from capture through proofing to final output.   With digital color management, everyone involved in the print workflow can reference spectral values for specified colors and check accuracy at multiple steps along the...

Color management has caused an explosion of opportunities for new and interesting inks on a variety of substrates like paper, fabric, ceramic, transparent, and more. To ensure you can maintain accurate color when running jobs with these new applications, you need to create a printer profile for every printer, ink, and substrate combination. X-Rite offers the right tools to make profile creation fast and easy. Color Measurement Tools  The i1Pro 3 Family has you covered for virtually any prin...

When customers are just getting started with color management, they often ask, "What is the difference between a spectrometer and a spectrophotometer?". With such a minute spelling difference, it's easy to make a quick typo and get the wrong answer for this color question. So...what's the difference? Spectrometers vs. Spectrophotometers    What is a Spectrophotometer? A spectrophotometer is a color measurement device that is used to capture and evaluate color on just about anything, in...

In this series we’ve been discussing the many factors that impact how we see color, and what we can do to ensure the color we see is accurate. Light, retinal fatigue and background effects can influence our perception of color. Today we’ll look at the limitations of the human eye and brain, and talk about how to detect these characteristics, especially for individuals responsible for evaluating and judging color. Are YOU color deficient? Read on to find out. (Spoiler alert: There’s a test at the...

There are many things that affect our ability to see color. In some cases, it doesn’t matter if the red you see is the same shade I see. A barn is a barn, right? But for those who work in an industry where color evaluation is part of the job, it IS important… VERY important. In our color perception series, we’re discussing the many factors that affect how we see color and what colorists can do to ensure that the color they see is the color they are supposed to see. Today we’ll take a closer look...

How many trial and error steps does it take you to formulate a color? If you answered more than three, it might be time to enlist the help of a computerized solution. Computer-aided color formulation can bring huge benefits to your business. Out of the gate, even beginners can hit color targets faster, saving time, money and expensive colorants. Once you have established an accurate method, you can expect to match 95% of your color formula requirements within a reasonable color distance on the f...

We’re very excited to announce the launch of our eXact 2 spectrophotometer! With innovative new features like an on-board high-resolution camera, integrated scanning wheels, and software connectivity (just to name a few), this device is going to be a game changer for printers, converters, and ink suppliers. Available in three models, you might be wondering which eXact 2 is right for you. This blog lays out the differences between the eXact 2, eXact 2 Xp, and eXact 2 Plus to help you decid...

Are you wondering if the new eXact™ 2 is right for your shop? Today we’ll break down the top device, software, and support features for printers and converters to help you decide.   eXact 2 Device Enhancements for Printers and Converters First, let’s lay out the main hardware differences between eXact 1 and eXact 2. 30% Larger, Tiltable Screen with Double the Resolution. While this may not sound like a huge deal, if you’re measuring press sheets all day, y...

L&E International, Ltd is a global provider of sustainable, innovative packaging solutions. As a certified packaging supplier for adidas, Verizon, Amazon (APASS vendor in Asia), Target, and many other brands and retailers, L&E maintains and upholds strict brand color standards across multiple countries and locations of manufacture.  Last year, L&E selected X-Rite digital color workflow solutions to maintain their high color matching expectations. We are excited to be working wit...

Are you wondering if the new eXactTM 2 is right for your ink kitchen? Today we’ll break down the top device, software, and support features for ink suppliers to help you decide.  eXact 2 Device Enhancements for Ink Suppliers First, let’s look at the main hardware differences between eXact 1 and eXact 2.  30% Larger, Tiltable Screen with Double the Resolution. While this may not sound like a huge deal, if you’re measuring drawdowns all day, you’ll...

Asda brand packaging is printed globally across a variety of suppliers, print processes, and substrates. With a small team of print specialists, it was impossible and impractical for Asda to attend even a small percentage of press passes across all suppliers to validate print quality. Seven years ago, Asda adopted the X-Rite Pantone ColorCert Suite, a digital color program to help them streamline approvals and deliver brand presence and quality assurance on the shelf across their primary and se...

As the range of substrates, inks, and printing technologies has expanded, so has the challenge of maintaining color quality for brands and printers. A workflow based on digital standards is the easiest way to achieve accuracy and consistency across shifts and sites, regardless of production requirements. Adding a quality control solution like ColorCert® to your workflow can boost your bottom line even more. What is ColorCert? ColorCert is a modular, job-based solution that streamlines color ...

With more consumer package goods (CPG) brands implementing packaging quality control programs to monitor color tolerances, converters and package printers need color measurement solutions that integrate directly with reporting systems. Our IntelliTrax2 Pro and eXact Auto-Scan Pro Scanning Solutions combine the power of our industry-leading automated scanning devices with the power of our end-to-end software solutions to meet the needs of brands, packaging converters, and commercial printers alik...