Colorimetric Characterization of Printing Systems Using Targets Compensated for Tonal Value Increase

This research investigated the efficacy of calibrating the output of a flexographic printing press for specified levels of tonal value increase (TVI) prior to the press characterization in order to enhance the accuracy of subsequent profiles. The objective was to determine whether or not the compensation for TVI would result in a more uniform colorimetric sampling of the printing gamut, particularly in regard to the highlights, and whether or not a more uniform sampling would provide profiles that would be more accurate in terms of color reproduction. The study was conducted on a flexographic press direct printing on corrugated board. Compensation curves were applied to the characterization targets to target 17% midtone TVI and 0% midtone TVI, and characterizations were also conducted with no compensation applied as a control. It was found that while the 17% midtone TVI calibration did result in a more uniform distribution of the colorimetric data than the uncompensated or 0% midtone TVI calibration, the profiles generated from the compensated characterizations did not provide significantly enhanced color reproduction.