Classification of Colour Gamuts of Printing Processes

The colour gamut of a printing process (for a given combination of ink strength and substrate) is primarily determined by the chroma values of the primary and secondary colours. In a simplified approach the chroma values can be used to describe the colour gamut of a printing process by one single number. Based on colour measurements of a large selection of different process/substrate combinations a classification is proposed comprising 7 gamuts ranging from extra-large to very small. The gamuts are defined by chroma and hue angle values. It is proposed to use these gamut categories for describing the colour rendering quality of a printing process and for standardising different process/substrate variations in printing specifications or standards.