Requirements for the use of color measuring instruments in the printing industry
When controlling and detecting color, densitometers, colorimeters, and spectrophotometers are the main tools for measuring printing color. Although these three instruments have different functions, they all use reflected (or transmitted) light to measure color. Using an internal standard light source to illuminate the sample, the sample selectively absorbs, reflects, and scatters the light. The instrument's photodetector detects the reflected light and compares it with the standard light source. When using single-wavelength filters or a spectrophotometer, the sensor analyzes color and intensity according to wavelength, processes the information, and provides the necessary data such as density values or colorimetric parameters.
Printing colorimeters (also known as printing color measuring instruments) are widely used in color control across industries such as printing, packaging, paper printing, decorative printing, four-color printing, offset ink matching, gravure ink printing, label printing, and CMYK and color density measurement of printed materials. This article will introduce product parameters, application areas, color management in the printing industry, and more about printing colorimeters. 3NH's printing colorimeter series includes six products, including the YD5050/YD5010/YD5000 printing density meters and the ST-70/ST-60/TS7700/YS3060 portable colorimeters.
Why CMYK Testing Is Mandatory in the Printing and Packaging Industry
The core reason why CMYK testing is imperative in the printing and packaging industry is that CMYK serves as the foundational color mode for printing, directly determining the color reproduction accuracy, consistency, and quality stability of the final products.
This can be elaborated from the following aspects:
CMYK is the "color language" of printing, and its underlying principle is fundamentally different from that of the RGB mode used in digital design. Printing and packaging adopt the subtractive color mixing principle, where a vast spectrum of colors is created by overlaying and blending four types of inks: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (Black). Without CMYK value testing, directly applying RGB-designed drafts to printing processes will result in severe color deviation. For instance, a vivid red displayed on a screen may turn dull or orange after printing, causing the final product to deviate from the original design expectations.
CMYK testing ensures color consistency in mass production. The printing and packaging industry typically involves large-scale manufacturing—for example, producing identical batches of food packaging boxes or cosmetic bags requires strict color uniformity across every single unit. By using color measurement instruments to test key CMYK parameters such as ink density and dot area, manufacturers can precisely control production processes including ink formulation ratios, printing pressure, and drying temperature for each batch. If the CMYK values of any color deviate from the standards, timely adjustments can be made to avoid scrapping entire batches due to color discrepancies, thereby significantly reducing production costs.
It meets the requirements of brand color standardization. For brand owners, the color of product packaging is a crucial component of brand identity (e.g., Coca-Cola’s iconic red, Starbucks’ signature green). Testing CMYK values enables the conversion of brand-specified colors into quantifiable printing standards. This ensures that regardless of the printing facility or paper material used, the color of the final packaging will strictly match the brand’s standard color values, reinforcing consumers’ visual recognition of the brand.
It adapts to variations in the properties of printing materials. Different printing substrates—such as coated paper, kraft paper, and plastic films—vary greatly in ink absorption capacity and color rendering effects. Testing CMYK values during the printing process allows targeted adjustments to ink dosage and ratios based on specific materials. For example, on highly absorbent kraft paper, the CMYK ink concentration needs to be appropriately increased to ensure color saturation; whereas on smooth plastic films, ink thickness must be controlled to prevent ink adhesion issues.
3NH Printing Color Management
Printing Color Density Management
The YD5050 spectrophotometer adopts the CIE-specified 45/0 geometric optical structure. This domestically produced grating spectrophotometer features a low center of gravity, horizontal design, and a fixed physical positioning plate, enabling stable and efficient measurement. It is ideal for testing flat samples in printing and packaging applications. It provides printing-specific measurement parameters: color density, all densities, dot area, dot gain, overprinting, printing contrast, tone error, and grayscale. It fully complies with standard ISO 5-4 and supports the MO, M1, M2, and M3 test conditions specified in ISO 13655, accurately achieving ISO Status T, E, A, and I density measurements.
Color management of printed decorative items
It can accurately measure the appearance color of printed decorations and manage the appearance color values of printed decorations in a data-driven manner.
Recommended Products
ST-70 Portable Spectrophotometer
Color management in paper printing
It can measure paper whiteness, yellowness, density, whiteness index, yellowness index, CMYK value, and supports four-color printing color measurement, enabling color management anytime, anywhere.
Recommended Products
TS7700 portable spectrophotometer
Color management in printing and packaging
Color difference measurement in the printing and packaging industry; color management of packaging products and packaging decoration.
Recommended Products
Portable Spectrophotometer ST60
Gloss management of printing
The gloss of printed paper affects the printing effect and user experience. The YG75 instrument can accurately measure the gloss data of printed materials, enabling quality control. The YG75 gloss meter uses a 75-degree angle measurement method to measure the gloss of the paper surface.
Recommended Products
YG75 gloss meter
Color difference meter application solutions in the printing industry
Color measurement and color difference evaluation have a long history of application in related industrial fields such as textile printing and dyeing, pulp and paper making, paint film coating, and clothing, both domestically and internationally. By using a colorimeter for
colorimetric evaluation and classification management, color standards can be established and colors can be represented numerically.
3NH Printing Color Difference Meters: Color Management Experts in the Printing Industry. In the printing industry, color consistency and accuracy are crucial to product quality and corporate image. 3NH's independently developed printing color difference meters provide comprehensive solutions for color management in the printing industry.
Product Introduction: The YS3060 grating spectrophotometer/colorimeter (YS3060, YS3010, YS3020) is a domestically produced grating spectrophotometer independently developed by Nason Company with complete independent intellectual property rights. The instrument is stable, accurately measures color, and boasts powerful functions, leading the field of portable spectrophotometers. The colorimeter is widely used in industries such as plastics and electronics, paints and inks, textiles and apparel printing and dyeing, printing and paper products, automotive, medical, cosmetics, and food, as well as in research institutions and laboratories.
Product Model: YS3060 Country of Origin: Mainland China
Requirements for Color Measurement Instruments in the Printing Industry Regarding
Color Density Meters:
① Ease of use and standardization: In experimental production, printing quality control is inseparable from the use of density meters from beginning to end. If each measurement and calibration is cumbersome and time-consuming, it will inevitably affect speed and accuracy. Moreover, the density meter must be calibrated regularly using a dedicated reflective (or transmissive) gray scale or ruler.
② The instrument sensitivity should be suitable for printing color measurement, generally using a CIE A light source and T-state density. T-state density is an objective physical measuring instrument specifically designed for color separation and printing. The blue, green, and red light from the T-state density meter are the complementary colors of the three primary color inks (yellow, magenta, and cyan), enabling effective detection and control of the modulation amount of the three primary colors and the relative thickness of the yellow, magenta, and cyan ink layers during color separation and printing.
③ The instrument performance must meet the specifications. Accuracy, repeatability, reproducibility, and internal fit are the performance specifications for density meters. They should be able to be compared and measured outside of specified time periods.
For colorimeters, the requirements are:
① Lightweight design for flexible positioning on the printed material and adaptability to large-format measurements.
② Measurement geometry should be 45°/0° or 0°/45°; the standard light source should be a C or D65 light source; a CIE 2° small field-of-view standard observer is preferable (because the area of the evaluated colors in printing is relatively small).
③ The colorimeter's measuring aperture should not exceed 5mm. Typically, the color patches for printing color charts are smaller than 10 mm², and the color patches on printing quality control strips are only 6 mm². Especially for continuous tone color images, the measurement range needs to be even smaller; therefore, the measuring aperture of the colorimeter should not exceed 5 mm.
④ The colorimeter output should not only include standard color values (e.g., XYZ), but also be able to output the coordinates of CIE LAB and CIE LUV chromaticities.
