Administration > Ink Setup
Availability: all versions
In this section, you will learn,
- Why Process Colors and Inks need to be created
- How to enter Ink prices
- How to enter customer specific Ink prices
- How to enter printer–configuration specific ink-drop sizes.
Printing systems can be filled with different inks. Constant developments in Ink technology means that the user will probably have to add new Inks on more than one occasion. The availability of new Inks also means that the user will need to; at minimum control whether or not the new Ink is creating similar results and it may also mean that existing Color Policies must be Re–Profiled to optimise print results.
By managing Inks, the user can quickly find the answers to the following questions in the Workflow:
- Which Inks were used for profiling?
- Is it possible to achieve similar results with the current Ink Setup?
- Which Ink yields the lowest Ink consumption?
1. Creating new Process Colors
If a special color outside the standard scope needs to be integrated into your printing system additional Process Colors can be created.
In the Workflow, all standard colors used in digital printing are made available:
- Cyan – CMYK Process color
- Magenta – CMYK Process color
- Yellow – CMYK Process color
- Black – CMYK Process color
- Orange – Color space expanding process color
- Green – Color space expanding process color
- Violet – Color space expanding process color
- Light Magenta – diluted version of the base color Magenta, which is used to reduce graininess in pastel tones
- Light Cyan – diluted version of the basic color Cyan, which is used to reduce graininess in pastel tones.
- Light Black – diluted version of the basic color Black used to reduce graininess in pastel tones.
- White – special color for over- and underprinting of printed/unprinted surfaces
- Red – color space expanding color that is often used in textile environments instead of Orange
- Blue – color space expanding color which is often used in the textile environment instead of Violet.
- Varnish – varnish paint for partial varnishing of surfaces
- Satinato – special color for satin finishing of surfaces (mostly in the glass printing environment)
To add a Process Color, proceed as follows:
- Select Administration > Ink Setup > Setup tab
- Under the Available Process Colors panel Select New > New Process Color from the drop-down menu bar to open the Add Process Color dialog.
Figure 1: Setting up the "Ferrari Red" Process Color
The following input or selection fields are available:
- Name* [1]: Enter a semantic name – e.g. Ferrari Red – for the Process Color.
- Abbreviation* [2]: A unique abbreviation for the name of the Process Color – e.g. F – should be entered. This unique abbreviation is used to identify the color separation in the job ticket.
- Display Color [3]: Enter the RGB value that is used to display the color tone in the Workflow. This color is displayed in the color bar [4] below.
- Retain Separation [5]: Select this option if the color will be used as a Spot Color in the system and not as a color space expanding color. Typical Process Colors that are created to maintain separations are White, Varnish or also colors (liquids) that must be applied for pretreatment.
- Light Channel [6]: Select this option if the color is to be regarded as a Light Color. If the checkbox is activated, you still have to select the corresponding Process Color in the drop-down menu under Solid Process Color [7].
The fields marked with * are mandatory.
To create additional Process Colors, please consult the help of a Workflow specialist.
Incorrectly configuring Process Colors can cause numerous errors and sub-optimal print results.
2. Creating new Ink Families and new Inks
Once you have created the desired process colors, only the parent ink family is missing to create inks. To create an ink family, you must change to the menu item Administration > All inks. In the Ink Families area, select + New in the footer to create a new ink family. A dialog opens in which you have several setting options:
- Name * [8] : In this field you should enter the exact name of the inks (according to the manufacturer).
- Segment * [9] : Select the appropriate printer segment (Alpha, CPD, Glass, Label, LFP, Omega or Rhotex) from the drop-down menu.
- Supplier * [10] : In this field you must enter the manufacturer of the inks for the specific printer segment.
- Comment[11] : Optionally, you can add any remarks to the created ink family.
- Color [12] : In this area, you can select which process colors to include as inks in the ink family. With the checkbox on the right side of the area you can activate the color, add the required color names and optionally an order number. By adding them in the Create Ink Family dialog, the inks are automatically created and can be accessed in the ink configuration.
The fields marked with * are mandatory.
Figure 2: Create section of ink family - dialog
3. Editing Process Colors, Defined Families and Definitions
- Click on the desired Process Color, e.g. Cyan, [14].
- To edit the Process Color, go to Edit > Edit Process Color Cyan [15] in the action bar. If you want to edit one of the Inks, select it from the list and select Edit > Edit Ink from the menu.
- The Edit Process Color dialog opens and you can change the settings as desired (see Figure 1 above).
Figure 3: The Ink "Tau STD Ink" in the Edit drop-down.
4. Deleting Inks
- Click Delete in the action bar; a warning dialog appears and asks for confirmation when deleting the selected Ink.
- Click Ok to delete the Ink.
Figure 4: The Delete Ink dialog
