Investigation of effect of different total area coverage values of inks on reflection spectra and color gamut

Abstract

The paper presents investigation of the effect of different values of total area coverage of inks (TAC) on reflection spectra and color gamut. Total area coverage is a key factor for achieving of maximal volume of color gamut. The reflection spectra of color surfaces in entire visible spectrum are used for determination the effect of different values of TAC. For study the effect of TAC values on color gamut, we have used special test form that contains many components and test charts with over 1500 color patches. According to measurement of reflectance spectrum of test charts, we have compared the color gamuts with different values of TAC to obtain comprehensive information of all colors, which could be reproduced in the specific conditions. In addition we have converted the reflection spectra data to CIE L^*a^*b^* coordinates, and we have calculated the color difference ΔE^* _ab to determine the effect of TAC on color reproduction accuracy. The main goal of this study is development of methodology, which gives objective and analytical assessment, for determining the optimal value of total area coverage (TAC). A practical implementation of the correct and optimal value of total area coverage should improve the printability, better ink layers adhesion, biggest number of trapping values and reduce the quantity of process inks. The optimal value of the TAC determined by this new methodology helps to achieve a significant reduction of ink cost and a maximal color gamut volume, i.e. improve the quality of printed image and reduce financial costs.