A Computer Technique For The Establishment Of Color And Strength Standards For Liquid Inks

Present techniques for controlling the quality of color of liquid inks are generally unsatisfactory. Many methods for storing and referencing color data have been proposed which require prints of standard inks using a proofing press. The prints are read on a spectrophotometer and the data stored. Viscosity, press speed, substrate, impression pressure and operator variability prevent preprints from being reproducible. This has caused concern among those who wish to use computer stored data. A method is proposed using spectrophotometric evaluation of wet ink to provide data to the computer. A technique was developed using a sealed liquid cell with bleaches of the standard inks which allows reproducible data to be obtained. Studies of the effect of time on 'flooding' were also done.