Using Wide Format UV Ink-jet Printing for Digital Package Prototyping

Digital printing technology influences the short-run packaging and prototype market. Packaging work is among the most color critical in the industry. Matching corporate and brand colors is essential, as is the ability to accurately reproduce spot colors. The main purposes of this experimental study are to (1) study color reproduction and process capabilities of paperboard and corrugated board, (2) examine the quality of spot color reproduction using a UV wide-format inkjet printer for digital package prototyping, and (3) establish printing workflows for digital package production. Sets of test samples were prepared to study color reproduction and process capabilities of paperboards and corrugated boards using the EFI Vutek PV 200 UV ink-jet printer, to examine the spot color matching capability, and to establish a digital printing workflow for digital package prototyping. Spot colors from the Pantone color guide were used to design the spot color test chart for this study. CIE L^*a^*b^* values of Pantone color swatches were used as target values. Adobe Illustrator CC 2014 was employed to generate the spot color test chart in digital format. The designed test target was printed on different grades of paperboards and corrugated boards on an EFI Vutek PV 200 UV inkjet printer. The quality of spot color matching was evaluated in terms of the DE₂₀₀₀ in CIE L*a*b* color space.