Colour management for packaging printers: Why ‘close enough’ doesn’t cut it anymore
Colour management used to come down to a trained eye and a trusted operator. While that still matters, in today’s packaging industry it is no longer the whole job. Global brand owners are setting colour targets digitally and expect converters to hit them reliably on every press, in every plant, and in every region. As a result, the way colour is specified and matched needs to become more consistent, backed by digital colour management tools.
Global brands are raising the bar on colour compliance
The pressure for colour accuracy can land differently depending on where a business is based. More and more printers in emerging markets are taking on work for global brands, and many of these may not have previously had to work to such strict global colour standards. This may leave converters who have historically matched to regional targets being asked to meet the same compliance threshold as a plant in Germany or the Netherlands.
At the same time, some regional brand owners may operate differently, asking converters to build their own local colour standard based on local substrates and inks. As a result, plants are left running two parallel systems of colour management – sometimes for the same brand – depending on which customer’s order they are filling that week.
Shorter runs complicate the colour match
As run lengths shrink, the way that colour is managed on the floor is changing. More shops now run digital and conventional presses within the same job family, splitting jobs in a way that makes commercial sense. However, this leads to the problem that digital and conventional print technologies may produce colour differently, and reconciling the two is no small task.
This context is leading to extended colour gamut workflows picking up real traction. Using CMYK and CMYK+ systems means fewer inks, a more predictable colour space across technologies, and less makeready time lost switching machines mid-run. Where some brand owners bridge the gap by keeping brand colours fixed and accepting any digital output that falls within their gamut, others look for the closest achievable colour in the extended gamut and reset the standard to match.
Where colour variation actually comes from
Inks often take the blame for mismatched colours, but in practice they are not always to blame. The real source of variation is often found upstream. Whether it is a coated Pantone® ¹spec called out on an uncoated board, a colour approved on clean litho stock that then gets run on a brown box, artwork separation, plate or cylinder wear, anilox degradation, or even the temperature in the press room, there are multiple opportunities for variation to enter the process.
Finding the real cause of colour drift takes time and, as a result, the ink recipe can be the fastest lever to pull, whether or not it is actually the problem.
How VIVO Colour Solutions closes the gap
VIVO Colour Solutions is Flint Group Packaging Solutions’ digital colour management platform, designed to support ink colour formulation, improve colour accuracy, and reduce waste and press returns. With bespoke colour matching and on-press functionality alongside a suite of other features, VIVO provides a complete end-to-end solution for ensuring colours are accurate and repeatable.
The service can save printers time spent on colour creation, verification and adjustment – in some cases, up to 2.5 hours of production capacity per day – and has cut printing waste by up to €100,000 per year. The platform is web-based and available 24/7, providing converters with a complete digital colour management framework whenever they need it.
VIVO sits inside Flint Group Packaging Solutions’ wider services platform, alongside our Centres of Excellence and technical support teams on the ground. This ensures printers can access trusted expertise to resolve any issues when conditions change mid-run or when multiple variables shift at once.
Improve colour consistency with digital tools
As more work moves across presses, sites, and technologies, the need for a structured approach to colour management becomes stronger.
VIVO Colour Solutions gives printers a practical way to manage colour consistency, reduce waste, and support faster, more reliable production. Backed by Flint Group’s service platform, it brings together the tools and support needed to help colour perform the way it should, job after job.
Need help improving colour consistency across presses, sites, or substrates? Speak to Flint Group Packaging Solutions about VIVO Colour Solutions.
¹ Pantone is a registered trademark of Pantone LLC.