TECHNOLOGY
White Ink Is NOT White Paper By Lonnie Brawer
At Inwork, over the past 10 years, we’ve executed hundreds of designs on clear and metalized substrates, for nearly as many brands. What always amazes me is how little white ink and its variables are considered in the design process, in spite of a designer’s best intentions. At Inwork, over the past 10 years, we’ve executed hundreds of designs on clear and metalized substrates, for nearly as many brands. What always amazes me is how little white ink and its variables are considered in the design process, in spite of a designer’s best intentions. Often, artwork is offered for concept and design review using unrealistic renderings, either onscreen or printed using high-end inkjet printers on very white papers. Subsequently, upper management and marketing partners fall in love with a concept bound to disappoint upon commercialization because it fails
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| SCREENTEX | December - January 2018
to be producible on press, and falls far short of the idealized expectation set. I’ve said this before and it bears repeating… “White ink is not white paper.” As it turns out, few factors affect the perception of color more than white. The “whiteness” of the viewing light, the white point of a computer screen, paper, plastic or ink, are all completely different animals. In the end, nothing kills a beautiful design faster than not having enough white ink supporting color on a clear or metalized substrate. The simple illustration below simulates how color appears when printed over various opacities of white ink. The simple illustration below simulates how color appears when printed over various opacities of white ink. Description: IDROP - White ink is NOT White Paper As you can see, color is
altered radically by the amount of white support. So, what is required to render the proper outcome on-press? First, consider, what is your intent? Do you want bright, strong colors popping off a dark product? Does your design require soft tonal color areas that need to have white behind them to be seen? Another is, how does the design interplay with the label substrate, the primary structure, and the product color contained within it? All these factors will have bearing on realizing your design as intended. A white with soft tonal detail might work well enough on a metallized substrate, but fail completely on a clear one. Then consider what kinds of whites and how many stations are available to you on press. Our clients are often surprised to learn artwork they intend to execute as 7/c+ varnish, requires 10/c (or more) plus