A STUDY INVOLVING THE USE OF DENSITOMETRY AND COLORIMETRY FOR THE RAW-MATERIAL AND PROCESS-CONTROL OF COLOR INKS AND GRAPHIC ARTS COLOR PRINTING

Color photographic materials usually contain color forming compounds included in their construction. A standard processing sequence and chemistry provided by the film manufacturer provides assurance that the colors will be correct when the product is properly processed. In the graphic arts printing process the printer provides the image color. Printers purchase the color inks used in the manufacture of their products. Such ink supplies as used must be replenished during the printing cycle and daily as the printed products are produced. In such cases quality control procedures must be implemented to insure final product consistency and customer acceptance. It is the object of this paper to determine the usefulness of each of these devices to discriminate between several different closely colored inks as might be offered in commercial practice as an interchangeable ink candidate. Because cost has been a criteria of choice this report will only address the use of "Standard Observer" colorimeters and densitometers as the measurement tools to insure a printing ink raw material color specification.