Research of the Accuracy of Color Reproduction of Flexographic Printing Imprints Using PANTONE Mixed Inks

The article examines the quality of reproduction of flexographic printing of label products using mixed PANTONE inks. The basis of the study includes such processes as: mixing ink; test printing on different materials and on different ruler of anilox rolls; further analysis of the quality of color reproduction of imprints. The following research methods were used in this work: analytical method of analysis of specialized literature, spectrophotometric analysis, statistical data processing, regression and correlation analysis, mathematical modeling. In the course of the research, the patterns of influence of the color properties of the printed material, the anilox shaft ruler and the number of components in the PANTONE mixed ink on the accuracy of color reproduction of imprints in the process of manufacturing label products by flexographic printing were determined. The use of the manual test printing technique allowed us to obtain a satisfactory quality of imprints at the level of ΔE ≤ 5 and ΔH ≤ 8 according to the requirements of the standard, especially for imprints printed on semi-glossy paper and on white polypropylene film. Also, on the basis of experimental data, a regression equation of the second order was compiled to describe the influence of technological modes of the flexographic printing process on the quality of color reproduction. This study reflects the current state of research in flexographic printing using PANTONE colors. The result of the study is the systematization of the levels of the mixed ink color management process, the dependence of the level of color distortions and the level of color tone distortions on the values of the anilox roller raster ruler and the printed material when using PANTONE colors, a regression equation with a second-order polynomial.