Colour in branding

Member lesson

Colour consistency across substrates

Lesson 9 of 11 in Colour in branding.

Substrate Variation: Brand Issues & Strategies | A BrandQ® Webinar · Idealliance
Lesson

The substrate is part of the colour. The same ink on coated board, uncoated board, kraft, film and foil produces five visibly different results, because the material changes how much ink sits on the surface and what light does underneath it.

coateddot holds its edgeuncoateddot spreads and fills inthe same file prints darker on uncoated, every time
A halftone dot printed on coated paper and spreading on uncoated.
An ink drawing of a hand pulling red ink with a knife across five sample strips, white coated board, uncoated board, brown kraft, clear film and silver foil, each showing a different red.
The same red ink is drawn down on coated board, uncoated board, kraft, film and foil, and comes out as five different reds.
Member

The rest of this is for members.

You have read the opening of this lesson. The rest of it comes with a membership.

One membership covers all four courses and Brands.

  • All lessons in the four Learn courses
  • All brand breakdowns in the Brands section
  • All quizzes, flashcards and crosswords
  • An AI teacher on every lesson, for up to 60 questions a day
  • All course material published during the membership

Price

Membership is from $12 a month on the Yearly plan, which is charged at $144 once a year. Lifetime access is $59, paid once.Membership is from ₹200 a month on the Yearly plan, which is charged at ₹2,400 + GST once a year. Lifetime access is ₹3,999 + GST, paid once.

Check what stuck

Members only

You can't take this check yet.

Members answer these 3 questions and keep the ticket for this lesson. Every lesson has one.

  1. Question 1, locked

    What does "production must fall within a Delta E of 2 against the approved drawdown" buy you that "the colour must match" does not?

    • A measurable target the supplier can aim at and you can reject a run against
    • A guarantee that coated and uncoated board will come out identical
    • Permission to skip the white underprint on kraft board
    • An exemption from approving a physical sample first
  2. Question 2, locked

    Which of these words means this? “The material being printed on. Changes the colour before any ink decision is made.”

    • Substrate
    • Colour alone
    • Extended palette
    • Drawdown
  3. Question 3, locked

    Which of these words means this? “A numerical measure of the difference between two colours. Around 1 is the smallest difference most people can see, and 2 is a common print tolerance because it is hard to spot without a side-by-side check.”

    • Drawdown
    • Specificity
    • Delta E
    • Metamerism

Elsewhere in the library

Hear about new courses.

Leave an email and we will tell you when something new lands. We do not write often.