...compared to a standard 18 base pantone mixing system
The PureTone story
For a peek behind the curtain at how UV ink systems are actually developed, FlexoTech spoke to Gary Seward, the managing director of Pulse Label Products.
Launched in 2015, PureTone is Pulse's flagship UV flexo ink system which the company says, "pushes the boundaries of traditional ink mixing systems."
Pulse claims that the system allows the printer to standardise their printing process, reducing their make-ready time, increasing their productivity, reducing waste and ultimately increasing revenue.
Mr. Seward explains, "Printers are often required to make an educated guess for which anilox to use for each colour station, which can result in colours appearing to be the wrong shade despite being formulated to spec. This guesswork can take up valuable time on press which could be better optimised.
This is a problem I came across over 20 years ago when I was working as a plant technician. Printers had the same issue but instead of anilox rollers the choice was between which screen mesh to use. I would mix the ink to the correct shade, but the printers would come back to me saying the colour was wrong. This led me to develop a system where I would match the colour to the same screen each time, so the printer knew straight away which screen to use for which colour, reducing their set-up time and increasing productive press time.
This is how the concept of PureTone originated"
All PureTone inks are formulated to one standard 5-6 volume anilox, helping standardise the printing process and optimising press time.
As colour matching and ink mixing can be one of the most time-consuming processes on the shop floor for a printer, PureTone was developed as a high-strength, mono-pigmented UV flexo ink system, comprised of 11 base colours.
Colour strength and mono-pigmentation of the inks means less bases are required when mixing inks to match a colour, resulting in cleaner and brighter colours, reducing the potential for metamerism.
Plus, a lower-film weight of ink is possible due to its high strength resulting in reduced ink consumption and inventory.
On average 30% less ink is used with PureTone compared to a standard 18 base Pantone mixing system.
See the full article here (page 34): FlexoTech July/August 2022