Black Has a hint of brown in sunlight

[Allstar Graphics]

Ever since i got my Roland VG2-540 it seems that when i print black i have issues with it looking totally black in the sunlight. Inside the shop in looks great but once in sunlight you can slightly tell it has a brownish look and no longer looks jet black. in the racecar picture you can see near where the door starts the different coloration from the front fender to the door (where the wrap starts) My printer config is CMYKLcLmLkOr.... Could i possibly have wrong color profile or something like google AI says? ive been battling this for 4 years now and its driving me nuts. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Modern Ink Signs]

My guess it is within your profile.

What rip are you using?
Does this happen on everything or various?

 

[Solventinkjet]

If you're using boxed profiles and not running any kind of color correction work flow, this is just something that comes with the territory. Basically, what your printheads are printing and what your RIP thinks they are printing are not the same so you get little color shifts like this. So the expensive answer is, get a spectrophotometer, set good ink limits, linearize your printhead output, and then create your own profile. The down and dirty answer is, use the RIP's color replacement tool and play around with different CMYKLcLmLkOr values, print a test sample and revise until you get the black you want. Then create a spot color that uses those values in your design software that maps to the RIP. Then every time you want to use black, select that spot color in your design software and the RIP will automatically use the values you told it to without the color Profile overriding. Just make sure you view the test prints outside in sun light or you'll keep having issues.

 

[Stacey K]

Solventinkjet's solution is what I do. I print a bunch of blacks, 1,2,3,4...laminate them and match them to the vehicle in the sun.

Ask that race car guy for a scrap of black - trust me, he has plenty of scraps - you can play around with it and check your colors in the sun. Most of these local guys get that .040 aluminum from the same local guy so all your black cars should be the same black. At least in my experience. I have the same problem with my son's race car and some police cars that I letter. Once you find the right black, name it "race car black" in your profile, keep the scrap and write on the back "race car black". You can use that black for other jobs then. I have lots of random colors in my profile...Pigeon River Blue, Dynamic Red, no sense in fighting the system, just make it your own.

 

[Allstar Graphics]

My guess it is within your profile.

What rip are you using?
Does this happen on everything or various?

versa works 7 and yes happens on everything... to most customers they dont notice it but i notice it mainly when trying to print black racecar wraps and my brother notices it as well

 

[Allstar Graphics]

If you're using boxed profiles and not running any kind of color correction work flow, this is just something that comes with the territory. Basically, what your printheads are printing and what your RIP thinks they are printing are not the same so you get little color shifts like this. So the expensive answer is, get a spectrophotometer, set good ink limits, linearize your printhead output, and then create your own profile. The down and dirty answer is, use the RIP's color replacement tool and play around with different CMYKLcLmLkOr values, print a test sample and revise until you get the black you want. Then create a spot color that uses those values in your design software that maps to the RIP. Then every time you want to use black, select that spot color in your design software and the RIP will automatically use the values you told it to without the color Profile overriding. Just make sure you view the test prints outside in sun light or you'll keep having issues.

can you show me what i may need to adjust? ive never in my 5 years of doing this messed with color profiles

 

[Solventinkjet]

can you show me what i may need to adjust? ive never in my 5 years of doing this messed with color profiles

Unfortunately, Versaworks isn’t a RIP I have a lot of hands on experience with, but most RIPs work in very similar ways. In Versaworks, there should be a feature called something like “Color Replacement Tool.” This tool lets you select an object and tell the RIP the exact CMYK + Lc, Lm, Lk, Or ink values you want it to print.

To use this, start by creating a simple vector file with several squares or boxes. Send that file to Versaworks. Once it’s in the RIP, open the Color Replacement Tool. You can then select each square individually and manually enter the exact ink values you want Versaworks to output for that square. This lets you print multiple ink combinations in a single job and visually compare the results. When you find a combination that looks correct, the next step is to make it reusable.

Look up how to create a spot color in Versaworks and assign those exact ink values to that spot color. After that, go back to your design software and create a spot color with the exact same name as the one you created in Versaworks. The actual color you see on screen in the design software doesn’t matter, only the name has to match perfectly. From that point on, whenever you send a job to Versaworks that uses that spot color, the RIP will override the ICC profile and print using the ink values you assigned to that spot color.

 

[Allstar Graphics]

Unfortunately, Versaworks isn’t a RIP I have a lot of hands on experience with, but most RIPs work in very similar ways. In Versaworks, there should be a feature called something like “Color Replacement Tool.” This tool lets you select an object and tell the RIP the exact CMYK + Lc, Lm, Lk, Or ink values you want it to print.

To use this, start by creating a simple vector file with several squares or boxes. Send that file to Versaworks. Once it’s in the RIP, open the Color Replacement Tool. You can then select each square individually and manually enter the exact ink values you want Versaworks to output for that square. This lets you print multiple ink combinations in a single job and visually compare the results. When you find a combination that looks correct, the next step is to make it reusable.

Look up how to create a spot color in Versaworks and assign those exact ink values to that spot color. After that, go back to your design software and create a spot color with the exact same name as the one you created in Versaworks. The actual color you see on screen in the design software doesn’t matter, only the name has to match perfectly. From that point on, whenever you send a job to Versaworks that uses that spot color, the RIP will override the ICC profile and print using the ink values you assigned to that spot color.

OK i can see where to do that now... next thing is how am i able to tell what im gonna need because every black looks black inside... and unfortunately with winter here theres barely any direct sunlight for me to tell what it looks like outside... just overcast skies for the main part

 

[Johnny Best]

Just stay out of the sun!