Determination of color changes of inks on the uncoated paper with the offset printing during drying using artificial neural networks

Abstract

This study attempts to determinate color changes based on time in inks applied on the surface of wood-free uncoated paper with offset printing during drying. This study consists of two main cases: (1) Experimental analysis: By preparing a test page according to the 12647-2 principle with an offset printing system, test prints were applied to 120 g/m² wood-free uncoated paper using an ECI 2002 CMYK test chart. Each press was measured being subject to process every 15 min in the first 2 h, then hour by hour between 2 and 12 h, then 4–4 h between 12 and 24 h, and then 6–6 h between 24 and 48 h. CIELAB and reflectance values between 380 and 720 nm of the target, 1,485 colors of the test chart were obtained. To see the drying and color changes of the ink on paper, changes were determined by printing on the paper and applying artificial neural network (ANN) to spectrophotometer data at the stated time intervals. (2) Empirical analysis: The use of the ANN has been proposed as numerical approach to get of empirical equations of color changes in inks applied on the surface of wood-free uncoated paper with offset printing during drying. Based on the outputs of the study, ANN model can be used to estimate the effects of digital proofing systems used in color management on print quality with high confidence with the use of the acquired equations without experimental study. In the study, as colors are defined in terms of wave length, in case, all wave lengths are taken into consideration, certain wave length changes have been taken into consideration.