An Investigation of ink usage in offset process printing

With the trend of sustainable printing in the print industry, reducing ink usage is considered a win-win solution for printers who are seeking sustainable printing strategies, and in the meantime, a way of cutting costs. This research focuses on ink-saving strategies for process printing using color management technology in the prepress stage. Two ink-saving methods are discussed in this research. First method is reducing the AIC (Average Ink Coverage) in graphic design. A case study is carried out and verifies the rule that high AIC requires more ink usage than low AIC does. However AIC and ink usage are not committed to a linear relationship; instead, AIC variance, as a result of different graphic designs, will be amplified in terms of ink usage variance during the printing. Graphic design significantly affects the ink usage. The second method is processing images that have same graphic designs, with optimized GCR (Gray Component Replacement). The result is high GCR results less AIC and ink usage; normal GCR results higher AIC and ink usage. AIC variance, as a result of different GCR levels, will be diminished in terms of the ink usage variance during the printing. GCR affects ink usage within a certain range. GCR does affect the ink usage, but not as significant and direct as graphic design does