Decoding printing registration errors
Before we discuss the techniques that will help us achieve a precise product in the printing process, we need to know what Printing Registration Error is and what effect it has on printing. This issue refers to mis-registration and has various causes in the material, plate, or color units.
At the first stage, most people have a simple view of this issue and may use one or two solutions to correct it, but it is interesting to know that this happens for various reasons, and a person who has sufficient knowledge of this issue, according to the final print result, realizes what the problems are and goes directly to a suitable solution. Correcting the register is usually related to adjusting the plate, but in this section, we are going to discuss the meaning of this error.
Accuracy in correction is like a repairman who only adjusts one screw. Other people have only seen the change of one screw. But they do not know that among all parts of the machine, that screw has been selected with skill and ingenuity.
First of all, we state the basis of the issue and then expand it. This issue goes back to how much we know about the machine that is going to do the printing and the path that the material takes to be printed in this process. In the field of commercial printing, we have three types of advanced machines, each of which has its own fascinating world: namely Offset, Flexography, and Rotogravure. In all of these cases, the register is defined and checked with a sign.
Execution process
Let's assume that your file will be produced in a simple state, that is, four CMYK colors for printing. It is also supposed that the machine has four color units. The order of these units is important for color quality, but in this article, other points should be checked. These are the printing problems that can define the register of the plate or material, not the order of the color units.
During the printing process, several parts can be out of adjustment. They can be the plates of each color, the material, or other parts of the printing machine. These problems can be due to material in very large dimensions, worn-out machine, operator errors in adjusting the plate position, and even worn-out Gripper parts.
For better understanding, we have here a text in green color with code C:80 | M:0 | Y:100 | K:0. If the cardboard is slightly displaced when entering the Y unit, the following result is obtained. That is, the cyan color is printed in its correct place, and the yellow color is slightly displaced and is not exactly aligned with the cyan halftones.
This example is expressed in an exaggerated way so that the register error is easily explained to you. We are not supposed to have such a disaster in printing with this much displacement, of course, there is one case: that is, the machine has returned from World War! So, in order to be able to control this, we first use waste paper to be able to make the correct register adjustment. After the final approval of the operator and adjusting the register and finding the problems, we use the main material for the final printing.
Checking the error
As mentioned, the existence of this error has different modes, but in general, at this stage, the designer and the operator must interact to know with what kind of register shape they can adjust the printing more accurately; here we show you a few examples of practical signs.
This sign is supposed to contain all the colors within itself, and since the designed file is 4 colors here, then the color code of this sign must also receive the numerical values of C:100 | M:100 | Y:100 | K:100, which is known as register black or four hundred percent black. Now, if your file is 8 colors, this sign must contain the value of 8 colors within itself. The existence of a hundred percent value of each color makes it easy for the print operator to find any color that is out of register and adjust the machine only in that unit.
Your job as a Prepress Manager
Keep in mind that you can supervise all stages, including design, typesetting, and printing. First, make sure that the number of file colors is defined according to the client's needs. Because the more the number of colors increases, the more complex the register control becomes. In printing forms, be sure to have a register sign with a hundred percent value of each color, and at the time of printing, use calibrated machines with a skilled operator.
This article examined part of the printing registration error topic. It is recommended to take a look at other important articles such as trapping or overprint as well. Adjusting the register error can sometimes be difficult, especially when very small fonts are used, but with different solutions, the production process can be improved.
