The flexible packaging industry long has employed conventional color reproduction using the restricted gamut of conventional CMYK inks. Because that process is limited in the range of colors and vibrancy it can produce, packaging printers often had to add spot colors to meet customers' specific brand requirements. In the past five years or so, capabilities have improved dramatically as many printers began to adopt extended gamut printing, a technology that expands the available range of color far beyond traditional four-color process. For most printers, this means using CMYK plus the three base colors of red, green and blue (RGB). There isn't just one way to approach extended gamut printing, however. Many printers develop their own processes, such as running purple instead of blue or orange instead of red, so there's a wide variance in the way printers use extended gamut printing techniques across the industry.
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