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Most people believe that the color white is not truly a color when printing large format prints. Abstract Image Group employs advanced printing technology and white is in fact a printable color.

Today I am going to review how white ink can be very useful in both expanding the possibilities of materials you can print on, and how white ink can be utilized as an effective design tool.

By understanding the properties of the printing ink, this will help us realize how we can incorporate white ink as a design tool. Most large format print devices use traditional printing ink colors: Cyan (C), Magenta (M), Yellow (Y) and Black (K). These printing inks by nature are translucent so that reflective light can pass through the ink and reflect off the base substrate color thus producing the visible color spectrum. Depending on how white the base substrate is will determine how much light is reflected back to the viewer. By controlling the density of the CMYK inks we create the spectrum of color. So with this in mind we know that we need a pure white base to produce a bright, vivid color spectrum.

When a print shop can not print white ink, they are forced to use a white substrate, thus limiting the options of materials you can print on. These traditional substrates include: "White"... papers vinyls or card stocks. Abstract Image Group has the ability to print white ink in various ways. This allows the designer to think past traditional materials as well as how they want the final print to look. Some substrates include stones, plexiglass, metals leather and even glass.

Here are some of the ways Abstract Image Group can print white ink:

• Flood print white behind graphics or photographs on specialty stocks like metallic foils, black or dark papers, plastics or card stocks
• Spot print white ink behind graphics or photographs on specialty stocks like metallic foils, black or dark papers, plastics or card stocks but allowing the specialty material to appear through the graphic. This trapping technique can be useful to a designer that wants to be creative or add another level of depth to the final piece.
• Controlling the density of white we print can allow the designer to incorporate punch and the feeling of texture to the work.
• In the production of window clings or clear graphic panels like plexiglass signage or walls, Abstract Image Group can trap the white to the graphic and allow clear areas in the final print but maintain puch and color vibrancy.
• Two sided print viewing is achieved by printing CMYK + White + CMYK, where we sandwich the white ink between two layers of colored ink. This allows you to print a message or graphic on both sides of a window cling, glass petition or space divider.

Printing with white ink is one of Abstract Image Group's newest and most exciting special effects. It allows you to print on substrates you would never have thought of. Click on the stone image in this article and see where we printed directly on bluestone. That's correct "Stone" - now that's thinking outside the box! This split image illustrate 2 variations of how we can control the way we imprint white ink with our large format digital printers.

So here’s your chance to broaden the range of media you design for, and deliver unique creations that stand out and get noticed. So why not take it? Show your clients something they’ve never seen and really impress them. Contact our design team and let us help you expand your thinking into the world of white ink.