PantoneLIVE, the recognized platform for color standards management, is expanding with new libraries specially designed for aluminum packaging. This development is the fruit of collaboration between Sun Chemical, X-Rite and Pantone, aimed at meeting the specific needs of brands and manufacturers of one-piece aerosols, tubes, cartridges and other metal containers.
Faced with the challenges of color reproduction on the reflective surfaces of aluminum packaging, the new PantoneLIVE libraries offer a simplified approach. These libraries facilitate the selection, measurement and reproduction of Pantone colors, enabling uniformity on different types of finish, such as matte or gloss varnish. Colorimetric accuracy is a major challenge for metal packaging, and this solution seeks to compensate for deviations that can harm the visual integrity of brands.
Sun Chemical, X-Rite and Pantone are promoting an integrated approach to color management, with measuring instruments such as the X-Rite Ci64 spectrophotometer, combined with ColorCert and Color iQC software. These tools enable color quality standards to be maintained throughout the production cycle. This enables brands to set achievable color expectations right from the design phase, improving the visual consistency of finished products.
The specific needs of metal container manufacturers are at the heart of this innovation. Unlike conventional packaging, curved metal surfaces and their high reflectivity impose additional color management challenges. PantoneLIVE's Monobloc libraries take these peculiarities into account to offer a palette of colors adapted to metal surfaces and varnishes, thus reducing costly trials and adjustments during production.
The use of PantoneLIVE with X-Rite solutions also aims to reduce the frequent delays in color approval, often a source of additional costs. As Eduardo Alegria, metal inks expert at Sun Chemical, points out, the ability to align with approved Pantone colors "simplifies the color approval process and reduces the need for successive trials and adjustments", contributing to faster, more sustainable production.
