Water transfer printing and water decals combine screen printing with gravure printing. Throughout the years, color has been a top concern for our clients. Why can't we achieve a 100% match with the client's specifications? The answer is: it's impossible.

Many factors can cause color discrepancies; here are a few listed for your reference to avoid them when necessary:

1. The mismatch between the water sticker production file and customer-provided file parameters has caused problems for many. Generally, once you receive the customer's design and file, direct printing is correct. However, during the second printing, always compare the differences between the first sample and the customer's file to determine where the discrepancies are, and then adjust the file parameters on the computer. This method can effectively control the occurrence of large color variations.

2. After the color printing is complete for water transfer stickers, it is generally recommended to wait until the colors are fully dry before applying a transparent screen print varnish. However, this varnish is not purely transparent; it enhances the red and yellow intensity on the colored surface. Moreover, due to the chemical composition, the transparency of the varnish cannot be consistently controlled each time it is mixed. The viscosity, thickness, storage time, and printing temperature all affect the depth of the color.

Another cause of color variation is due to the misregistration of the color printing machine. Since offset printing machines use the CMYK four primary colors (blue, red, yellow, and black) to create effects, any mismatch in the tone of each primary color can lead to overall color variation. In other words, each color in the CMYK set may have an incomplete match, resulting in possible color variation偏向s of red, yellow, blue, and black during printing, and no one can fully control it.

4. This issue is specifically related to color variation in spot colors, which is unrelated to the three mentioned above. The primary cause of color variation in spot color stickers is the color matching technician, and another factor is the color chart. Each color chart has slight variations, so the color matching difference for spot colors is relatively minor.