Opaltone Awarded U.S. Patent for 6-Color Inkjet System

ASHMORE, Australia—The U.S. Patent Office has granted Opaltone Australasia Pat. 8,064,112 for its unique 6-color inkjet system. “This is a truly exciting moment for our company,” said Steve Holman, managing director, Opaltone Australasia. “We can now accelerate the release of our patented 6-color system on most commercial inkjet printers.”

Opaltone is a multicolor system that expands the color gamut beyond conventional CMYK. It can accurately match 100 percent of the most popular spot color libraries. Unlike other expensive 8- and 10-color inkjet systems, Opaltone’s VK® system only requires 6 colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, red, green, and blue. Black ink is eliminated (black is digitally mixed from the R’G’B’ inks) making VK the world’s first ‘carbon free’ inkjet system.

“Consumers are disgruntled at being forced to buy extra inks they don’t need. For example, we can now run an Epson 4900 desktop printer with only 6 inks (not 10), achieving a superior color range at a fraction of the cost.” Opaltone’s contract proofing quality exceeds the demands of the packaging industry by delivering a cost-effective solution in matching proof to print. “It’s a win-win!” concluded Holman.

For more information on the Opaltone VK® proofing system, contact Steve Holman, Opaltone Australasia, Ph: +614 13743334 or steveh@opaltone.com.

(Editor's Note: Digital printing in packaging is in it’s infancy and developments such as Opaltone’s 6-color inkjet system will be coming fast and furious. To keep up with these developments and join in on the discussion, join the Digital Packaging LinkedIn Group at http://www.packageprinting.com/linkedin.)